Men's Basketball Set To Open 2006-2007 Campaign With Exhibition Contest At Division I Rhode Island November 10th

August 18, 2006

The excitement that surrounded the Stonehill men's basketball team's run to the NCAA Division II Final Four last spring has not quelled during the off-season, as the Skyhawks will begin the 2006-2007 campaign in exciting fashion as well by facing a Division I opponent for the first time in over 20 years.

Head Coach David McLaughlin's squad will play an exhibition game on Friday, November 10th against the University of Rhode Island Rams of Head Coach Jim Baron at the Ryan Center on the URI Campus in Kingston, R.I. The two schools will meet for the first time on the hard court in nearly a quarter of a century after having played regularly during the 1970's and early 1980's, as the November match-up will be the 11th overall between Stonehill and Rhode Island in a series that has seen the Rams take the prior 10 decisions.

McLaughlin guided Stonehill to the highest single-season win total in school history last winter, as the Skyhawks claimed their first Northeast-10 Conference regular season crown in eight years and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in school history with an overall mark of 27-7. McLaughlin's group claimed their first NCAA Division II Northeast Regional title with an 89-80 triumph over UMass Lowell to advance to the "Elite Eight" at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, where Stonehill posted a 69-59 victory over Tarleton State (Tex.) in the national quarterfinals before bowing to eventual national champion Winona State (Minn.) in the Final Four. The Skyhawks return nine letterwinners and one starter from last year's squad, including senior guard Soap Toun, who will return to his home state after starring locally at Cranston (R.I.) East High School.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to play such a high quality opponent as the University of Rhode Island," McLaughlin, the 2006 Northeast-10 and National Association of Basketball Coaches Regional Coach of the Year, says of the upcoming season opener. "It's a great opportunity for our players to showcase our program against a very well-coached and highly respected team."

Rhode Island posted an even 14-14 mark in Baron's fifth season at the helm, as the Rams notched impressive victories over Big East and in-state rival Providence as well as Atlantic-10 Conference foes UMass and Temple. Like Stonehill, Rhode Island suffered significant losses to graduation, most notably first-team all-Atlantic-10 pick Dawan Robinson, but Baron will welcome back nine letterwinners, including his son Jimmy, who will enter his sophomore campaign this winter.

Ticket information for the November 10th contest will be available in the coming weeks, as a limited number of tickets will be on sale through the Stonehill Athletic Department.