Men's Basketball Hits Road For First Time This Season In Search Of Fourth Victory As Skyhawks Tangle With Saint Anselm In Northeast-10 Clash Wednesday

November 29, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

7:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill hits the road for the first time this season in search of its second straight victory as the Skyhawks tangle with the Saint Anselm Hawks in a Northeast-10 Conference clash. Stonehill enters tonight's action after posting a 92-70 Northeast-10 triumph over Saint Michael's on Sunday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium, as senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) led five players in double figures with 18 points. Senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) added 17 points, seven assists and four steals in the triumph for the Skyhawks, which also received 14 points from junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin). Senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) and junior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) each chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds on the day for Stonehill, which shot 50 percent from the field for the contest in posting its fifth straight victory in the series with the Purple Knights. Saint Anselm enters tonight's action after dropping an 82-74 Northeast-10 decision to Merrimack on Sunday afternoon at the Volpe Complex in North Andover, Mass.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Seniors Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) and Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) each earned spots on the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Monday for their efforts in a pair of Stonehill contests last week. Nelson averaged 14 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two games, including 16 points and nine boards in an 83-63 setback to fifth-ranked Bentley to go with 12 points and eight caroms in a 92-70 triumph over Saint Michael's. Taylor averaged 15 points and 5.5 rebounds on the week for the Skyhawks, including 18 points and five boards in the win over Saint Michael's and 12 points and six rebounds in the setback to Bentley.

LAST SEASON: Stonehill and Saint Anselm split their two match-ups during the 2004-2005 season, as the Hawks claimed an 81-68 victory on December 1, 2004 at Merkert Gymnasium before the Skyhawks notched a 76-72 triumph on January 17, 2005 here at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. Marquis Taylor scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the December setback for Stonehill, which received 22 points each from Evan Pellerin and Dezmond Morgan in the January victory.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Saint Anselm are meeting for the 93rd time this evening, and the Hawks hold a 58-34 advantage over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 14 ppg and 7.3 caroms per contest, while Kraus follows at 13.8 ppg while adding five assists per game. Nelson is next at 13.8 ppg and 6.3 rpg, while Clarke is also in double figures at 12.3 ppg for the Skyhawks.

THE HAWKS: Senior Matt Cahill leads Saint Anselm in scoring at 22 ppg, while seniors Jim Moore and Jim Holsworth follow at 18.3 and 12.3 ppg, respectively. Senior Darlington Okerulu paces the Hawks on the boards at 8.3 caroms per contest.

HEAD COACH DAVID McLAUGHLIN: David McLaughlin is in his third season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Stonehill College. A 1997 graduate of Colby, McLaughlin has guided the Skyhawks to a 28-21 (.571) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone, Josh Meyer and Mike Harding, is 1-2 during his career against Saint Anselm.

HEAD COACH KEITH DICKSON: Keith Dickson is in his 20th season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Saint Anselm College. A 1979 graduate of New Hampshire, Dickson has compiled an overall mark of 370-196 (.654) during his tenure with the Hawks, and he is assisted by Thomas Joyce, Steve Drescher and Paul Faison. Dickson is 28-12 during his career against Stonehill.

AYE, AYE CAPTAINS: Seniors Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) and Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) have been named as co-captains for the 2005-2006 edition of Stonehill men's basketball. Lauricella, who also served as a Skyhawk captain last season, averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds off the bench last season, while Nelson added 5.6 points and 3.4 caroms per contest in a reserve role as well last winter for Stonehill.

SKYHAWK TALK: After winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has won 23 of its last 32 outings under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November of last yearPrior to last season, Stonehill's last 20-win campaign came in 1997-98 when the Skyhawks won the Northeast-10 regular season crown en route to a berth in the NCAA Division II "Sweet Sixteen"The Skyhawks posted their second straight 2-0 start under McLaughlinThe Skyhawks have eclipsed the 80-point plateau on 17 occasions in McLaughlin's 49-game tenure as head coach.

SKYHAWKS ON THE WEB: For the second straight season, Stonehill basketball can be accessed on the world wide web through Free Teamline, a service of TRZ Sports of Kent, Ohio. A total of 15 Skyhawk regular season men's basketball broadcasts will be available throughout the 2005-2006 season via Free Teamline by accessing the official Stonehill Athletics website at www.stonehillskyhawks.com, powered by Presto Sports. Returning to call all of action of Stonehill basketball once again this winter is the tandem of Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley, who have served as the voices of Skyhawk Basketball since 1998.

WHO'S NEXT: Stonehill returns home on Saturday, December 3rd to entertain LeMoyne in a Northeast-10 match-up at Merkert Gymnasium that tips-off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The Skyhawks will then be idle until Saturday, December 10th when Stonehill hosts 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant in a Northeast-10 clash at Merkert Gymnasium that also begins at 3:30 p.m. EST.