Twitty leads Skyhawks three double-figure scorers with 20 points

Twitty paced the Skyhawks with 20 points to move into the top 30 on Stonehill's all-time scoring list (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix)

EASTON, Mass. (January 28, 2020) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 10 in the D2SIDA East Region poll, closed out a 72-56 victory over American International College with a late run in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium. 

Leaders

Stonehill

Brandon Twitty Senior, Guard: 20 points (6-for-12, 6-for-6 FTs), two rebounds, four steals and an assist.

Will Moreton Senior, Guard: 16 points (5-for-12, 4-for-9 threes), including ten in the first half, eight rebounds, two assists.

Owen Chose Junior, Guard: 12 points, including ten in the first half, and two assists.

Andrew Sims Sophomore, Forward: Eight points (4-for-9), five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

American International

Zekiah Owens Senior, Guard: 18 points (8-for-13), including 12 in the first half, eight rebounds, an assist and blocked shot.

Branislav Terzic Sophomore, Guard: 13 points (4-for-9, 4-for-4 FTs), six rebounds.

Xion Golding Junior, Guard: Seven points and four rebounds.

How it Happened

• Moreton added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix)

  Stonehill built a 16-point lead (29-13) with 6:38 remaining in the first half, held off an American International rally to within a point (39-38) three minutes into the second half and broke the game open with a 10-0 run late in the second half to secure its second-straight win.
• Stonehill jumped out to a quick nine-point lead (13-4) after a Twitty three-pointer less than five minutes into the game.
• AIC was back within five (18-13) after two free-throws from freshman Jalen Jordan midway through the opening half, but Stonehill reeled off 11-straight points to grab its 16-point cushion (29-13) after two Moreton free-throws with 6:38 left. Moreton also sparked the run with a three-pointer, while Sims added four points as well.
• AIC outscored Stonehill 18-8 over the remainder of the half to close the gap to six (37-31) at halftime, led by seven points from junior Shyheim Hicks.
• The Yellow Jackets continued their push into the second half, opening with a 7-2 spurt over the first three minutes to close back within a point (39-38) after three-straight points from junior Jordan Vidal.
  
• After scoring four points over the following four minutes, Stonehill responded to the AIC run with a 10-2 run that spanned six minutes in all to reclaim a nine point lead (49-40) midway through the half when Moreton sandwiched a dunk from Golding with a pair of three-pointers.
• AIC was still within nine (59-50) following two free-throws from Terzic, but Stonehill was able to close the win out from there by scoring the next ten points, including five points from Twitty, and open a 19-point lead (69-50) after two free-throws from senior Michael Boen with two minutes to play.

Noteworthy

• Stonehill's win, coupled with Bentley's 81-78 loss at Le Moyne, has moved the Skyhawks into a tie for first place in the NE10's Northeast Division with seven games to play, with both teams a half-game ahead of idle Franklin Pierce.
• Twitty's 20 points are one point shy of his season-best and marks his sixth 20-point outing of the season (16^th career).
• Twitty moved into 29^th on Stonehill's career scoring list with his 1,109 points, passing Henry Jackson, '73 (1,090) and Derrik Jerman, '93 (1,098) on the all-time scoring list tonight and crack the top 30.
• Stonehill has held its opponent under 60 points in each of its last three wins.

Up Next

Stonehill (12-8, 8-4 NE10) hits the road on Saturday to close out the cross-divisional portion of its NE10 schedule at The College of Saint Rose at 3:30 p.m. The Skyhawks are back at Merkert Gym next Wednesday, February 5, to host rival Bentley University at 7:30 p.m. American International (6-15, 3-9 NE10) visits Saint Michael's College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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