BROOKLYN, N.Y. (January 25, 2024) – Stonehill men's basketball lost 63-60 as Tai Strickland banked in a buzzer-beater three to give Long Island University a Northeast Conference win at the Steinberg Wellness Center Thursday night.

LEADERS

• Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) and freshman Todd Brogna (Southborough, Mass) led Stonehill with 12 points apiece as both knocked down two three-pointers.
• Zegarowski also led the team with seven boards in 35 minutes of action while Brogna led the Skyhawks with a career-high five assists.
• LIU's Tana Kopa was the game's leading scorer, putting up 20 points on 7-18 shooting and a 4-11 night from long range.
• Nikola Djapa grabbed 14 rebounds in the Sharks win.

FIRST HALF

• LIU hit on six of its first seven shot attempts while going 2-2 from deep as they jumped out to a 14-5 lead.
• Zegarowski hit back-to-back threes and freshman Louie Semona (Cincinnati, Ohio) hit one of his own to trim the Sharks lead down to six, 20-14.
• Sophomore Tony Felder (Brockton, Mass.) scored eight points amidst a 21-8 Skyhawk run that saw Stonehill make seven of its nine shot attempts to take a 35-32 lead with under two minutes left in the half.
• Two jumpers from LIU and a buzzer-beating layup from Zegarowski sent the teams to the locker rooms tied at 37-37.
• Both teams shot over 50% from the field in the first half, LIU hit 15 of 28 (53.6%) while Stonehill put in 12 of their 21 shots (57.1%).

SECOND HALF

• Senior Thatcher Stone (Winchester, Mass.) broke the tie, hitting a three-pointer and two free throws while Brogna and senior Jackson Benigni (East Hampton, Conn.) made layups to put Stonehill up 46-40.
• Felder hit another three to keep the Skyhawks up by five, 51-46, with under 11 minutes left in the game, but Stonehill missed its next eight field goals as LIU went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead, 56-51.
• A layup from fifth-year Pano Pavlidis (Queens, N.Y.) and the first three-pointer for freshman Austin Abrams (Ellicott City, Md.) since Nov. 14 at St. Joe's tied the score at 56-56.
• After going down four, a pair of free throws netted by Pavlidis and a driving layup from Brogna tied the score for the eighth time in the game, 60-60, with 1:01 left on the clock.
• After the Sharks blocked a layup attempt from the Skyhawks, LIU's Tai Strickland dribbled the ball up the court with less than ten seconds to play and banked a heavily contested three-pointer off the glass to give LIU a 63-60 victory at the buzzer.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill is now 2-2 in the all-time series against Long Island, winning the first two meetings a year ago in the Skyhawks' first season in the NEC. Stonehill is 1-1 at Merkert Gym when hosting the Sharks and 1-1 at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
• Stonehill has used 12 different starting lineups this season and is tied for the third most unique combinations in the country at the Division I level, trailing only Eastern Michigan (15) and Furman (14).
• Zegarowski led the team in scoring for the second straight game and scored in double figures for the fifth time in the past seven games. He has also knocked down a three-pointer in seven straight games.
• Brogna matched his career of 12 points while dishing out a career-high five assists.
• Stone scored nine points while going only 2-2 from the field, hitting one three-pointer and making all four of his free throw attempts.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill concludes its three-game road trip on Thursday, Feb. 01 at Sacred Heart for a Northeast Conference matchup at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the 2023-24 men's and women's basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased at stonehillskyhawks.com/tickets.

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