Twitty led the Skyhawks with 18 points and cracked the program's top 25 on the all-time scoring list (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Skyhawks sew up NE10 first round bye as Twitty leads balanced Skyhawks with 18 points
COLCHESTER, Vt. (February 19, 2020) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 6 in the first NCAA Division II East Region ranking of the season released earlier today, clinched a first round bye for the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Tournament with a 73-56 road triumph over Saint Michael's College in NE10 men's basketball action inside the Ross Sports Center tonight.
Stonehill, which will be competing in the NE10 Tournament for the 33rd time in program history starting next week, locked up a first round bye with its win tonight and has the inside track to home court advantage for the NE10 Quarterfinals. The Skyhawks keep pace, a half game behind, first place Saint Anselm College with one game to play in search of at least a share of the NE10 Northeast Division title and take a game and a half lead (one game in the loss column) over third place Franklin Pierce University, who dropped a 68-64 decision to Saint Anselm tonight. It marks the first time Stonehill has earned a first round bye for the NE10 Tournament since 2016, when it was seeded third in the Northeast Division.
Leaders
Stonehill
Brandon Twitty Senior, Guard: Game-high 18 points (4-for-9, 3-for-5 threes, 7-for-10 FTs), three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Will Moreton Senior, Guard: 13 points, including nine in the first half, seven rebounds, three steals.
Monty Urmilevicius Junior, Forward: 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Saint Michael's
Jalen Gorham Freshman, Forward: 17 points (6-for-8, 2-for-3 threes, 3-for-5 FTs), six rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench.
Kasai Brown Freshman, Forward: 13 points, all in the second half, three rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and three steals.
Eli DiGrande Senior, Forward: Nine points, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Urmilevicius added 12 points and nine rebounds (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
How it Happened
- Stonehill never trailed, grabbing control of the game with a 20-3 run to close out the first half, holding Saint Michael's without a field goal and just three free-throws over the final 12 minutes of the frame.
- Stonehill held Saint Michael's to 21.7-percent shooting in the first half (5-for-23), while connecting on 10-of-31 shots (32.3%), as the Skyhawks took advantage of ten first half turnovers by the Purple Knights with an 11-1 advantage in points off.
- Twitty buried a three-pointer to break a 12-12 deadlock with 12:14 remaining. Moreton scored six points during the closing run in the half, while Twitty also added a conventional three-point play in the run.
- Saint Michael's trimmed its deficit to nine on two occasions in the opening five minutes of the second half after a Brown jumper (35-26) and three-pointer by senior Jordan Guzman after a Twitty triple.
- Saint Michael's would get no closer, with Stonehill restoring a 14-point cushion (43-29) on five-straight points from junior Owen de Graaf on its way to a 17-point lead (48-31) after a Moreton tip-in with 12:39 remaining.
- Saint Michael's wouldn't get back within double-figures the rest of the way with Stonehill leading by as much as 18 six times down the stretch.
Noteworthy
- Twitty moves into 25th place on Stonehill's all-time scoring list with his 18 points tonight giving him 1,195 points in 102 career games, moving past Randall Stallworth, '10 (1,180) and Kyle Quimby, '03 (1,185) on the program's career scoring list.
- Stonehill collects just its sixth road win with the victory tonight.
Up Next
Stonehill (16-10, 12-6 NE10) closes out its regular season schedule on Saturday, when it hosts Southern New Hampshire University for a Senior Day matchup at Merkert Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m. Saint Michael's (7-17, 4-13 NE10) hosts Saint Anselm College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
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