Gardner double-double leads Purple Knights to comeback win

Sims totaled 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

EASTON, Mass. (February 16, 2022) – Saint Michael's College erased a 16-point deficit with less than 13 minutes to play in recording a 70-66 victory over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium tonight. 

Leaders

Stonehill
Owen Chose Fifth-year, Guard: 17 points (6-for-18), 2 rebounds.
Andrew Sims Senior, Forward: 16 points (6-for-12), 4 rebounds (three offensive), two assists, blocked shot.
Isaiah Burnett Senior, Guard: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocked shots.
Christopher Melis Freshman, Forward: 10 rebounds, 6 points, 3 assists, 2 blocks. 

Saint Michael's
Patrick Gardner Senior, Forward: Double-double of 27 points (11-for-19), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, steal, blocked shot.
Jacob Duniver Freshman, Forward: 13 points (4-for-7, 2-for-4 threes, 3-for-4 FTs), 8 rebounds.
Nic Button Freshman, Guard: 12 points (4-for-9, 3-for-5 threes), 4 assists, 2 steals. 

How it Happened

• Saint Michael's shot 60.7-percent (17-for-28) from the field in the second half to fuel a comeback from a 16-point deficit over the final 14-minutes of the game.
• Stonehill finished the first half with a 12-4 run, led by four points from senior Josh Mack, to take an 11-point halftime lead (32-21).
• Button knocked down a three-pointer to open the second half, but Stonehill quickly restored its double-digit lead and stretched it out to 16 (47-31) after a Chose three-pointer with 13:39 to play.
• The Skyhawks lead was still 16 (49-33) with 12:23 remaining, when Saint Michael's used a 12-4 push to cut the lead in half (53-45) after a Duniver layup with 7:32 left.

• Chose added 17 points in his senior night game (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

  Stonehill restored its double-digit lead (57-47) after a Chose three-pointer with 5:53 to go, but Saint Michael's closed to within two (58-56) after Gardner followed a Duniver three-pointer with six-straight points a minute later.
• Duniver drilled a three-pointer to pull Saint Michael's even (62-62) for the first time with three minutes left.
• The teams traded baskets before Button drilled a three with 70-seconds left to push the Purple Knights in front (67-64).
• Chose pulled Stonehill back within one (67-66) with 49-seconds to play, but Saint Michael's scored the final three points of the game to clinch the win.
• Gardner, who scored 19 points in the second half alone, scored a turnaround jumper with 20-seconds to go and then had a key blocked shot at the other end before sealing the win by splitting two free-throw attempts with six seconds to go.

Noteworthy

• Stonehill honored its three seniors and families in a pregame ceremony tonight with Chose and seniors Myles Hanson and Jack Schwietz playing their final regular season home game.
• Chose scored in double-figures for the eighth-straight game and 17^th time this season overall (64^th career), finishing with 14 points in the second half.
• Chose moved into 20^th place on Stonehill's career scoring list with 1,309 points in 102 career games played, while moving into fourth all-time with 244 career three-pointers.
• Sims reached double-figures in scoring for the 17^th game (28^th career).

Up Next

Stonehill (13-11, 9-9 NE10) closes out its regular season schedule on Saturday at Southern New Hampshire University at 3:30 p.m. Saint Michael's (8-15, 5-12 NE10) visits Saint Anselm College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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