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The Game
Stonehill enters Thursday's Northeast Conference matchup at LIU having lost eight straight games inlcuding its first six games of league action. Thursday's game will conclude the regular season series between the Skyhawks and Sharks after LIU defeated Stonehill at Merkert Gym, 73-68, in a closely fought battle on Jan. 6. The Sharks enter the NEC contest having won their first two NEC contests before dropping the past three. LIU is 1-1 at home in conference matchups, defeating Wagner in its opener and most recently falling to Central Connecticut State on Sunday, 72-63. A season ago, the Skyhawks swept the Sharks in their first season at the Division I level including a 73-66 win for Stonehill in its first-ever visit to the Steinberg Wellness Center.

Media Information
Thursday night's game will be broadcasted digitally on NEC Front Row with Pat Boyle (play-by-play) and Gregg Caserta (analyst) calling the action for the Sharks.

Scouting The Sharks
Long Island University holds a 1-3 record overall when playing from the comforts of home and a 1-1 home record in NEC play. The Sharks are led by son of head coach Rod Strickland, Tai Strickland, who is averaging 13.8 points per game to lead the team while being tied for the seventh best average in the NEC. Sophomore R.J. Greene averages 7.7ppg to go along with his team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game, the fourth-best rebounding mark in the conference. Freshman Eric Acker has made an instant impact for the Sharks, averaging 13.2ppg and a team-leading 3.9 assists per game, tied for the third-most in the Northeast Conference. Acker also averages 34.6 minutes per game, the highest average in the NEC.

Against The Sharks
This afternoon's game marks the fourth meeting all-time between these two programs. Stonehill has a 2-1 record in the all-time series after sweeping the Sharks in the regular season last year. The most recent matchup came on Jan. 6 at Merkert Gym earlier this seaso, with the Skyhawks falling 72-63. In the lone game at LIU in the all-time series, the Skyhawks won 73-66 on Jan. 20, 2023 in the first-ever meeting with the Sharks. Merrimack began the game by hitting four three-pointers and six of their first nine shots to jump out to a 16-4 lead.

Last Time Out
NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (January 21, 2024) – Stonehill men's basketball fell on the road at Hammel Court in a Northeast Conference matchup against Merrimack College on Sunday afternoon, 63-47. Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) led Stonehill in every statistical category, tallying nine points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block while playing all 40 minutes. Merrimack sophomore Jordan Derkack, a three-time NEC Player of the Week, scored 12 points, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds to nearly record a triple-double. Devon Savage led all scorers Sunday afternoon, scoring 14 points while hitting four three-pointers for the Warriors. The Skyhawks responded with a run of their own, rattling off a 17-0 run to take a 21-16 lead with nine minutes left to play in the half. Stonehill held onto its five-point lead at 26-21 but Merrimack closed out the first half on a 7-2 run to send the teams into the halftime locker room tied, 28-28. The Skyhawks would pull within six points with nine minutes left in the game, 51-45, after a deep three-pointer from sophomore Tony Felder (Brockton, Mass.). That would be the final field goal of the game for Stonehill as they ended the game with seven turnovers and six missed shots while Merrimack outscored the Skyhawks 12-2 to win the game 63-47.
 
Rotating cast
The Skyhawks have used 12 different starting lineups through 21 games this season as nine different players have started for Stonehill and no Skyhawks has started all 21 games. The Skyhawks have used a different starting unit in six of the last seven games. Stonehill's 12 different starting lineups is tied for the third-most unique combinations in all of Division I. Eastern Michigan (15) and Furman (14) while Detroit Mercy (12) and Vanderbilt (12) are both tied with the Skyhawks.

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 0-14 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.

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 19 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 assists while being third in scoring. Pavlidis is second on the team in rebounds per game and third 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

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 @StonehillMBB as well as head coach Chris Kraus @CoachChrisKraus, and its new Instagram feed @StonehillMBB. 

Up Next
Stonehill concludes its three-game road trip on Thursday, Feb. 01 at Sacred Heart for a Northeast Conference matchup at 7 p.m.