Men's Basketball Looks To Extend Winning Streak To Five Straight Monday Evening As Skyhawks Head To UMass Lowell For Non-League Pre-Holiday "Battle Of The Birds"

December 11, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

7:00 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill looks to continue its best start in eight years this evening as the Skyhawks close out their pre-Christmas schedule by taking on the UMass Lowell River Hawks in a non-conference match-up. Stonehill, winners of four straight and six of its first seven for the first time since the NCAA Sweet Sixteen campaign of 1997-98, enters tonight's action after posting a 63-51 Northeast-10 Conference victory over 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium, as senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) led four players in double figures with a career-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) added a double-double effort of 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Skyhawks, which also received 12 points, six rebounds and three steals from senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) as well as 12 points and three assists from junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin). Senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) dished off six assists in the win for Stonehill, which picked up its third straight triumph over the Bulldogs dating back to last season. UMass Lowell brings a six-game winning streak into tonight's action, as the River Hawks posted a 74-69 Northeast-10 triumph over Southern New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon here at Costello Gymnasium.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) was named last Monday as the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for his efforts in a pair of Stonehill victories last week. Taylor averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in recording a pair of double-double performances on the week for the Skyhawks, including 23 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in a 65-61 victory at Saint Anselm as well as 22 points and 11 boards in a 78-64 triumph over LeMoyne. Taylor, who earned the league honor for the second time in his career, shot 52 percent (13-25) from the field and 73 percent (16-22) from the foul line for the week.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) was named last Monday as the Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Week for his efforts in a pair of Stonehill triumphs last week. Smith averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in taking the top rookie honor for the first time in his career, including a career-high 12 points and three rebounds in a 65-61 victory at Saint Anselm to go with nine points and eight boards in a 78-64 triumph over LeMoyne. Smith shot 64 percent (7-11) from the field and canned four three-pointers.

LAST SEASON: Stonehill dropped both meetings with UMass Lowell during the 2004-2005 season, as the River Hawks posted a 77-72 non-league victory over the Skyhawks on December 14, 2004 at Merkert Gymnasium before notching a 61-56 Northeast-10 triumph on February 8, 2005, also at Merkert Gymnasium. Dezmond Morgan netted 20 points in the December non-conference match-up, while Marquis Taylor scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the February league contest for Stonehill.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and UMass Lowell are meeting for the 26th time this evening, and the River Hawks hold a 14-11 lead over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 16.1 ppg and 8.6 caroms per contest, while Nelson follows at 14.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg. Clarke is next at 11.6 ppg, while Kraus follows at 10.7 ppg and averages 5.6 assists per contest for the Skyhawks.

THE RIVER HAWKS: Senior Stacey Moragne leads UMass Lowell in both scoring and rebounding at 20.1 ppg and 7.3 caroms per contest, while senior Brandon Arnette follows at 13.3 ppg. Senior Carl Benn is also in double figures for the River Hawks at 12 ppg.

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 31-21 (.596) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone, Josh Meyer and Mike Harding, is 0-3 during his career against UMass Lowell.

HEAD COACH KEN BARER: Ken Barer is in his fifth season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. A 1988 graduate of George Washington, Barer has compiled an overall mark of 101-31 (.765) during his tenure with the River Hawks, and he is assisted by Marc Kuntz and Will Seward. Barer is 7-0 during his career against Stonehill.

FAST START: Stonehill's 6-1 start marks the first time that the Skyhawks have won six of their first seven outings since the NCAA Sweet Sixteen season of 1997-98.

BIG D-MAC ATTACK: After winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has posted a 26-9 (.743) mark in its last 35 contests under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November of last year.

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.

SOLID LINE OF DEFENSE: Lauricella is making a case as an early candidate for Northeast-10 Player of the Year honors, as he has held three of the Northeast-10's top scorers in Bentley's Tim Forbes, Saint Anselm's Matt Cahill and Bryant's John Williams to a combined 5-of-31 shooting effort from the field this season and ranks second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

SKYHAWK TALK: Taylor is closing in on the 1,000 point plateau in his career, as he stands 91 points shy of becoming the 30th member of the Skyhawk 1,000 Point ClubThe Skyhawks have assisted on over two-thirds of their field goals on the season, notching 121 assists on 180 field goals through seven gamesNelson has averaged 20 points in Stonehill's last two contests against LeMoyne and BryantThe Skyhawks have led at the half in six of their seven outings to dateStonehill has won two straight at Saint Anselm's Stoutenburgh Gymnasium after a six-year winless drought in that buildingPrior 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 17 occasions in McLaughlin's 52-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 will be idle until Wednesday, December 28th when the Skyhawks entertain Dowling in a non-league match-up at Merkert Gymnasium that tips-off at 5:00 p.m. EST.