MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (November 17, 2024) – The Stonehill College men's basketball team had a chance at a last-second shot for the win, but the Skyhawks missed the mark, falling, 75-74, to Lindenwood University at the UMPC Events Center in their third and final game of the Urban-Bennett Invitational powered by P3R.

Urban-Bennett Invitational All-Tournament Team

G, Josh Morgan - Stonehill
G, James White - New Orleans
G, Anias Futrell - Lindenwood
G, Josh Omojafo - Robert Morris
F, Alvaro Folgueiras - Robert Morris
 
LEADERS

• Graduate student Josh Morgan (Brampton, Ontario) led Stonehill in scoring and rebounding for the second consecutive game, scoring 16 points and shooting 50% (4-8) from deep while grabbing six rebounds.
• Freshman Hermann Koffi (Quebec City, Quebec) scored a season-high 14 points, shooting 71.4% (5-7) from the field and 60% (3-5) from long range.
• Junior Ethan Meuser (Shavertown, Pa.) tallied a career-high 13 points as he knocked down four of his five three-point attempts. Meuser also notched four rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 25 minutes.
• Lindenwood's Anias Futrell was the game's leading scorer and rebounder, recording a double-double, scoring 24 points and corralling 11 rebounds. Futrell also had three steals and two blocks on the defensive end.

FIRST HALF

• Koffi knocked down a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, but Lindenwood would go on an 8-0 run until another Koffi three-pointer made it 8-6 four minutes into the game.
• Stonehill retook the lead at 21-20 with 8:52 left in the half as sophomore Todd Brogna (Southborough, Mass.) knocked down a three-pointer off the pick-and-pop with Koffi.
• After the lead flipped back in favor of the Lions, 28-24, the Skyhawks responded with a 12-2 run, taking their biggest lead of the game so far, 36-30.
• Lindenwood scored the final five points of the half as the two teams went into the locker room separated by just one point with Stonehill leading, 36-35.
• Anias Futrell had 15 first-half points for the Lions, while Koffi led the Skyhawks with 10 points, followed by Brogna and Meuser with seven points each.

SECOND HALF

• After missing their first shot of the second half, the Skyhawks hit five consecutive three-pointers in less than four minutes to build a 13-point lead, 52-39, with 16:05 to play in the game. Morgan and Meuser each hit two threes during the run.
• Lindenwood answered, outscoring Stonehill 12-3 over the next six minutes to cut its deficit to four points, 55-51 until a three-pointer from sophomore Louie Semona (Cincinnati, Ohio) ended the Lions' run.
• A three-point play from senior Christopher Melis (Chappaqua, N.Y.) pushed the Skyhawks lead back up to eight points, 61-53, but Lindenwood continued to hang around, scoring six of the next seven points to make the score 62-59 with under six minutes left in the game.
• The Lions would take their first lead of the second half with 3:25 remaining on the clock as Jadis Jones converted on a three-point play as the Lions led by one, 68-67.
• The lead flipped three more times as Morgan hit a clutch three-pointer from the left wing with 1:30 remaining to tie the score, 72-72 before graduate student Amir Nesbitt (Newport News, Va.) hit a step-back jumper to beat the shot clock with 25 seconds left to give Stonehill a 74-72 lead.
• On the next possession, Koffi fouled Futrell on a three-pointer and Futrell cashed in on all three free throws to give Lindenwood the 75-74 lead with 14 seconds left.
• Morgan got to the free throw line but missed both, and Nesbitt missed an open three from the corner as the buzzer sounded as Lindenwood completed the 13-point, second-half comeback, winning the game 75-74.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill and Lindenwood's first-ever meeting was a close one, with ten ties and nine lead changes. Stonehill is now 0-1 all-time against members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
• Stonehill had four double-digit scorers in Sunday's loss, the first time this season four different Skyhawks scored 10+ points. Stonehill was 0-4 a season ago in such games.
• Morgan has hit 4+ three-pointers in four of the six games this season, hitting at a 39.5% (17-43) clip. Stonehill falls to 2-1 this season when Morgan leads the Skyhawks in the scoring column.
• Brogna scored in double figures for a team-best fifth time this season, scoring 10 points and knocking down three of his five shot attempts.
• Stonehill matched its season-high of 19 assists and had its best shooting performance from behind the arc this season, with the Skyhawks making 50% (15-30) of their attempts from long range.
• Stonehill leads the Northeast Conference in three-point shooting, averaging 10.7 per game, hitting at a 39% (64-164) clip as a team.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill men's basketball returns home on Thursday, Nov. 21, for a non-conference matchup with Bryant University at Merkert Gymnasium at 7 p.m.

 
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