Green Mountain State Engagement Beckons For Men's Basketball As 10th-Ranked Skyhawks Search For 11th Straight Victory In Squaring Off With Saint Michael's In Northeast-10 Match-Up

January 13, 2006

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

3:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill heads to the North Country in search of its 11th straight victory this afternoon as the 10th-ranked Skyhawks square off with the Saint Michael's Purple Knights in a Northeast-10 Conference clash. Stonehill, off to its best start in 17 years, celebrated its first-ever top 10 national ranking on Tuesday evening with an 82-64 Northeast-10 triumph over Assumption at Merkert Gymnasium, as senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) became the 30th player in Skyhawk history to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau with 15 points in the win for the hosts. Junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) led all scorers with 20 points, including five three-pointers, in the victory for Stonehill, which also received a double-double effort of 11 points and 10 rebounds from senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford). Junior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) added nine points for the winners, who also received eight points, five assists and three steals from senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) as well as a career-best eight point effort from freshman Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va./Flint Hill). Senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) dished off eight assists and recorded five steals for the Skyhawks, who have matched their longest winning streak in eight years with 10 straight triumphs to date. Saint Michael's enters today's action after dropping an 84-68 Northeast-10 decision to Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday evening here at the Ross Sports Center.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Seniors Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) and Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) were each named on Monday to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll for their efforts in a pair of Stonehill victories last week. Taylor averaged 15 points, nine rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists on the week, including a double-double effort of 22 points and 10 rebounds in the 77-63 triumph at Bryant, while Nelson averaged 14 points and six boards on the week, including 15 points and seven caroms at Bryant, and shot an even 50 percent (12-24) from the field in the two outings.

LAST MEETING: Stonehill and Saint Michael's last met on November 27, 2005 at Merkert Gymnasium, and the Skyhawks posted a 92-70 victory over the Purple Knights. Marquis Taylor led five players in double figures with 18 points in the triumph for Stonehill, which also received 17 points, seven assists and four steals from Chris Kraus.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Saint Michael's are meeting for the 64th time this afternoon, and the Purple Knights hold a 34-29 edge over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 15.8 ppg and 7.3 caroms per contest, while Nelson follows at 14.5 ppg and adds 6.3 rpg. Clarke is next at 12.2 ppg, while Kraus is also in double figures for the Skyhawks at 11.2 ppg while adding 5.4 assists per game.

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS: Junior Brendan Mullins leads Saint Michael's in scoring at 13.9 ppg, while sophomore James Sorrentine follows at 12.9 ppg. Senior BJ Robertson is next at 12 ppg, while junior Chris Cayole adds 10.4 ppg. Sophomore Brian Monahan is also in double figures at 10.2 ppg and paces the Purple Knights on the boards at 6.6 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 37-21 (.638) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach, including Stonehill's first 20-win season in seven years last winter. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone, Josh Meyer and Mike Harding, is 4-0 during his career against Saint Michael's.

HEAD COACH TOM O'SHEA: Tom O'Shea is in his ninth season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Saint Michael's College. A 1986 graduate of Vermont, O'Shea has guided the Purple Knights to an overall mark of 130-114 (.533) during his tenure, and he is assisted by Joe Krupinski. O'Shea is 8-7 during his career against Stonehill.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS: Stonehill's 12-1 start marks the first time that the Skyhawks have won 12 of their first 13 outings since the start of the 1988-89 season that came under the guidance of Stonehill Hall of Famer, the late Ray Pepin.

BEST IN A GENERATION: Stonehill's 8-1 start in Northeast-10 play is its best in nearly 25 years, as the Skyhawks last won eight of its first nine conference outings during the 1981-82 campaign under another Stonehill Hall of Fame, the late Tom Folliard.

THEY CALL IT THE STREAK: Stonehill's current 10-game winning streak matches its longest such skein since a similar 10-gamer back in January 1998 en route to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The Skyhawks have posted a 10-game win streak and an eight-game win skein under David McLaughlin's guidance in the last calendar year alone, as the current streak ranks second in school history only to a 12-game win skein during the 1970-71 campaign.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: In conference statistics released through games of January 9th, Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 in both scoring defense (62.4) and field goal percentage defense (.384), and the Skyhawks also lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.28) and defensive rebounds (28.25 drpg). Stonehill also ranks second in scoring margin (+10.3) and assists (17.17 apg). Individually, senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio for the second straight season (2.50), while Marquis Tayulor ranks second in defensive rebounds (6.25 drpg).

NCAA RANK AND FILE: Stonehill is rated in three team categories in NCAA Division II national statistics through games of January 3rd. The Skyhawks are tied for 12th in won-lost percentage, 24th in field goals percentage defense and 37th in scoring defense, and individually Chris Kraus ranks 23th nationally in assists per game.

RANK AND FILE: Stonehill cracked the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 for the first time in over eight years on December 20th, but this week the Skyhawks cracked the top 10 for the first time in school history in moving up to the #10 spot in the NABC rankings on Tuesday afternoon. Prior to December 20th, the last time Stonehill appeared in the NABC Top 25 came in March 1998 during the Skyhawks' NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" campaign. Here is the January 10th NABC Division II national poll:

RankSchool (first place votes)RecordPointsPrevious Rank

1Montevallo (7)14-11922

2Western Washington 11-11913

3Southern Indiana16-11855

4Seattle Pacific(1)11-11736

5Saint Joseph's13-11544

6Northern State12-114821

7Southwest Baptist14-11417

8Virginia Union8-21401

9Fort Hays State12-113515

10Stonehill11-111624

11Findlay12-210225

12West Virginia State10-29310

13Alabama-Huntsville12-29020

13tBarton8-190NR

15Delta State11-183NR

16Truman State13-27373

17Central Missouri State13-25811

18Johnson C. Smith9-350NR

19Grand Canyon12-346NR

20Massachusetts-Lowell11-345NR

21Mount Olive9-3409

22Minnesota State-Mankato13-333NR

23Winona State10-42914

24Grand Valley State11-327NR

25Ashland12-325NR

Others Receiving Votes: Lynn 19, Pittsburgh-Johnstown 18, Alderson-Broaddus 13, Catawba 12, South Carolina Upstate 11, West Georgia 10, Armstrong Atlantic State 9, Bowie State 8, Northeastern State 7, Saint Anselm 6, Hawaii-Hilo 5, West Liberty State 5, Montana State-Billings 3, Tarleton State 3, Presbyterian 2, Concordia-St. Paul 1, Philadelphia 1.

IN GOOD COMPANY: Stonehill has the distinction of being one of two schools nationally to have both its men's and women's basketball teams ranked in the top 11 nationally in Division II, as the Skyhawk women moved up six spots in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll to the #11 spot on Tuesday afternoon. Stonehill and Western Washington are the only two Division II schools that can claim both its women's and men's teams in the top 11.

MORE RANK AND FILE: Five Stonehill athletic teams have now cracked the top 11 in their respective sports during the 2005-2006 academic year: Field Hockey (#4), Men's Cross Country (#9), Men's Basketball (#10) and Women's Basketball (#11). The defending national champion Skyhawk women's lacrosse team has been picked as the top-ranked team in Division II circles as well in the Lacrosse Magazine pre-season poll.

BIG D-MAC ATTACK: After winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has posted a 32-9 (.780) mark in its last 40 contests under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November 2004.

A GRAND ENTRANCE: Marquis Taylor became the 30th player in Stonehill men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career point plateau with a 15-point performance in the Skyhawks' 82-64 win over Assumption on Tuesday night. Dezmond Morgan was the last Skyhawk to reach that plateau, as he did so last season ironically in a January match-up with Assumption. Here are the members of Stonehill's 1,000 Point Club:

1.Mike Allocco2,3991969-73

2.Jon Cronin2,3011988-92

3.Bob Reitz2,2181979-83

4.Bill Zolga1,8221977-80

5.Mike Barros1,6791984-88

6.George Peterson1,6041964-67

7.David Donnelly1,4981995-99

8.Ed Grzembski1,4861987-91

9.Brian Cronin1,4741985-89

10.Dick Munson1,4481962-65

11.Leo Denault1,3981958-61

12.Paul Sincero1,3681950-53

13.Chris Butler1,3621991-95

14.Ron Richards1,3021965-68

15.Bob Duarte1,2791983-87

16.Tony Fiore1,2551981-85

17.Jason Jacobsen1,2271988-92

18.Kyle Quimby1,1851999-03

19.Art Horan1,1211968-71

20.Dezmond Morgan1,1192001-05

21.Derrik Jerman1,098 1989-93

22.Henry Jackson1,0901970-73

23.Jamal Gomes1,0821991-95

24.Howie Bain1,0631971-74

25.Lorenzo Lapido1,0611990-94

26.Adrian Machado1,0431992-96

27.Rollie Hollins1,0211971-74

28.Charlie Simonds1,0111973-77

29.Justin LoVerme1,0071997-01

30.MARQUIS TAYLOR1,0022002-06

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: Clarke hit the 20-point plateau in a game for the second time this season in Tuesday's triumph over Assumption, as he matched his career-high set on opening night (November 18th) against MolloyLast Saturday's victory was Stonehill's 36th in 60 series meetings with 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant, as the Skyhawks have swept the last two regular season series match-ups (four contests) from the Bulldogs The January 2nd triumph at Merrimack was Stonehill's third straight over the Warriors and 58th in 90 series meetings between the two schools The Skyhawks have assisted on over two-thirds of their field goals on the season, notching 226 assists on 334 field goals through 13 gamesThe Skyhawks have led at the half in 12 of their 13 outings to date Prior 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 have eclipsed the 80-point plateau on 19 occasions in McLaughlin's 58-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 Monday, January 16th to host Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 match-up at Merkert Gymnasium that begins at 7:30 p.m. EST.