EASTON, Mass. (January 24, 2025) – Graduate student Josh Morgan (Brampton, Ontario) lifted the Stonehill College men's basketball team (11-10, 3-3 NEC) over Chicago State (2-19, 2-4 NEC), 75-73, with a game-winning layup as the buzzer sounded Friday night at Merkert Gymnasium.

LEADERS

• Sophomore Louie Semona (Cincinnati, Ohio) led a group of five double-digit scorers for the Skyhawks with 21 points as he went 7-12 from the field, 2-5 from deep, and 5-6 from the free throw line. Semona also had four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block in 37 minutes.
• Graduate student Amir Nesbitt (Newport News, Va.) led all bench scorers with 13 points, scoring 10 in the second half, making five of his 12 shot attempts.
• Freshman Hermann Koffi (Quebec City, Quebec) scored 12 points, graduate student Josh Morgan (Brampton, Ontario) notched 11 points, and freshman Pearse McGuinn (Havertown, Pa.) had a career-high 10 points in Friday's win for the Skyhawks.
• Junior Chas Stinson (Charlotte, N.C.) stuffed the stat sheet Friday night, recording six points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block in 32 minutes on the floor.
• The Cougars were led by Gabe Spinelli, who tallied a game-high 25 points, while Jalen Forrest also scored 20+ for Chicago State, putting in 23 of his own.

FIRST HALF

• Koffi opened the scoring with back-to-back threes for the Skyhawks as Stonehill jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
• Chicago State rallied with a three-pointer from Saxby Sunderland and a six-point outburst from Jalen Forrest that brought the Cougars back within one, 10-9.
• Chicago State took its first lead at 14:37 of the first half, going up 11-10, and eventually grew its lead to three points, 20-17, seven minutes later.
• A three-point play by Troy McKoy Jr. doubled the Cougar lead to six, 25-19, with under six minutes to go in the half.
• The Skyhawks responded with a 7-0 run that was highlighted by a corner three from Nesbitt and a slam dunk off a baseline cut from Stinson as Stonehill took a 26-25 lead.
• The Skyhawks continued to play well going into the break as McGuinn put in two back-to-the-basket finishes, reaching a career-high six points as Stonehill led 35-29 at the half.

SECOND HALF

• The Cougars started the second half on a 7-2 run, pulling back within one point, 37-36.
•  A jumper from Jalen Forrest gave Chicago State a 40-39 lead, but Stonehill responded with a McGuinn jump hook in the lane, followed by a Semona three-pointer to regain a 44-40 advantage.
• Semona continued to play well, converting on back-to-back layups before a turnaround jumper from Nesbitt gave Stonehill its largest lead of the game, 50-42, with under 12 minutes remaining in the game.
• Morgan knocked down a corner three to put the Skyhawks up nine, 53-44, but Gabe Spinelli and Forrest willed the Cougars back into the game as a pull-up three from the top of the key from Forrest made it a four-point game, 57-53.
• Spinelli knocked down a mid-range jumper and came off a screen firing, cashing in on a three that tied the score, 63-63, with under four minutes to go.
• Nesbitt drove baseline, converting on a layup, but another response from the Cougars tied the score again, 65-65.
• Nesbitt broke the tie again, sinking a three-pointer from the wing, but Chicago State wouldn't go away, as Spinelli finished at the rim over Morgan to make it a one-point game, 70-69 with 40 seconds to play.
• Another possession, another Nesbitt bucket, as he pushed the lead back up to three, 72-69, making a layup with 22 seconds on the clock.
• After free throws on both sides and a tough finish at the rim for Spinelli with six seconds left, the score was knotted up at 73-73.
• Stonehill advanced the ball and drew up an inbound play that got Morgan a one-on-one matchup with his defender, beating the Cougar defender with a drive down the baseline where he was able to force a layup off the glass and into the basket at the buzzer.
• The Skyhawks pulled out the Northeast Conference win, 75-73, after the pair of grad students, Morgan and Nesbitt, scored the final 10 points down the stretch for Stonehill.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill is now 2-0 all-time against Chicago State, with the Skyhawks winning both Northeast Conference matchups in the Cougar's first season in the NEC.
• This was the fifth time this season that the Skyhawks finished the game shooting above 50% as a team (29-55; 52.7%) and they are undefeated in such games.
• This was Semona's fifth consecutive start and his ninth straight game scoring in double figures. Semona is now averaging 15.9ppg over the last 12 games as he's tallied 10+ in 11 of those contests.
• Reigning NEC Rookie of the Week, Hermann Koffi has made at least two three-pointers in six of the last seven games. Koffi is averaging 13.6 points per game over that stretch.
• McGuinn had his most dominant performance of the season, reaching career-highs of 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and 19 minutes on a perfect 5-5 shooting night.
• Senior Nathan McGill (Dillsburg, Pa.) made his first start for the Skyhawks since his freshman season in 2021-22, playing 24 minutes and tallying season-highs of four rebounds and two assists.
• Stinson tallied a career-high seven assists and a season-high 11 rebounds while notching two steals for the 10th time in the last 14 games.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill men's basketball (11-10, 3-3 NEC) is back at Merkert Gymnasium to take on FDU (7-13, 3-2 NEC) on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. for a Northeast Conference matchup.

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