Senior Randall Stallworth guided the Skyhawks to their title-clinching win with ten points, five rebounds and two steals.

#22 Stonehill Clinches Sixth NE-10
Regular Season Title

Skyhawks stifle Southern New Hampshire, 52-40, for 11^th-straight road victory

Boxscore 

MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 20, 2010) - Stonehill College, ranked 22^nd in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll and second in the NCAA East Regional rankings, clinched its sixth Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship with a 52-40 victory over Southern New Hampshire University in NE-10 men's basketball action at SNHU Fieldhouse this afternoon.

Stonehill, winners of 11-straight road games since a season-opening overtime setback at Queens (N.Y.) College and all ten NE-10 road games, captures its sixth NE-10 regular season championship - first since finishing as co-champions with Bentley University in 2005-06. The Skyhawks were able to clinch with today's win, coupled by a 72-70 upset by Franklin Pierce University at Bentley earlier this afternoon - snapping the Falcons five-year reign atop the Conference standings. Stonehill will now be top seed in the upcoming NE-10 Championships and hold home court advantage throughout, starting with a quarterfinal round matchup on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m.

Senior Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) and sophomore Ivan Almeida (Praia, Cape Verde) both scored ten points to lead Stonehill to the victory. Stallworth also added five rebounds and two steals, while Almeida made 2-of-3 three-pointers and converted 4-of-6 free-throws to go with four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Junior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) added nine points, seven rebounds and two steals, while sophomore Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go with six points off the bench for the Skyhawks.

Sophomore Ivan Almeida also netted ten points to go with four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Freshman Corey Boland (Union, N.J./Wardlaw-Hartridge) was the lone Southern New Hampshire player in double-figures with a game-high 11 points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting from the field while converting 5-of-7 free-throws to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots. 26 of SNHU's 40 points came from its bench as sophomore Josh Morgan-Green (Upper Marlboro, Md./t. Mary's) added seven points. Senior Stephen Wood (Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) chipped in with seven rebounds (six offensive), four points and three steals.

Stonehill finished shooting 34.8-percent (16-for-46) from the field in the defensive struggle, but were an economical 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three-point range, including 4-for-9 (44.4%) in the second half. The Skyhawks held the Penmen to just 27.3-percent (15-for-55) shooting from the field, including only 6-for-32 (18.8%) in the second half, and a mere 1-for-14 (7.1%) from beyond the arc on the day. Stonehill also posted a 43-33 rebounding advantage for the afternoon.

Stonehill led by two (25-23) after SNHU opened the second half with a jumper by junior Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J./Gill St. Bernard). The Skyhawks used a 12-2 run to regain a double-digit lead (37-25) after a tip-in from Lee with 13:41 to play. Almeida and Heppert drilled back-to-back three-pointers to spark the run.

Morgan-Green answered with a three-pointer for SNHU, but Stonehill reeled off seven-straight points to gain a 16-point (44-28) lead after a three-pointer by freshman Brian Hamor (Guilderland, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) with 8:07 remaining. The run came during a streak of over seven minutes for the Penmen without a point. SNHU closed within 11 (44-33) after a free-throw by Boland with 5:27 left, but the Skyhawks pushed their lead up to a game-high 18 points (53-34) after a Stallworth three and free-throw by freshman Sam Markle (Bethany, Conn./Saint Thomas More) with 2:28 left, sealing the win.

Both teams struggled to find their shooting touch early, but Stonehill was able to grind out an 11-point lead (19-8) after two free-throws from Almeida with 6:21 to go in the first half. That came during an eight minute stretch for the Skyhawks without a field goal, by also keeping SNHU scoreless for five minutes. The Penmen drew within four at the break (25-21) with a 13-6 run to close out the half. Boland sparked the closing run with the Penmen's lone three-pointer of the game.

Stonehill (22-4, 19-2 NE-10) closes out the regular season with a key matchup with NCAA Tournament seeding implications at 10^th-ranked Bentley on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks will host an NE-10 quarterfinal round matchup on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. Southern New Hampshire (14-12, 9-12 NE-10) rounds out the regular season at Merrimack College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.