Freshman Carter Smith scored a season-high 15 points to lead the Skyhawks this afternoon. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Smith leads Skyhawks with season-high 15 points 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (January 19, 2013) – Le Moyne College rallied in the final ten minutes of the second half to claim a 68-62 victory over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Ted Grant Court this afternoon.

Sophomore Nate Gause (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) led a balanced scoring effort for Le Moyne with five players in double figures with 15 points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, and converting all four free-throws to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Freshman Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) added 13 points, six assists and three boards.

Junior Jim Janson (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) contributed 11 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the field, and nine rebounds, while senior Gamal Mohamed (North Plainfield, N.J./Immaculata) posted 11 points and three boards. Senior Derrek Tartt (Chicago, Ill./Brewster Academy) rounded out the double figure scorers with ten points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Freshman Carter Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) led Stonehill with a season-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-7 from three-point range, in 27 minutes off the bench. Junior Mitch Amelio (Carlsbad, Calif./La Jolla Country Day) added a career-high matching 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, in 20 minutes off the bench. Senior Raheem May-Thompson (London, England/Towson (Md.) Catholic) rounded out the double-figure scorers off the bench for the Skyhawks with ten points, shooting 4-for-6 from the field, four assists, two rebounds, a blocked shot and steal.

Sophomore Jack Cole (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) was the lone Stonehill starter in double-figures with ten points and a game-high matching nine rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.

Junior Mitch Amelio matched his career-high with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from long distance. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Le Moyne shot 42.9-percent (24-for-56) from the field, while Stonehill finished at 42.3% (22-52). It was a tale of two halves in the shooting category with the Skyhawks hitting 48.1% (13-27) of their shots in the first half to hold a one point (34-33) halftime lead, but just 36% (9-25) in the second, while the Dolphins rebounded from 38.7% (12-31) shooting in the opening frame to convert at 48% (12-25) over the final 20 minutes.

Le Moyne hit 4-of-10 (40%) three-pointers, compared to 8-for-26 (30.8%) for Stonehill, and converted 16-21 (76.2%) free-throws. The Dolphins also posted a 40-28 rebounding advantage, resulting in a 10-2 edge for second chance points. Stonehill's bench outscored the Le Moyne reserves 39-21, with the Skyhawk starters struggling at 7-for-26 (26.9%) shooting from the field, including 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Stonehill pushed its one point (34-33) halftime lead to five (41-36) after a Smith three-pointer five and a half minutes into the second half. A Smith layup had the lead at five again (49-44) with 8:12 remaining before Le Moyne made its move. Gause sparked an 11-2 run that put the Dolphins up four (55-51) after a three-point play from Janson with 5:29 on the clock.

Stonehill drew even (55-55) as senior Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) made one of two at the free-throw line with 2:43 to play, but Le Moyne regained the lead for good and netted seven straight points to earn some breathing room (62-55) with a minute remaining, keyed by four points by Mohamed. Amelio connected with a three-pointer to pull the Skyhawks within four (62-58), but the Dolphins made all six free-throws in the final 27-seconds to seal the victory.

It was Stonehill who rallied in the first half as Le Moyne opened a seven point lead (9-2) after two Gause free-throws just over nine minutes into the contest. The Skyhawks closed back within two (11-9) after a Hamor three with 8:53 left in the half, but the Dolphins worked their lead up to ten (19-9) with 7:50 to play in the half after back-to-back baskets from Tartt.

A Gause three pushed the lead to 12 (24-12) with 5:59 remaining and then Stonehill closed out the half with a 15-4 run to take the one point halftime lead. May-Thompson scored six straight points to spark the run, while Smith capped the rally with five points, including a three-pointer with eight seconds to play in the half.

Stonehill (7-8, 3-8 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it visits American International College at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Saturday, January 26, to host Southern Connecticut State University at 3:30 p.m. Le Moyne (8-7, 5-6 NE-10) hosts UMass Lowell on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

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