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The Game
Saturday afternoon's game at FDU marks the third Northeast Conference matchup for both teams as the two NEC foes are both looking to earn their first wins in conference play. Stonehill comes into the matchup having lost four straight games, two on the road against Power Five opponents (Miami, Rutgers) and two at Merkert Gym against CCSU and LIU in the start of league play. This is the 12th road game of the season for the Skyhawks as they travel to Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center with Stonehill posting an 0-11 record away from Easton, Mass. The Knights, who are looking to protect home court, hold a 3-4 record at home in Hackensack, N.J.

Media Information
Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcasted on national television on the YES Network as well as the YES App for iPhone and Android. On the call are  Paul Dottino (play-by-play), Dan Long (analyst), and Maria Trivelpiece (sideline). The broadcast can be also 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.

Scouting The Knights
FDU enters the NEC matchup having lost six straight games including its first two conference matchups. In their most recent showing, the Knights closed out their non-conference schedule against the newest member of the NEC (beginning in the fall of 2024), Chicago State, dropping the game 75-74 at Stratis Arena on Wednesday. FDU opened conference play with a pair of losses, dropping the conference opener at Merrimack in a close one, 60-56, before falling to first-year NEC member Le Moyne, 74-63, a week ago. FDU has had its fair share of close contests with eight games being decided by single digit margins as the Knights hold a 4-4 record in their close contests. FDU is led by the Northeast Conference's second leading scorer, Ansley Almonor. The junior forward is averaging 16.2 points per game and leads the NEC in 3-point field goals made (49), 3-point field goal percentage (38%), and 3-point field goals per game (2.9). Senior forward Sean Moore leads the Knights and the NEC in rebounds per game, averaging 7.6 while putting up the most total offensive boards this season with 49. As a team, FDU has the top scoring offense in the conference, putting up 77.9ppg. The Knights are also the top rebounding team in the league, corralling 37.0rpg.

Against The Sharks
Saturday's game between the Skyhawks and Knights will mark the seventh meeting all-time between the two programs with Stonehill holding a 4-2 record against FDU. Stonehill went 1-1 against FDU in last year's inaugural Division I season, winning the most recent matchup 70-59 on Jan. 22, 2023 in Hackensack. That is the only time the Skyhawks have played in Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center as the all-time series began in 1965.

Last Time Out
EASTON, Mass. (January 6, 2024) – Stonehill men's basketball dropped its fourth straight game, falling to Long Island University at Merkert Gym Saturday afternoon, 73-68 in a Northeast Conference matchup. Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) knocked down four three-pointers en route to a team-high 18 points for Stonehill. LIU freshman Eric Acker scored 21 points in the first half, finishing with 23 on the day to lead all scorers. Grad student Tai Strickland, son of LIU head coach Rod Strickland, scored 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half, to go along with five rebounds and three steals. The Skyhawks used their 10th different starting lineup through 17 games this season, this being the fourth straight game that Stonehill has rolled out a new five.
 
Rotating cast
The Skyhawks have had ten different starting lineups through the first 17 games of the season. Nine different players have started for Stonehill and no Skyhawk has started all 16 games. The Skyhawks have used a different starting unit in four straight games due to various injuries and illnesses.

Road Warriors
Stonehill concluded its non-conference schedule at Rutgers playing its 11th game on the road out of its 15 games up to that point. The Skyhawks, currently 0-11 when traveling from Easton, Mass., scheduled 11 of their 15 non-conference games to be played on the road. The meat of the road schedule came in November as Stonehill played five straight games (Nov. 11-Nov. 26) away from Merkert Gym. During the five-game stretch, the Skyhawks played in four different states, Connecticut (at UConn, at Quinnipiac), Pennsylvania (at St. Joseph's (Pa.)), Kentucky (at the University of Kentucky), and Texas (at Texas A&M-Commerce). When the Skyhawks played at Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 21, Florida marked the tenth and final state that Stonehill has played in this season.

Transfer Trio
Stonehill saw three new faces join the team for the 2023-24 season through the transfer portal. Sophomore Tony Felder (Virginia Military Institute), junior Shane O'Dell (Saint Rose), and Pano Pavlidis (Hartford). Despite all three being newcomers, the trio has made an instant impact for the Skyhawks as Pavlidis and Felder have both started in 15 games this season while O'Dell has started in all five games he has played in, missing time due to injury. Felder currently leads the team in scoring and assists, also being top-10 in the NEC in assists. Pavlidis is second on the team in rebounds per game and fourth in field goal percentage. O'Dell is the teams fourth-best scorer and is fifth in field goal percentage when he suits up.
Tough slate
Stonehill has picked up where it left off last season when it comes to assembling a tough non-conference slate, featuring three pre-season ranked opponents and two of the NCAA Final Four teams from this past March. They'll take on teams from the Big East  (1 - #5 UConn), ACC (1 - #12 Miami), SEC (1 - #17 Kentucky), Big Ten (1 - Rutgers), A-10 (2- Saint Joseph's (Pa.), George Washington), Patriot League (1 - Army), America East (3 - UMass Lowell, Binghamton, New Hampshire), and the MAAC (2 - Quinnipiac, Rider) leading up to their second season of NEC play. 11 of the Skyhawks 15 non-conference games will be played on the road.

Ranked Rigor
Stonehill enters the season with three nationally ranked opponents from the AP/Coaches Preseason Poll, No. 6 UConn, No. 13 Miami, and No. 16 Kentucky. Prior to the 2023-24 season, the Skyhawks had never faced a nationally ranked Division I opponent in its programs history.

Windy City Welcome
The Northeast Conference announced on Tuesday that Chicago State University has accepted full membership to the Conference starting on July 1, 2024. Chicago State is set to join NEC charter members FDU, Long Island University, Saint Francis University and Wagner College, alongside Central Connecticut State University (admitted in 1997), Stonehill College (admitted in 2022), and Le Moyne College (admitted in 2023). The inclusion of Chicago State markedly expands the NEC footprint, now encompassing three of the United States' top 10 media markets: New York City (No. 1), Chicago (No. 3) and Boston (No. 8). Located on Chicago's south side, CSU offers 15 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs, all of which are sponsored by the NEC. The Cougars field seven men's teams and eight women's teams. Sports sponsorship at CSU includes men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball. Chicago State will be integrated into NEC athletic schedules beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The Cougars will gainimmediate eligibility to participate in all NEC championships and earn the conference's automatic qualifier to NCAA Championships. Founded in 1867, Chicago State holds the distinction of being the sole four-year Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) in Illinois as designated by the U.S. Department of Education. Boasting an enrollment of nearly 3,000, Chicago State ranks No. 1 in tuition affordability in the Chicagoland area and is in the top 4 percent nationally for boosting graduates' economic mobility.
 
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, 2022. The Skyhawks started their four-year transition on July 1, 2022, 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 this year, in 2023-24.

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, in 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 in 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 was a charter member 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 continues Northeast Conference play on the road at Wagner on Monday for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup in Staten Island, N.Y. at 1 p.m.