Moreton has scored in double-figures in nine of the Skyhawks ten games, leading the team with 16.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
The Skyhawks have won five of their last seven games with two victories over nationally ranked Division 2 teams.
BY Jim Fenton
BROCKTON ENTERPRISE
The Stonehill College men's basketball team opened the season last month in frustrating fashion with three consecutive losses by a combined 11 points.
Since then, however, the Skyhawks have won five of the past seven games with two of those victories coming over nationally ranked Division 2 opponents.
Stonehill (5-5, 4-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference) has reached the 20-day semester break riding a three-game winning streak.
The Skyhawks knocked off Saint Thomas Aquinas, which was ranked No. 22, on Nov. 26, 75-73, then stunned 18th-ranked Southern New Hampshire, 107-98, last Saturday.
"We're trending in the right direction,″ said coach Chris Kraus, whose team is idle until Dec. 30. "It definitely should give our group confidence. It shows how good we can be if we play with energy and passion.
"It was obviously two phenomenal wins against two very good teams. But I think our group has a feeling they can be pretty good as well.″
Twitty has a string of four-straight double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 32 at Assumption. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Stonehill ended Southern New Hampshire's 21-game home winning streak that dated to February 2016. The Skyhawks also scored the most points against the Penmen (9-1) since Keene State posted 108 in 1992.
Through 10 games, Stonehill leads the NE-10 in 3-point shooting (41.1 percent) and is second in field-goal percentage (49.5) while averaging 82.3 points.
"I know we've got a lot of guys who can shoot the basketball, a lot of guys who can do multiple things on the offensive end,″ said Kraus. "We're capable of shooting really high percentages. We're capable of putting up good numbers.″
Sophomores Will Moreton (16.7) and Brandon Twitty of Randolph (16.1 points) lead the way followed by KJ Lee (10.8) while three others are scoring at least 8.4 points per game.
In the opening three losses in November, Stonehill could not hold a 14-point second half lead and lost in overtime to Dominican, was overtaken by Bloomfield after building an seven-point lead late in the second half and lost by three at Bentley University.
"We saw spurts and we saw moments of what this group has the potential to be,″ said Kraus. "The first two games were within our grasp and weren't able to seal them away.
"We weren't ready to win yet. We weren't ready to compete for 40 minutes. We've got a lot to work on, a lot of room for growth, but it's been good to see our guys really starting to learn and understand where we can be successful on the floor and in 40 minutes.″
Stonehill next plays Dec. 30 when it travels to Bridgeport, ranked No. 1 in the East Region, followed by a New Year's Eve game at LIU Post.
The next home game is Jan. 3 against American International College when the NE-10 schedule resumes.
"You'd like to keep playing and keep the momentum going, but you've got to deal with the cards that are dealt,″ said Kraus.
"I'm definitely excited about our potential. The biggest focus for us is just to continue learning each day and just to understand the reasons why we're doing what we're doing. If they do, we definitely have the potential to win a lot more games and potentially do some things.″
