Moreton leads balanced Skyhawks effort with 11^th double-double

Moreton notched his 30th career double-doubles and cracked the top five on the program's career scoring list (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

EASTON, Mass. (February 15, 2020) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 8 in this week's D2SIDA East Region poll, placed five in double-figures and bounced back from two-straight defeats with a 78-64 victory over Assumption College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium this afternoon. 

Leaders

Stonehill

Will Moreton Senior, Guard: 11^th double-double of the season (30^th career) with 14 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Owen Chose Junior, Guard: A rebound shy of his first career double-double with 14 points (5-for-9, 2-for-3 threes), nine rebounds and three assists.

Owen de Graaf Junior, Forward: Season-high 12 points (4-for-4 threes) off the bench.

Brandon Twitty Senior, Guard: 12 points (5-for-8) and five assists.

Andrew Sims Sophomore, Forward: 11 points (4-for-6), three rebounds and three assists off the bench. 

Assumption

Jordan White Junior, Forward: 13 points (4-for-9), eight rebounds and a blocked shot.

Matthew Kelly Junior, Guard: 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Isiah Gaiter Freshman, Guard: 12 points (6-for-14), six rebounds, an assist and steal. 

How it Happened

• Chose finished a rebound shy of his first career double-double, adding 14 points and nine rebounds (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

  Stonehill shot 50-percent from the field (15-for-30) in the first half, including 6-for-8 (75%) from three-point distance, while holding Assumption to 30% (9-30) shooting, including 2-for-18 (11.1%) from deep, to build a 15-point halftime lead (41-26) and didn't look back.
• Assumption held a four-point lead early (10-6) after a pair of White free-throws five minutes into the game.
• Stonehill embarked upon a 19-3 run over the next seven minutes, led by a trio of three-pointers by de Graaf, including two-straight to spark the run, to grab a 12-point lead (25-13) after a Sims layup with eight minutes remaining in the frame. Sims added four points in all during that stretch.
• Stonehill added a 12-4 run to extend its lead to 18 (37-19) after a Twitty three with four minutes to play in the half, sparked by a three-point play by Sims.
• Stonehill carried a 15-point lead (41-26) into halftime and wouldn't let Assumption within double digits the rest of the way.
• Twitty gave Stonehill a 19-point cushion (48-29) less than two minutes into the second half and then extended the lead to 21 (55-34) with another basket with 14:32 remaining.
• Stonehill's lead peaked at 24 (65-41) after de Graaf's fourth triple just past the midway point of the half and the Skyhawks would see the game out from there.

Noteworthy

• Moreton moved into the top five on Stonehill's all-time scoring list with his 14 points this afternoon, giving him 1,764 points in 110 career games to move past Ryan Logan, '17 (1,757). He sits 58 points behind Bill Zolga, '80 (1,822) for fourth all-time.
• Moreton's 11^th double-double of the season is the 30^th of his career – tops among active players in the NE10, ranking third in the region and 11^th in all of Division II.
• Stonehill remains a game in the loss column behind first place and idle Saint Anselm College in the NE10 Northeast Division standings with two games to play. The Skyhawks are a half game in front of third place Franklin Pierce University (tied in the loss column) and now two games in front of rival Bentley University in fourth.
• Stonehill improves to 8-2 at Merkert Gym this season with the win and is now 6-2 this season when holding its opponents under 40-percent shooting.

Up Next

Stonehill (15-10, 11-6 NE10) opens the final week of the regular season on Wednesday night at Saint Michael's College at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks close out the regular season next Saturday, February 22, when they host Southern New Hampshire University for Senior Day at Merkert Gym at 3:30 p.m. Assumption (12-12, 6-11 NE10) visits Bentley University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

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