Senior A.J. Rudowitz notched his fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in today's win over Pace.

Strong Second Half Powers Stonehill Past Pace,
68-54

Skyhawks regain first place in NE-10 behind Rudowitz and Stallworth

Boxscore 

EASTON, Mass. (January 9, 2010) - Stonehill College regained sole possession of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference standings with a 68-54 victory over Pace University in men's basketball action at Merkert Gymnasium this afternoon.

Seniors A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) and Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) combined for 46 of Stonehill's 68 points to lead the Skyhawks to their second-straight win and back atop the NE-10 standings with the victory and 25^th-ranked Adelphi University's 78-69 loss at Saint Anselm College. Rudowitz notched his fourth double-double of the season (15^th career) with 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds (seven offensive) to go with three blocked shots and two assists. He made 8-of-14 shots from the field and converted 5-of-8 free-throws. Stallworth netted a season and game-high 25 points, shooting 7-for-16 from the field, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, while converting 7-of-9 free-throws.

Junior Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) chipped in with eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, while sophomore Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) added to a 49-28 rebounding advantage for the Skyhawks with eight boards. Stonehill has out-rebounded 13 of its 14 opponents this season.

Sophomore Ryan Woods (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) was the lone Pace player in double-figures with 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Senior Laurence McGhee (Linden, N.J./Linden) added nine points, four assists and three rebounds, while sophomore Adrian Mills (Woodbridge, Va./Paul VI) chipped in nine points, two assists and two steals.

Senior Randall Stallworth netted a season-high 25 points, 17 in the second half, draining four three-pointers.

Stonehill shot 40-percent (24-for-60) from the field on the afternoon, while holding Pace to 33.9-percent (19-56) shooting, including 8-for-27 (29.6%) in the second half.

Pace took a two-point lead into halftime (29-27) with a well-defended jumper from the right side by sophomore Justin Alston (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond). Stonehill responded in the second half to notch its fifth win out of six when trailing at the break.

A Woods three had Pace up four (36-32) 5:16 into the second half, but Stonehill answered with a 10-0 run, sparked by two-straight three's from freshman Brian Hamor (Guilderland, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons), to take a six-point lead (42-36) with 12:09 to play. Leading by three (49-46), the Skyhawks took control with a 9-0 run to push their lead to 12 (58-46) after a Stallworth three with 5:27 left and the Setters wouldn't get within ten the rest of the way with Stonehill's final 14-point cushion the largest by either team on the night.

Alston's jumper was the difference at the end of a first half that saw five ties and six lead changes. Pace's largest lead of the half was four, while Stonehill led by as much as seven (25-18) after a Rudowitz layup with 4:58 to play before the break. The Setters then closed out the half with an 11-2 run to take the halftime lead, led by six points from McGhee.

Stonehill (11-3, 8-1 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday night when it visits Assumption College at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks host the University of New Haven next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Pace (7-7, 5-4 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.