Toun Scores Career-High 17 Points And Grabs Six Rebounds, Hall Adds Career-Best 14 Points As Men's Basketball Collects Fifth Win In Last Six Outings With 68-58 Northeast-10 Triumph Over Southern New Hampshire

February 15, 2006

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL:STONEHILL 68, SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 58

EASTON, Mass.-- Junior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I.) scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead four players in double figures as 25th-ranked Stonehill notched its fifth win in the last six outings with a 68-58 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

The host Skyhawks (19-5, 15-5 Northeast-10) trailed by 10 points (28-18) with 5:37 remaining in the opening half but scored the final 21 points of the half to take a 39-28 advantage at the break, capping the scoring before intermission on an 80-foot buzzer beater from freshman Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.). Stonehill then scored the first five points of the second half to cap a 26-0 run over an 8:20 span and take a 44-28 cushion, as the visiting Penmen (16-10, 12-9 Northeast-10) closed to within 10 points on two occasions but got no closer. The Skyhawks led by as many as 19 points (66-49) in the closing minutes of play in posting their first win over Southern New Hampshire since November 1999, as Stonehill remained in sole possession of second place in the Northeast-10 standings, standing a game behind first place Bentley.

Hall added a career-high 14 points and four rebounds in the win for Stonehill, as he and Toun combined for six of the Skyhawks' nine three-pointers on the night. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif.) added 13 points in the triumph for the hosts, while senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont.) chipped in with 10 points, eight assists, five boards and three steals. Freshman Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va.) grabbed a career-best seven rebounds for Stonehill, which shot 43 percent from the field and held a 36-30 rebounding edge while scoring 27 points off of 22 Southern New Hampshire turnovers.

Senior Miguel Gonzalez (Jamaica, N.Y.) paced Southern New Hampshire in the scoring column with 15 points, while freshman Modestas Riauka (Kaunas, Lithuania) added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Penmen, who also received nine points and six assists from senior John Baiano (Staten Island, N.Y.). Southern New Hampshire shot 39 percent from the field and connected for 10 three-pointers on the evening in suffering its third setback in the last four outings.

Stonehill travels to Springfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to take on American International in a Northeast-10 outing that begins at 3:30 p.m., while Southern New Hampshire hosts Franklin Pierce in its Northeast-10 regular season finale on Saturday afternoon in Manchester, N.H. at 3:30 p.m.