Moreton returns for his senior year after earning All-NE10 second team honors two straight seasons (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Skyhawks picked second in Northeast Division by NE10 coaches
NE10 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
EASTON, Mass. (October 16, 2019) – The Stonehill College men's basketball team expects to be in the mix in the Northeast-10 Conference as the league released its preseason coaches' poll today.
Stonehill is ranked No. 2 in the NE10's Northeast Division by the Conference's 14 head coaches, receiving five first place votes and 72 points, matching the first place votes received by preseason No. 1 Saint Anselm College (78 points), who reached the NCAA Division II National Semifinals last winter. Bentley University (62) is picked third, with one first place vote, while Franklin Pierce University (60) collected the remaining three first place votes for fourth in the Division, tied with Southern New Hampshire University (60). Assumption College (33) and Saint Michael's College (20) rounds out the Northeast Division preseason poll.
The University of New Haven (91) is are overwhelming favorite to win the NE10's Southwest Division with 13 of the 14 first place votes. Adelphi University (69) collected the remaining first place vote and is ranked second, followed by Southern Connecticut State University (61), Pace University (53), Le Moyne College (51), The College of Saint Rose (36) and American International College (24).
Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus, '06 returns 12 letterwinners and four starters from the 2018-19 team that went 14-15 overall, including 8-13 in the NE10 to finish tied for fifth in the Northeast Division standings. The Skyhawks will boast an upper-class laden team that added two Division I transfers and one redshirt in the offseason. Seniors Will Moreton, Brandon Twitty and Michael Boen lead the list of returnees, which also includes junior returning starter Owen Chose .
Twittty returns for his senior year looking within reach of career milestones (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Moreton, a two-time All-NE10 second team selection, is coming off a summer in which he played for USA Basketball East Coast, touring and competing in Greece in June. He enters his senior year ranked 20th in program history with 1,294 career points after becoming the program's 40th 1,000-point scorer last season. Moreton also ranks fifth in program history with 188 career three-pointers, having scored in double-figures in 65 of his 85 career games played, with 19 20-plus point games, including a career-high 40 points in a win over Franklin Pierce in February. He has started all 85 games of his collegiate career and led the Skyhawks with 18.2 points last season (8th NE10) on 43.8-percent shooting, including 36% (67-for-186) from three-point distance, and converting 78.9% (90-114) of his free-throws, while also leading the team with 8.4 rebounds (2nd), 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.2 minutes per game.
Twitty, an honorable mention All-NE10 selection as a sophomore, was on his way to All-NE10 honors last season before having his season interrupted to injury. He started 16 of his 20 games played last year, averaging 14.3 points on 51-percent shooting, including 45.3% (53-117) from three-point distance (2nd NE10), converting 77.8% (28-36) of his free-throws, with 1.9 assists and nearly a steal per game. Twitty enters his senior year 153 points shy of becoming the program's 41st 1,000-point scorer and his 141 career three-pointers are just six shy of the all-time top ten list.
Chose enjoyed a breakout sophomore season for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Boen started 21 of 29 games last year, contributing 7.9 points per game on 50.7% shooting, with 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a steal in 26.4 minutes per game. Chose had a breakout year for Stonehill last season, finishing with 12.6 points per game on 44.8% shooting, including 37.4% (67-179) from three-point range, connecting on 83% (39-47) of his free throws.
Juniors Alex Bradley, Chris Willis, Johnny Stretesky and Owen de Graaf are returning letterwinners who will provide valuable depth this season. Sophomores Connor Walsh, Josh Mack, Adam Freese and Andrew Sims aim to build off valuable experience gained during their freshman seasons, posting a combined 14 starts over the course of the season.
Sophomore Shamir Johnson joins the mix for Stonehill after sitting out his freshman season. The Skyhawks roster features no true freshman, but they welcome Division I transfers in junior Monty Urmilevicius, who appeared in 33 games with eight starts over two seasons at Bryant University, while sophomore Isaiah Burnett averaged ten minutes per game over 25 appearances at the United State Naval Academy) last season.
Stonehill will make its first appearance of the 2019-20 season on Saturday, when it takes on 2019 Stonehill Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Ed Cooley, '94 and his Providence College squad for an exhibition game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence at 3 p.m. Tickets and registration are now open for a pregame reception at the Budweiser Bar & Grill at stonehillskyhawks.com
Stonehill opens its regular season schedule on Saturday, November 9, when it faces University of District of Columbia at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, at 5 p.m. The Skyhawks first home game is Saturday, November 23, when they host Saint Michael's for an NE10 matchup at Merkert Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m. Also highlighting Stonehill's schedule is a weekend trip to Moreton and Chose's home state of Minnesota to participate in the American Family Insurance Classic, hosted by University of Minnesota-Duluth, where the Skyhawks will face Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday, November 15, at 6 p.m. (ET) and host Minnesota-Duluth on November 16 at 6 p.m. (ET).
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