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The Game
Stonehill College returns to the Volpe Athletic Complex for the first time in four years as it faces Merrimack College for a top of the standings Northeast Conference matchup on Bert Hammel Court tonight. The Skyhawks enter tonight's game winners of five-straight NEC contests and five of six overall to lead the Conference standings by a half game with five games to play after Saturday's 65-59 victory at St. Francis Brooklyn. Merrimack are the last NEC newcomer and only program to win the NEC regular season title in its inaugural NCAA Division I season and the preseason favorite Warriors are winners of two-straight and four of five to sit a game behind Stonehill in the standings after a 70-66 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) here at Volple Complex on Saturday.

Media Information
Tonight's game is being broadcast live on NEC Front Row. Tom Zinzarella (play-by-play) and Matt Corsetti (color) have the call of the action for Merrimack. The broadcast can be accessed via stonehillskyhawks.com through its NEC Front Row portal (necfrontrow.com/schools/SC) or through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku via the NEC On the Run App.

Last Time Out
Stonehill posted its fifth-straight NEC win with a 65-59 decision over St. Francis Brooklyn to move atop the NEC standings at The ARC on Saturday. PostgradMax Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) shared the team lead for Stonehill with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, converting all six free-throw attempts, including the 1,000th point of his career, with a team-high seven rebounds. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) also finished with 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, converting 4-of-5 free-throws, with five assists, a season-high three blocked shots and two rebounds. Fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) rounded out the Skyhawks in double-figures with ten points, draining both of his three-point tries, off the bench. Senior Tedrick Wilcox, Jr. led St. Francis Brooklyn with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Against the Warriors
Tonight marks the 121st meeting all-time between these two former Northeast-10 Conference rivals, the second of two regular season matchups in the Northeast Conference this season. Stonehill holds a 74-46 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1949. The Skyhawks are 24-18 against Merrimack all-time in North Andover, including a 22-17 clip inside the Volpe Complex, having won the last visit here with a 65-62 triumph on February 20, 2019. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus '06 is 6-7 over his career against Merrimack, while Warriors head coach Joe Gallo is 5-2 as a head coach against the Skyhawks.   

Last Time They Met
Merrimack held Stonehill to just 25 points over the final 28-minutes, including 18 in the second half, to secure a 59-47 victory in NEC action at Merkert Gymnasium on January 14. Jordan Minor paced Merrimack with game-highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double on 7-of-16 shooting, with two steals. Jordan Derkack was the only other Warrior in double-figures with 11 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) notched his first double-double at Stonehill (fourth career) with 17 points and a season-high ten rebounds as he connected on 6-of-9 shots, including 3-for-6 from long range, and added two assists. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) added 12 points and nine rebounds.   

Dueling Alums
Stonehill and Merrimack are both led by head coaches who are alumni of their institutions. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus is a 2006 graduate and former student-athlete in his tenth year in charge at his alma mater. Merrimack mentor Joe Gallo is a 2004 graduate of the North Andover institution and former NE10 member, now in his seventh season at the helm. The duo are among four men's coaches in the NEC in charge of their alma maters along with Saint Francis' Rob Krimmel '00 and Central Connecticut State's Patrick Sellers '91.

Burnett

Sims

Prime Performers
Stonehill fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) were both named Prime Performers for their efforts in the Skyhawks 2-0 week by the Northeast Conference for the second-straight week on Monday. Sims averaged 16.5 points on 42.3-percent shooting (11-for-26), including 2-for-4 from three-point range, while converting 9-of-10 free-throws, to go with 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He shared the team-lead with 17 points in Saturday's win at St. Francis Brooklyn with five assists, a season-best three blocked shots and two rebounds. Burnett averaged 14.0 points on 61.1% shooting (11-18), including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, converting all four free-throws, with 5.0 steals, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He made his first nine shots from the floor, including two three-pointers, on his way to a game-high 22 points and a school-record seven steals in Thursday's 74-61 win over Saint Francis, adding five rebounds and two assists. Sims leads the Skyhawks with eight Prime Performer selections, including three-straight weeks, while Burnett has been honored for the seventh time this season. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) has earned Prime Performer status twice, while fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) is the fourth Skyhawk to earn the recognition this year with his first pick on January 24.

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
Dec. 19: Andrew Sims
Jan. 2: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Jan. 9: Isaiah Burnett
Jan. 18: Max Zegarowski
Jan. 24: Andrew Sims & Shamir Johnson
Jan. 30: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Feb. 6: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett

Team of the Week
Stonehill was listed among the NCAA Division I Week 13 Teams of the Week by T3 Bracketology, a daily blog and social media outlet created in 2015 to predict the NCAA March Madness bracket on Selection Sunday. Stonehill was listed as the No. 2 team out of ten "Team of the Week" selections by the website, with Saint Mary's leading the way, and also including Texas (No. 3), Oklahoma State (No. 4), Xavier (No. 7) and Princeton (No. 10). The Skyhawks are coming off a 2-0 week to extend their NEC winning streak to five games.

Not a Bad View From Up Here
Stonehill has won a Conference-best five-straight NEC games to move to the top of the NEC standings with five games to play. The Skyhawks seek to become the fourth first-year team, and just the second transitioning Division I program, to capture the NEC regular season championship and first since Merrimack did so in its first NCAA Division I season in 2019-20.
First-Year NEC Regular Season Champions:
1992-93: Rider (14-4)
1998-99: Maryland-Baltimore County (17-3)
2019-20: Merrimack (14-4) - first year of NCAA I transition period

Sorry Coach
Fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) enters tonight's game with an NCAA Division I leading 74 steals, which matches head coach Chris Kraus' 06 single-season total from the Skyhawks Elite Eight season in 2005-06 and is the program's highest single-season total since the NCAA started tracking steal totals in 1992-93. Burnett enters the night 18 shy of cracking the NEC's all-time single-season steals list. Chipper Morris of Robert Morris procured a Conference-record 133 steals in 1982-83, while LIU's Carey Scurry sits tenth at 92 steals in 1991-92.  

On the NEC Road
Stonehill is 4-1 in its first four Northeast Conference road games of the season. The Skyhawks are 4-2 at home in NEC play to date, averaging 70.8 points per game in its road Conference games (.488 FG%), compared to 62.2 points per game against NEC opposition at Merkert Gym (.433 FG%). Home teams in the NEC have posted a combined 25-23 (.521) record thus far in conference play.

Milestone Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) reached a personal milestone on Saturday with his layup to close out the first half scoring giving him 1,000 points in 86 career games played, including his time at Lynn and Franklin Pierce. Zegarowski scored eight points in five games at Lynn University in 2018-19, before playing 55 games over three seasons at former NE10 divisional foe Franklin Pierce University from 2019-22, where he scored 677 points, including 431 points in 2021-22 to help the Ravens to an NCAA Tournament bid. He has totaled 325 points in 26 games at Stonehill after sharing the team lead with 17 in Saturday's win at St. Francis Brooklyn.

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.

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
Stonehill is right back in action on Saturday, when it hosts St. Francis College of Brooklyn for an NEC matchup at Merkert Gymnasium at 2 p.m.