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The GameThursday night's Northeast Conference matchup between Stonehill and Le Moyne will be the first meeting between the two programs at the Division I level after battling for years in the highly-competitive Division II conference, the Northeast-10. With the Dolphins joing the NEC this year and the Skyhawks joining last year, both programs made the move and have found success after the move. Similarly to Stonehill's strong start to Division I play a year ago, Le Moyne enters the game with a 9-13 record overall while splitting its eight conference matchups. The Dolphins come into the game having dropped two straight after beginning league play with a 4-2 record. The Skyhawks will look to build off its home win against Wagner on Saturday which would be their first win streak of the season. Media Information Thursday night's game will be broadcasted digitally on NEC Front Row with Charlie Bergeron (play-by-play) and Brian Buckley (analyst) calling the action for the Skyhawks. 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. Scouting the Dolphins The Dolphins sport a 9-13 record while going 4-4 in their NEC slate. Le Moyne won its first-ever NEC game against FDU in its league opener and rattled off a 4-2 record to begin conference play before dropping back-to-back road games at Wagner and at Sacred Heart. In their most recent matchup against Sacred Heart on Saturday, the Dolphins fell 87-81 in a closely fought battle that Le Moyne led at halftime and led by as much as eight in the second half. As a team, the Dolphins make the most threes per game in the conference, hitting 222 on the year to average 10.1 per game. They shoot the ball at the second best clip in the conference from deep, 35.2%. Le Moyne is far and away the top free throw shooting team in the conference at 76.8% from the line with the next closest team coming into this week's games at 71.8%. The Dolphins also lead the NEC in assists per game at 16.0, totalling 353 this season. Grad transfer Kaiyem Cleary leads Le Moyne with 16.2 points per game, the third-best scorer in the conference. He also leads the team with 5.7 rebounds per game and notched a school record 43 points against LIU on 1/27. Against the Dolphins This is the 42nd meeting all-time between Stonehill and Le Moyne, a series that dates back to the 1962-63. The Dolphins lead the series, holding a 23-18 record while the Skyhawks hold an 11-10 record on their home court. In the most recent meeting, Stonehill upended Le Moyne in the first round of the NE10 tournament, 58-52, at Merkert Gyn on Feb. 25, 2022 in the Skyhawks last season at the DII level. Stonehill has won three straight meetings with the last loss in the series coming on Jan. 23, 2019 when the Dolphins won a close one on their home court, 66-60. LAST TIME OUT 
EASTON, Mass. (February 3, 2024) – Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) scored 20 points Saturday afternoon as Stonehill men's basketball defeated Wagner in a Northeast Conference matchup, 71-61, at Merkert Gymnasium as the Skyhawks celebrated Black History Month and their men's basketball alumni. Zegarowski scored 10 points in each half, shooting 8-14 from the field in the game and knocking down two three-pointers en route to a game-high 20 points. Sophomore Tony Felder (Brockton, Mass.) led the Skyhawks with eight boards, four assists, and three steals while scoring all 11 of his points in the second half. Felder scored or assisted on 13 of the final 22 points for Stonehill, eventually putting the nail in the coffin with back-to-back three-pointers that put the Skyhawks ahead by 12, 66-54, with under two minutes remaining in the game. Zegarowski scored in double figures for the seventh time in the past nine games and knocked down a three-pointer for the ninth straight game. This was the third time this season he's put up 20+ points. Felder has scored 11+ points in 16 of his 23 games played this season including the past three games. Felder's three steals mark the 10th time he's swiped 2+ steals and the sixth time he's had 3+ this season. He's notched three steals in three consecutive games for the Skyhawks. Rotating cast The Skyhawks have used 12 different starting lineups through 24 games this season as nine different players have started for Stonehill and no Skyhawks has started all 23 games. The Skyhawks have used a different starting unit in six of the last eight games. Stonehill's 12 different starting lineups is tied for the fifth-most unique combinations in all of Division I. Eastern Michigan (16) is at the top of list while Detroit Mercy (15), Furman (14), Kansas City (14), Milwaukee (14), and Jacksonville (13) are the only schools with more combinations than the Skyhawks. Stonehill has used the same lineup in four consecutive games.
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