Senior Randall Stallworth scored all 15 of his points in the second half to lead the Skyhawks to another comeback win. |
Stonehill Storms Past Philadelphia, 54-47
Stallworth leads Skyhawks rally from 12-point second half deficit
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (December 30, 2009) - Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, erased a 12-point deficit with 12 minutes to play in the second half in rallying for a 54-47 victory over Philadelphia University at Campus Center Gymnasium on the campus of Holy Family University this afternoon.
Senior guard Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) scored all 15 of his team-high points in the second half to lead the Stonehill comeback, adding three assists and two rebounds. The Skyhawks trailed by a game-high 12 points (41-29) with 12:48 to play when Stallworth sparked a 19-0 run over the next seven minutes with 11 points to put his team up seven (48-41) with 5:20 to play on their way to a second-straight win and ninth victory over their last ten. Stonehill is now 4-0 this season when trailing at halftime. Stallworth's 15 points moves him within 44 of becoming the 32nd 1,000-point scorer in program history at 956 career points.
Senior A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) and junior Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) both notched double-doubles for the Skyhawks. Rudowitz finished with 13 points, aided by 7-for-9 shooting from the free-throw line, ten rebounds (four offensive), two blocked shots and two steals, while Kernan added 12 points, on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, and ten boards.
Senior A.J. Rudowitz had a bounce back game with his third double-double of the season (14th career). |
Senior Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia, Pa./Solebury Prep) led Philadelphia with a game-high 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and a 4-of-5 effort at the line to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Senior Russell Frederick (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) added 11 points, six assists and two rebounds. Classmate Mike Yocum (Dresher, Pa./Episcopal Academy) chipped in with eight points, three blocked shots and four boards.
Stonehill shot a blistering 60-percent (12-for-20) from the field in the second half, to finish at 45.5-percent (20-44) for the afternoon. The Skyhawks also made 12-of-17 (70.6%) free-throw attempts and outrebounded its opponent for the 11th time in as many games this season with a 41-27 advantage, yielding just nine offensive rebounds. Philadelphia shot 33.3-percent (17-for-51) from the field (hitting the exact percentage each half), including 3-for-15 (20%) from three-point range, while converting just 10-of-19 (52.6%) free-throw attempts.
Philadelphia made just three field goals over the final 13:27 of the game. The first was an Ingram jumper with 4:07 to play that pulled the Rams back within five (48-43) after the 19-0 game clinching run for Stonehill that gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the game. Rudowitz answered with a jumper to put the Skyhawks back up seven with 2:20 left. Sophomore J.J. Gundry (McAdoo, N.J./Hazleton Area) followed with a jumper to bring the Rams within five again (50-45) with 1:54 remaining. Stallworth scored four-straight points to put Stonehill up nine (54-45) with 68-seconds left and ice the comeback win.
Philadelphia built an early seven point lead (12-5) after two Gundry free-throws with 11:30 left in the first half. Stonehill pulled back within a point (18-17) after a three-pointer by freshman Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) with 5:08 left in the half. The Rams extended its lead back to seven (24-17) after a free-throw by Frederick with 1:54 left, before settling for a three-point halftime advantage.
Philadelphia used an 11-2 run to open the largest lead of the game by either team at 12 points (41-29) after two Yocum free-throws, leading up to Stonehill's winning run. Frederick sparked the run with a three-pointer.
Stonehill (9-2, 6-0 NE-10) returns home this Saturday when it resumes its Northeast-10 schedule against the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Merkert Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m. Philadelphia (9-6, 2-1 CACC) is off until Saturday, January 9, when it hosts Felician College at 4 p.m.
