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Vince Rosario connected on six three-pointers for a career-high 22 points in an 84-81 win over Merrimack. |
North Andover, Mass. - Stonehill started the game on fire, scoring 33 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to open up an early 23 point lead before settling for an 84-81 win over host Merrimack on Thursday evening at Volpe Gymnasium.
The backcourt duo of junior Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) and freshman Vince Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J.) combined to score 46 points and connect on nine of their 20 three-point attempts.
It was Hall, however, who delivered the key points in crunch time, just as he did in Saturday's double-overtime win against St. Michael's.
After their 19-point halftime lead was erased following an 8-0 run by Merrimack to tie the score at 79-79, Hall drained a rightside triple and then answered a Darren Duncan jumper with two free throws of his own to give Stonehill a three point lead. Duncan's desperation triple try at the buzzer fell short and the Skyhawks earned their sixth straight victory.
Early on it was all Stonehill, as they finished the first half with a season-high 53 points behind 54 percent shooting from the field while holding the Warriors to just 35 percent.
For the game, the Skyhawks made 50 percent from the field and connected on 14 of their 33 three-point attempts.
Hall led all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds, while Rosario made six threes and recorded a career-best 22 points and four rebounds. A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.), who went 5-for-5 from the field in the first half, finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va.) had an excellent all-around performance, collecting seven points, a game-high nine rebounds, while handing out a team-best five assists.
Both Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) and Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) added nine points for the Skyhawks, who improved to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in Northeast-10 play.
Duncan led the Warriors with 20 points and nine assists, while Darin Mency added 18 in 37 minutes.
Stonehill returns to action on Wednesday when they host American International at 7:30 p.m. at Merkert Gymnasium.