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The Game
Stonehill College closes out its first semester of play with a trip Midwest to face a pair of Missoury Valley Conference members leading into a brief holiday break before opening its inaugural Northeast Conference slate as the Skyhawks visit Bradley University on Monday night and then Valparaiso Univeristy on Tuesday afternoon. The Skyhawks are coming off a tough 63-56 setback at Boston College on Tuesday night, while Bradley had a four game winning streak halted at No. 11 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.

Media Information
Both games at Bradley and Valparaiso will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Brian Bedo (play-by-play) and Matt McClain (analyst) have the call on Monday night at Bradley. ESPN+ broadcasts are accessible on a subscription basis through the ESPN App on computers, smartphones, tablets and most major streaming devices, as well as through ESPN.com. Monday night's game at Bradley will also be broadcast via 1470 & 100.3 WMBD with a free audio link via www.1470wmbd.com with Dave Snell and Chad Kleine calling the action.

Last Time Out
Boston College rode an 18-point run late in the first half to secure a 63-56 victory over Stonehill at Silvio O. Conte Forum Tuesday night. Postgrad forward CJ Penha, Jr. and sophomore guard Jaeden Zackery combined for 31 points to lead Boston College, which snapped a four-game slide with the win. Zackery scored a team-high 16 points, including 11 in the first half, on 6-of-15 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three-point distance, with three rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Penha Jr., scored ten of his 15 points off the bench during a key first half run that the Eagles were able to ride to the win, finishing 5-of-9 shooting with two rebounds and two steals. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) powered Stonehill by scoring 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as he finished 7-for-14 shooting, while converting 5-of-8 free-throws, to go with five rebounds. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point distance, with three rebounds, while fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) chipped in seven points, five boards, two assists and a steal.

Against the Braves and Beacons
Stonehill will be facing both Bradley and Valparaiso for the first time in program history this week.
 
In The Valley
Stonehill has faced one other member of The Valley Conference prior to its Midwest trip this week. The Skyhawks were dealt a 77-71 setback by the University of Illinois-Chicago on the second day of the Tom Konchalski Classic, hosted by Fordham University in New York City, on November 21. Bradley also faced fellow NEC member Merrimack College on November 26, and posted an 83-41 win.
 
Stonehill Shooting Stars
Stonehill currently leads the Northeast Conference in three-point percentage (.377) and free-throw percentage (.789), while ranking second in field goal percentage (.452) and third in scoring offense (71.8 ppg). Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) ranks third among NEC field goal percentage leaders (.504) and free-throw percentage (.825), while classmate Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) is ranked second for three-point percentage (.510).

Prime Performer
Stonehill fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the third time this season last Monday. He led five Skyhawks in double-figures in their lone game of the week against Rider on Wednesday night by scoring 13 of his 17 points in the first half as Stonehill grabbed a ten point lead in the opening frame before settling for a four-point halftime cushion. Burnett finished shooting 6-for-11 from the floor, including 3-for-7 from three-point distance, adding three rebounds, five assists and two steals. He matches fellow fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) in collecting three NEC Prime Performer recognitions this season, with postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) earning the honors once. Burnett and Sims have also each earned NEC Player of the Week accolades this season, doing so over the first two weeks.
NEC Prime Performers:
Nov. 14: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 21: Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 28: Andrew Sims
Dec. 5: Andrew Sims & Max Zegarowski
Dec. 12: Isaiah Burnett

Streaking
Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) has scored in double-figures in 17-straight games played dating back to last season, including all 11 games in which he has appeared this year with a team-high five 20-point outings after his game-high 20 points at Boston College on Tuesday.

Stop... Thief!
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has recorded a steal in all 12 contests to open the 2022-23 season and 18-straight games dating back to last year, including a career-high matching five thefts at Boston College on Tuesday, giving his five steals in two of the last three games, including at Binghamton on December 3. He had four steals in the first two games of the Konchalski Classic as well as against Eastern Nazarene on November 30. Burnett has taken over the NEC lead with his 3.0 steals per game after leading the NE10 with 2.3 last year, with three-plus steals in 13 games over his career including seven this season.

Shootin' Shamir
Stonehill fifth-year guard Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) ranks second in the NEC in three-point proficiency, having hit 25-of-49 for a 51-percent success rate. He has shot 50-percent or better from beyond the arc in seven of the Skyhawks 12 games this season. He hit 3-of-4 from deep in the Skyhawks' last-second win at Binghamton on December 3 and then made 3-of-5 against Rider on December 7. Johnson drained 8-of-11 threes for a 72.7 percent success rate in games against Providence and Holy Cross. He drilled 5-of-7 as part of a career-high 15-point night at Providence, then sank 3-4 in the Skyhawks' 81-79 win against Holy Cross. Johnson's 2.1 three-point field goals per game rank fourth in the NEC and his three-point shooting percentage would rank in the top ten nationally.

Taking Their Charity
Despite a 15-for-28 (53.6%) combined shooting effort at the free-throw line over its last two games, Stonehill is still shooting an NEC-best 78.9-percent from the free throw line this season, five-percent higher than Fairleigh Diickenson (73.9%) in second. The Skyhawks have dipped to 11th nationally, but is still higher than the NEC single-season free-throw percentage record of 78.2 percent, established by CCSU in 2018-19. Stonehill currently has three players ranked in the NEC top-11 in free throw accuracy, led by postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.), who has hit  87.5-percent of his attempts, (28-for-32) good for second in the conference. Fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is ranked fourth and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) 11th, shooting 82.5-percent and 719%, respectively. (Note that due to NCAA Division I reclassification, Stonehill does not officially appear among NCAA statistical leaders for four years)

Movin' On Up!
Fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) surpassed 900 career points with his 20 point effort at Boston College on Tuesday and is now well within striking distance of becoming the program's 43rd 1,000-point scorer. He has scored 904 points in 84 career games played as a 47.4-percent shooter for his career.

Milestone Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) could give Stonehill two 1,000-point scorers on its roster, having scored 838 points in 72 career games, including his time at Lynn and Franklin Pierce.

Dishing It Out
With multiple assists in seven-straight games and ten of 12 games this season overall, fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has moved up to sixth among NEC assists leaders with his 3.0 per game. He has averaged 3.4 assists per game over the last seven games, including 4.3 per game over the last four, with a season-high six at Binghamton on December 3. Burnett also ranks seventh among NEC leaders for assist/turnover ratio at 1.2, turning the ball over just 31 times in 12 games.

Balanced Scoring
Stonehill has seen eight different players record double-figure scoring games through its first 12 games. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.Y.) leads the Skyhawks with 11 double-figure games this season, including five 20-point outings, while classmate Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has reached double-figures in nine games, including his career-best 30 against Holy Cross. In addition to the eight with double-figure games this season, three other Skyhawks have scored ten-plus points at least once over their collegiate careers.

Mad Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) is averaging 2.4 three-point field goals per game, to rank second among NEC leaders. His 156 three-pointers over the course of his career, including his time at Lynn and Franklin Pierce, would be good enough to tie for tenth on Stonehill's all-time list. He canned six three-pointers against Eastern Nazarene on November 30 on his way to a career-high 28 points (6-for-11 threes), giving him four-plus threes in 15 career games with three this season. The NEC's second leading free-throw shooter (87.5%) ranks 12th on the Conference's scoring charts with 12.8 points per game.   

Not Cohen There
Stonehill owns the top two individual scoring games in the NEC among those not named Josh Cohen, the league's top scorer from Saint Francis (Pa.) with 21.4 ppg. Fifth-year Isaiah Burnett's (Annapolis, Md.) career-high 30 points against Holy Cross is second only to Cohen's incredible two 40-point outings (as well as a matching 30 point game) wit the pair the only two in the Conference to score 30-plus points this season. Postgrad Max Zegarowski's (South Hamilton, Mass.) career-best 28 against Eastern Nazarene on November 30, is the fifth-highest scoring game in the NEC this season.

Halfway There
Stonehill is 3-1 this season when it has held a halftime lead after dropping its first game with a halftime lead (39-35) against Rider on December 7. The Skyhawks also led after 20 minutes at Army (11/12), against Eastern Nazarene (11/30) and at Binghamton (12/3).

High Scoring
Stonehill ranks third among NEC leaders, scoring 71.8 points per game. The Skyhawks are shooting a Conference-best 37.7% from three-point distance and converting a Conference-high 78.9% of their free-throws, while ranking second in field goal percentage (.452). Stonehill's 95 points against Quinnipiac are the sixth-highest scoring game in the NEC this season - second-highest against another Division I program.

Sims City
Fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) ranks second among NEC scoring leaders with his team-best 17.2 points per game. Sims has scored 20-plus points five times this season, including his game-high 20 at Boston College on Tuesday, having netted a season-best 24 points against Quinnipiac (11/10) and UIC (11/21). Sims is third in the NEC for field goal percentage (.504) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.825).

A Team Effort
Nine different players have led Stonehill in rebounding over its first 12 games this season after sophomore Christopher Melis (Chappaqua, N.Y.) joined the mix with his team-high six at Boston College on Tuesday. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) leads the way having led the Skyhawks in four games, while classmate Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has led the way three times, producing the first double-figure rebounding game and double-double by a Skyhawk this season at Binghamton on December 3.

In Transition
Stonehill announced it had accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference and commence a four-year transition to full NCAA Division I membership on April 5. The Skyhawks started their four-year transition on July 1 and will earn full NCAA Division I membership in 2026-27. At the June NEC meetings, the Conference presidents announced a shift in the waiting period for automatic qualifier sports from competing for NEC postseason championships from four to two years, making Stonehill eligible to compete in the NEC postseason starting in 2024-25.

Proud History
Stonehill won the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup six times, finishing in the top three in the final standings 15 of the last 17 years. Stonehill was one of just ten institutions nationwide to receive the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement, recognizing athletic departments with an Academic Success rating of 90-percent or better, each of the first ten years of the program's existence. The College ranks No. 98 in the category of National Liberal Arts Schools by U.S. News & World Report and No. 94 for the Best Value category.

Hoop History
Stonehill men's basketball earned 15 NCAA Division II Tournament bids over its history, the last was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Stonehill were charter members of the Northeast-10 Conference, winning the first two tournament championships in 1981 and '82, finishing its time in the Conference with four postseason titles and six regular season championships.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill was picked to finish ninth in its first Northeast Conference season by the league's head coaches. Merrimack received six of the eight first place votes to hold the pole position atop the preseason poll, followed by Sacred Heart with two first place votes. Saint Francis (Pa.) follows in third, while Wagner is picked fourth and received the final first place vote.  

Getting Social
Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics have multiple social media outlets to get updates on all 23 varsity programs. The department's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @GoStonehill on Twitter and @stonehillskyhawks via Instagram! You can also search for Stonehill men's basketball on Facebook, follow the team's Twitter account via @StonehillBball as well as head coach Chris Kraus @CoachChrisKraus, and its new Instagram feed @stonehillbball. 

Up Next
Following its Midwest swing through Bradley University and Valparaiso University on Tuesday, Stonehill will enjoy an eight day break before it opens its inaugural Northeast Conference schedule at Sacred Heart University on Thursday, December 29, at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks next home game is its third NEC matchup of the year on Thursday, January 5, when they open a season-long four game homestand against Wagner College at Merkert Gymnasium at 7 p.m.