Tony Felder scored team-high 18 points to spark second-half comeback. (PHOTO BY Jarod Minassian)

Four Skyhawks scored in double figures for the fourth time this season as Stonehill nearly pulled off its largest comeback victory since 2016

HACKENSACK, N.J. (January 13, 2024) – Stonehill men's basketball trailed by as much as 25 points against FDU at Stratis Arena Saturday afternoon before falling to the Knights in overtime, 81-74, in a Northeast Conference matchup.

LEADERS

• Sophomore Tony Felder (Brockton, Mass.) led Stonehill with 18 points with all 18 coming in the second half amidst the Skyhawk comeback.
• Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) was 5-6 from the field and 2-2 from deep en route to 13 points along with a team-high three assists.
• Senior Jackson Benigni (East Hampton, Conn.) scored 16 points off the bench in his first game in over a month, notching eight of the 16 in overtime to go along with six rebounds and two steals.
• Fifth-year Pano Pavlidis (Queens, N.Y.) led the Skyhawks on the glass with seven boards after missing the past two games due to illness.
• Sophomore Chas Stinson (Charlotte, N.C.) swiped a career-high four steals while scoring 11 points to reach double-digits for the fourth straight game.
• FDU's Jo'el Emanuel scored 29 points to lead all scorers, netting 13 free throws in the win for the Knights.
• Sean Moore had a game-high 11 rebounds for FDU and scored eight points, nearly missing a double-double.

FIRST HALF

Jackson Benigni tallied 16 points off the bench in first game since Dec. 2, 2023 vs. Binghamton. (PHOTO BY Jarod Minassian)

• Pavlidis netted the opening bucket of the game on a strong baseline drive, finishing with a right-handed hook shot off the glass.
• Zegarowski scored the next four points for Stonehill, but FDU followed it up with a 10-2 run to take an 11-6 lead.
• The Knights continued to roll on offense, putting together another big run to build an 11-point advantage, 19-8.
• Six turnovers from the Skyhawks led to a 15-3 scoring outburst from FDU as the Knights mounted their largest lead of the game with just under three minutes to play in the half, 40-15.
• Stonehill held FDU scoreless for the final three minutes of the opening half, closing out the period on an 8-0 run to send the teams into their locker rooms with the Knights leading 40-23.
• FDU forced 16 first-half turnovers and went 13-15 from the free throw line while the Skyhawks were unable to hit from long range as the Knights led for 16:46 of the first.

SECOND HALF

• Stonehill carried its momentum from the end of the first half into the second, scoring the first 15 points as the Skyhawks capped off a 23-0 run to make the score 40-38 before FDU finally made a layup to end the run with 15 minutes left in the game.
• After both Skyhawks went scoreless in the first half, freshman Todd Brogna (Southborough, Mass.) and Felder hit back-to-back threes as Stonehill took its first lead since the score was 4-3, leading 44-42.
• FDU countered with a 7-0 run, but Felder hit again from downtown to keep the Skyhawks within two points.
• With 6:10 remaining in the game, Benigni converted on a layup on the fast break as Stonehill regained the lead, 55-54.
• Benigni found Stinson cutting under the hoop who finished a reverse layup to put the Skyhawks ahead by four points, 62-58, but Stonehill was held scoreless up until there was 50 seconds left in the second half when Felder hit a pair of free throws to tie the score 64-64.
• Both teams missed chances to break the tie in the final seconds of the game as Stonehill and the Knights headed to overtime.

Max Zegarowski shot 83.3% from the field and 100% from deep, scoring 13 points. (PHOTO BY Jarod Minassian)

OVERTIME

• The first six points of overtime were all free throws, four of which were from FDU and two coming from the Skyhawks as the Knights took an early lead in OT.
• Stonehill didn't make a field goal in overtime until Benigni knocked down a pull-up three with 1:01 left to make the score 77-72.
• FDU went 11-14 from the line OT and led for almost the entire five minutes, winning the game 81-74 after a hard-fought battle in Hackensack, N.J.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill is now 4-3 in the all-time series against FDU as this was the first loss for the Skyhawks at Stratis Arena at the Rothman Center. Stonehill is 1-2 against the Knights in head-to-head matchups as NEC opponents.
• The Skyhawks used their 11th different starting lineup today through 18 games this season, this being the fifth straight game that Stonehill has rolled out a new five.
• Stonehill nearly pulled off its largest comeback win since March 13, 2016, when the Skyhawks rallied from 18 points down, winning in overtime against Southern New Hampshire in the Semifinal round of the NCAA DII East Regional playoffs.
• Benigni played in his first game since Dec. 2 against Binghamton, scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds off the bench in his return.
• Felder led the team in scoring for a team-high sixth time this season, pushing his team-leading scoring average up to 13.1 points per game, the 10th-highest average in the NEC. He's scored 15+ in six games and been in double-figures 13 times this season.
• The Skyhawks are now 0-4 when 4+ players score in double-figures and fall to 0-1 in overtime games this season.

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.

Tickets for the 2023-24 men's and women's basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased at stonehillskyhawks.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available including a men's and women's combination pass, valid for all 27 home games this year.

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