Senior Colin Scanlon had an excellent all-around game with nine points, six assists and a career-high five steals in the 80-59 win over St. Rose on Senior Day at Merkert Gymnasium.

Skyhawks Honor Seniors With 80-59 Win

Boxscore

North Easton, Mass. - A quartet of Stonehill players reached double figures as the Skyhawks opened the second half on a game-clinching 21-8 run over the course of the first nine minutes to catapult them to a convincing, 80-59 win over visiting St. Rose on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

With the win Stonehill improves to 20-6 overall, making sixth-year head coach Dave McLaughlin the first coach in school history to record three seasons with 20 or more wins.

After a back-and-forth first half saw the Skyhawks go into intermission with a two point lead following Randall Stallworth's (Toms River, N.J.) drive and inside finish at the buzzer, Stonehill made eight of its first 12 shots to begin the second stanza and take control of the game.

Once the lead reached double figures early in the second half, the Golden Knights never got closer than 13 and the advantage hovered between 17 and 20 for the remainder of the contest. Stonehill built its lead to as many as 23 following a corner triple from Nikola Stevanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) and a steal and fast break finish from Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.).

During the decisive half, Stonehill shot a sizzling 58 percent from the floor, while St. Rose struggled, connecting on just 37 percent of their attempts following a first 20 minutes that saw them make half of their 28 shots.

The game (52 percent) marked the tenth time this season the Skyhawks have shot better than 50 percent from the field.

Stonehill held significant edges on the glass (36-28) and on points in the paint (46-28), while forcing 18 Golden Knight turnovers.

A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) paced Stonehill with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in just 23 minutes.

Hall, coming off of a career-high 35 points in a win over Pace on Wednesday, finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Both Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J.) and Stallworth added 10 points, while seniors Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) and Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va.) provided nine points apiece. Scanlon added a game-high six helpers to go along with a career best five steals.

Senior Kevin Wilkins (New Windsor, N.Y.), who joined fellow seniors Stevanovic, Scanlon, Hall and Smith in the starting lineup, chipped in four points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Jermaine Clark, who eclipsed the 1,000 point barrier during the first half, led St. Rose with 14 points and six rebounds.

Stonehill closes out the regular season with a visit to Springfield for a date with American International. That game is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.