2008 Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Tournament Championship
Semifinal Round
No. 5 Stonehill (18-13) at No. 1 Bentley (28-0)
Thursday, March 6, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
Dana Center, Waltham, Mass.

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How We Got Here
After finishing the regular season at 16-13, fifth-seeded Stonehill has won two contests in the 2008 Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Tournament Championship to advance to the semifinal round. The Skyhawks scored a 69-63 home win over No. 12 seed American International last Saturday before hitting the road on Monday and defeating No. 4 seed Pace, 60-47 to set up tonight's game with No. 1 seed Bentley.

Only Once Before
The Skyhawks and Bentley have only met once before in the Northeast-10 Tournament, that coming in 1989 when Stonehill registered a 116-111 win. The Falcons got their revenge later that season when they posted a 129-118 win in the NCAA Regional Consolation Game.

Crown-ing Achievement
Its been 17 years since the Skyhawks laid claim to the Northeast-10 Tournament championship crown. Stonehill actually won the first two titles behind Roland Fiore and Bob Reitz and then again in 1989 with Jon Cronin leading the way. The Purple and white advanced to the title game in 2005-06 but were upset by St. Anselm. With all that said, the Skyhawks' three titles are tied for the second most behind only the seven owned by the Hawks.

Remember When ...
The last time Stonehill advanced to the Conference semifinals was in the 2005-06 season when they defeated Bryant 67-56 behind senior Marquis Taylor's 20 points and six rebounds. The Skyhawks eventually fell to St. Anselm in the championship game but advanced to the Final Four before bowing out to NCAA Champion, Winona State (Minn.).

What's With Winona?
Ironically, Winona State, which ended the Skyhawks bid for a national championship in 2005-06, also ended the Falcons bid to hoist the trophy last season with a 64-51 win in the Elite Eight.

14 In A Row
The No. 1 ranked Falcons have won 14 straight games over the Skyhawks, including a pair of victories this season. During the winning streak, Bentley's average margin of victory is 22.7 points.

Off And Running
In the two meetings this season, Bentley has outscored the Skyhawks 144-88. In the first half alone the edge is 75-28.

Face The Nation
Stonehill has played the nation's top two teams three times this season. According to the NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, Bentley is No. 1 and Grand Valley State is No. 2. In addition to their two Conference meetings with the Falcons, the Skyhawks squared off against the Lakers in the Disney Tip-OffClassic in November. GVSU took the contest, 76-72, despite 21 points from Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia).

Regionally Speaking
Stonehill is currently ranked ninth in the most recent release of the NCAA Regional Rankings. However, those ranking don't include Monday's win over Pace because they are compiled on games through Sunday.