Northeast No. 2 Skyhawks and Southwest No. 3 Owls to open NE10 Tournament for second-straight year
BROCKTON ENTERPRISE: "Stonehill basketball teams host NE10 Tournament games Sunday afternoon"
NE10 Men's Basketball Seedings Announcement
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament Central
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament History
Moreton ranks in the top five all-time in scoring in program history and leads the Skyhawks in points, rebounds, assists and steals (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
EASTON, Mass. (February 28, 2020) – Stonehill College and Southern Connecticut State University will square off in the Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tournament for the second-straight year, this time at Merkert Gymnasium in the quarterfinal round on Sunday at 4 p.m. The game is the second of two NE10 Quarterfinals at Merkert Gym on Sunday as the Northeast Division top seed Stonehill women will open its NE10 Tournament at 2 p.m.
Admission for Sunday's NE10 Quarterfinal doubleheader at Merkert Gymnasium will be $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for children ages 12-18 and senior citizens (65+), and $2.00 for students from participating institutions with their college ID, with children under 12 admitted free. Stonehill students will also be admitted free courtesy of the Stonehill Spirit Committee with their HillCard. SkyhawksVision coverage on NE10 NOW with Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley is available via portal.stretchinternet.com/stonehill/ with links for the game and live stats at stonehillskyhawks.com. In addition to watching online, NE10 NOW viewers will also be able to watch the action live on their televisions through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
Stonehill (17-10, 13-6 NE10), ranked No. 6 in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, is seeded No. 2 in the NE10's Northeast Division, finishing just a game behind division champions Saint Anselm College (18-8, 14-5 NE10) in the regular season standings. The Skyhawks are in the NE10 Tournament for the third-straight year and 33rd time in program history, ranking third in Conference history behind only Saint Anselm (37) and Bentley University (38). Stonehill has earned a first round bye for the first time since 2016 and will host an NE10 Tournament game for the first time since an 85-74 win over Adelphi University in the first round in 2018. The Skyhawks last hosted an NE10 Quarterfinal with an 85-66 triumph over Merrimack College on their way to the 2012 NE10 Championship. Stonehill seeks its fifth NE10 title in program history, with its last championship in 2012.
Southern Connecticut State (16-10, 11-8 NE10), the No. 3 seed from the NE10's Southwest Division, is in the NE10 Tournament for the 11th time since joining the Conference prior to the 2000-01 season. The Owls won the NE10 Championship in 2014 with a 73-71 triumph over crosstown rival University of New Haven. Southern aims to reach the NE10 semifinals for the second-straight year and third time overall as an NE10 member, having followed up its first round win over Stonehill last year with a 97-87 triumph over Northeast top-seed Saint Anselm in the quarterfinals.
Twitty has also scored over 1000 points in his career and shares the team lead in steals (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
The winner of Sunday's game advances to the NE10 Semifinal round to face the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal between Southwest top-seed Le Moyne College (19-8, 15-4 NE10) and the winner of a Friday first round clash between Northeast No. 4 Bentley University (17-11, 9-10 NE10) and Southwest No. 5 University of New Haven (12-14, 10-9 NE10) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The NE10 Championship is slated for next Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m. All NE10 Tournament games are hosted by the higher seeds. In the event of two identical divisional seeds being paired, the team with the best NE10 record will host, followed by the head-to-head winner.
Sunday marks the 66th meeting all-time between these two programs and the second in postseason play. Stonehill holds a 38-27 advantage in the all-time series, having won four of the last seven encounters, including a 67-59 triumph in the regular season meeting between the two in New Haven, Connecticut, on January 25. It marks the second-straight year the two programs have met in the NE10 Tournament, with Southern Connecticut State notching an 80-75 triumph in the first round in New Haven last March.
Stonehill held Southern to 36.8-percent shooting from the floor in the regular season meeting between the two in January. Junior Owen Chose scored 13 of his team-high 19 points for Stonehill in the second half, connecting on 5-of-7 three-pointers, to go with four rebounds, an assist and steal. Junior Greg Jones, a transfer from James Madison University, erupted for 31 points for the Owls, including 19 after halftime, on 12-of-20 shooting, including 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, eight rebounds and two assists. The Skyhawks led by as much as 16 points early in the second half and were still in front by 15 with six minutes to play, before Southern rallied with ten-straight points to close the gap to five (59-44) with six minutes remaining. The Owls drew within four with 24-seconds left, but Stonehill sealed the win with six free-throws from there.
Southwest No. 4 Southern Connecticut State overcame a double-figure first half deficit to record an 80-75 triumph over Northeast No. 5 Stonehill in last year's NE10 Tournament encounter in New Haven. Kealen Ives scored 20 of his game-high 37 points in the first half to lead the Owls, connecting on 6-of-11 three-pointers, with seven assists. C.J. Seaforth scored all 16 of his points in the second half comeback. Brandon Twitty led four from Stonehill in double-figures with 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half, hitting all six of his shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Chose was the Skyhawks top scorer against Southern in the regular season win in New Haven and is among three double-figure scorers for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Stonehill enters the postseason winners of three straight and seven of nine after a playoff-like 78-75 triumph over Southern New Hampshire University on Senior Day at Merkert Gym on Saturday. The Skyhawks rank third in the NE10 for scoring defense, allowing 71.0 points per game, while ranking tenth for field goal percentage defense (.447) and fourth for three-point percentage defense (.349). Stonehill is the top three-point shooting team in the NE10, connecting at 41.6-percent, that also ranks seventh nationally in Division II, ranking sixth in field goal percentage (.457), fifth in free-throw percentage (.767) and 11th in scoring offense (74.4ppg). The team is also fourth in the Conference for rebound margin (+2.6 per game).
Stonehill's three seniors lead the way with Moreton, a two-time All-NE10 selection and D2EastHoops.org East Region Team of the Decade member, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals for the second-straight year. He has started all 112 games of his collegiate career and is averaging 18.9 points (6th NE10) on 44.7-percent shooting, including 43.7% (73-for-167) from three-point distance (4th), and converting 75.4% (101-134) of his free-throws to go with 8.9 rebounds (5th), 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocked shots per game. Moreton leads the NE10 and ranks fifth nationally with his 7.9 defensive rebounds, while ranking second in the Conference with 12 double-doubles (19th nationally) and sixth with 2.7 three-point field goals per game.
Twitty adds 13.8 points per game on 41.9-percent shooting, including 40% (50-for-125) from three, converting 82.9% (58-70) of his free-throws with 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.6 minutes per game. Senior Michael Boen, a member of Stonehill's 2016 Elite Eight team, contributes 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a steal per game, with 5.0 points in 24.5 minutes per game to round out the senior leadership on the team
Chose rounds out Stonehill's double-figure scorers with 13.6 points on 46-percent shooting, including 43.9% (61-for-139) from three, converting 89.3% (67-75) of his free-throws, with 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Sophomore Andrew Sims and junior Monty Urmilevicius, a transfer from Bryant University, add support for the Skyhawks. Sims is averaging 8.2 points on 45.4% shooting, with 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists, while Urmilevicius chips in 8.1 points on 52.4% shooting, 4.7 boards and 1.6 assists per contest.
Southern has also won three straight and six of nine since its loss to Stonehill in late January, finishing the regular season with a 94-78 win at Adelphi on Tuesday. The Owls are fifth in the NE10 for scoring defense (73.8 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.440), third for three-point percentage defense (.349) and rebound margin (+3.5/gm). Southern scores 76 points per game (8th NE10), ranking 12th in field goal percentage (.440) and 12th in three-point percentage (.326).
Senior Taurus Adams II, the reigning NE10 Player of the Week, leads six from Southern in double-figures with 16.1 points (11th NE10) on 54.5-percent shooting (3rd), including 32.7% (17-for-52) from three-point distance, converting 70.1% (47-67) of his free-throws with 9.2 rebounds (3rd), and a steal per game. Jones adds 13.9 points on 48.4% shooting (14th), including 32.9% (25-76) from deep, converting an NE10-best 91.2% (62-68) of his free-throws (9th nationally), with 7.7 rebounds (8th NE10), 1.6 assists, 1.3 blocks (5th) and a steal per game.
Seaforth is contributing 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per contest (10th NE10), while freshman Lyron Bennett, the reigning NE10 Rookie of the Week, is adding 10.8 points on 45.5% shooting, including 39.3% (24-61) from three, converting 78.3% (36-46) of his free-throws, with 5.4 boards, 4.0 assists (8th) and 1.1 steals per contest.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
2020 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Basketball Championships
Friday, February 28
First Round
Game 1: SW#5 New Haven (12-14, 10-9 NE10) at NE#4 Bentley (17-11, 9-10 NE10), 5 p.m.
Game 2: NE#5 Southern N.H. (16-11, 9-10 NE10) at SW#4 Pace (18-10, 10-9 NE10), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 1
Quarterfinals
Game 3: Game 1 winner at SW#1 Le Moyne (19-8, 15-4 NE10), 4 p.m.
Game 4: Game 2 winner at NE#1 Saint Anselm (18-8, 14-5 NE10), 4 p.m.
Game 5: NE#3 Franklin Pierce (15-11, 10-9 NE10) at SW#2 Adelphi (18-10, 11-8 NE10), 4 p.m.
Game 6: SW#3 Southern Conn. State (16-10, 11-8 NE10) at NE#2 Stonehill (17-10, 13-6 NE10), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 4
Semifinals (hosted by higher seeds)
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 7
Championship (at highest remaining seed*)
Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 1 p.m.
* - if same seed, site determined by overall NE10 record and then winner of regular-season matchup
