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Freshman Vince Rosario had 10 points in the 77-59 loss at St. Rose. |
Albany, N.Y. - The College of Saint Rose came
through with its strongest defensive outing of the season, limiting
Stonehill to 36.5 percent shooting (19-for-52) to take a convincing
77-59 victory over the Skyhawks in a Northeast-10 Conference game
at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium on Thursday.
The Golden Knights had four players in double-figures behind
senior guard Will Monica's 17 points via 5-of-7 shooting from
beyond the arc. Senior forward Shanty Robinson put together a solid
all-around performance, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds,
six assists and three steals; while senior guard Steve Dagostino
added 12 points.
Finally, freshman guard Ben Johnson contributed 11 points after
knocking down all three shots he took from long distance.
Junior forward Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) led all
scorers with 23 points to go with six rebounds, while freshman
guard Vince Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J.) tossed in
10 points in 25 minutes of reserve action.
Saint Rose never trailed after Monica and Johnson buried
back-to-back 3-pointers to start the game. Junior forward Evan Lane
tipped in a miss by Robinson, which preceded a layup by Monica to
give the Golden Knights a 10-0 advantage just three minutes in.
The Skyhawks rattled off a 9-2 run as Smith converted three of the
four shots he took during the stretch to cut the deficit to five at
14-9. Saint Rose had an answer however, quickly building a
double-digit advantage on a three by Monica and a layup from
Dagostino. That advantage ballooned to as many as 17, 43-26, with
1:12 remaining, but Stonehill converted four straight free throws
to make it a 43-30 ballgame at halftime.
The Golden Knights left no doubt by burying six of their first
seven shots of the second stanza and causing the Skyhawks to turn
the ball over three times in the opening six minutes to build a
commanding 58-37 advantage.
Now 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the Northeast-10 the Skyhawks face the
daunting task of taking on No. 1 Bentley on the road on Saturday.