Sophomore Jack Cole led the Skyhawks with 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. (PHOTO BY Tim Patrick) |
Second half shooting dooms Skyhawks in defensive struggle
EASTON, Mass. (January 15, 2013) –Stonehill College scored just two second half field goals and was edged by Assumption College, ranked 23rd in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, 50-48 in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Sophomore Terrance Bobb-Jones (Wilmington, Del./Delcastle Voc-Tech) led Assumption with a game-high 15 points, including the game-winning basket with 22-seconds to play to cap a comeback from 12 points down early in the second half. He made 7-of-15 shots from the field and added a game-high matching eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Grad student Kevin Donahue (Pawcatuck, Conn./Stonington) added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and five rebounds. Senior Tim Beinert (Bellerose Village, N.Y./Holy Cross) finished with ten points, seven rebounds (four offensive), three assists a blocked shot and a steal.
Sophomore Jack Cole (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) led Stonehill with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and converting 6-of-8 free-throws to go with eight rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. Senior Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) scored ten of his 11 points in the first half, adding six rebounds and two steals. Freshman Carter Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) chipped in nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, including both three-pointers, and two assists.
Stonehill was just 2-for-19 (10.5-percent) from the field in the second half, including 1-for-7 (14.3%) from three-point range, as Assumption erased a nine point (34-23) halftime deficit. The Skyhawks finished shooting 33.3% (14-42) from the field, including 6-for-15 (40%) from beyond the arc, and converted 14-of-22 (63.6%) free-throws. Assumption posted a 36-31 rebounding advantage, but Stonehill finished with an 8-7 edge in second chance points and the Skyhawks outscored the visitors 8-4 in points off turnovers.
Assumption shot slightly better at 38.9-percent (21-for-54) from the field, including 40% (12-30) in the second half, connecting on 3-of-13 (23.1%) three-pointers and converting 5-of-9 (55.6%) free-throws.
Senior Brian Hamor added 11 points, six boards and two steals. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane) |
Stonehill's lead was a game-high 12 points (35-23) after senior Adam Fazzini (Drums, Pa./Crestwood) made one of two at the free-throw line less than two minutes into the second half. Fazzini drilled a three-pointer to put the Skyhawks up 11 (38-27) three minutes into the half, but the hosts would go 12 minutes before scoring another field goal, missing their next nine shots from the field in that span.
Assumption chipped away, drawing within seven (39-32) after a Bobb-Jones layup with 15:17 to play. Neither team scored for the next four-plus minutes, before freshman Josh Heyliger (Bear, Del./The Hill School) drained two free-throws to put Stonehill back up nine (41-32) with 11:39 remaining.
Assumption scored the next seven points, sparked by a three-point play from Donahue to cut the deficit to two (41-39) after a Bobb-Jones layup with 7:19 on the clock. Cole went 5-for-6 from the line and senior Sam Markle (Branford, Conn./Saint Thomas More) broke Stonehill's shooting drought with a layup to keep the Skyhawks in front until Bobb-Jones scored a layup with 3:46 remaining and senior Ronson Quick (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) drained a three to give the Greyhounds their first lead since early in the first half (48-47) with 2:42 left.
Cole was fouled with 54-seconds left and split his two free-throws, knotting the score (48-48) for the fourth time. Assumption worked the clock and Bobb-Jones hit his go-ahead basket with 22-second remaining. Stonehill got two open looks over the final ten seconds, both three-point attempts from Hamor, but neither would fall as the Skyhawks suffered just their second home loss of the season (7-2).
After a back and forth opening three and a half minutes, Stonehill took a five point lead (12-7) on a Hamor three-pointer five minutes into the first half. Assumption closed back within a point (14-13), but Stonehill used a 13-3 run to open an 11 point bulge (27-16) with 6:43 left in the half after Smith canned a three-pointer and then split two free-throw attempts.
Assumption drew back within eight (27-19) on a layup by freshman Tim Kasper (Cologne, Germany) with 3:05 to play in the half, but Stonehill took an 11 point lead into halftime (34-23) after Cole scored a jumper with seven seconds left.
Stonehill (7-7, 3-7 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits Le Moyne College for a Northeast-10 matchup at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Saturday, January 26, to host Southern Connecticut State University at 3:30 p.m. Assumption (12-2, 9-1 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
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