EASTON, Mass. (February 15, 2025) – Sophomore Louie Semona (Cincinnati, Ohio) set a new career-high of 30 points to fuel the Stonehill College men's basketball team (14-13, 6-6 NEC) to an 85-73 win over Mercyhurst (13-16, 7-7 NEC) at Merkert Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

LEADERS

• Semona's career-high came on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, 5-of-9 from three, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and played 40 minutes, committing zero turnovers.
• Sophomore Todd Brogna (Southborough, Mass.) recorded his third career double-double, scoring 16 points and corralling 10 rebounds. He shot 5-for-8 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe with four assists and two blocks.
• After scoring a career-high 17 points on Thursday, junior Ethan Meuser (Shavertown, Pa.) scored 14 points today, hitting six of his eight shot attempts with seven rebounds.
• Mercyhurst's Shemar Rathan-Mayes led the Lakers with 19 points, making three of his five three-pointers, as he also led the team with four assists.

FIRST HALF

• Meuser got the Skyhawks offense going early with seven quick points, hitting a three and a pair of layups as Stonehill led, 17-11, a little over eight minutes into the game.
• A 7-0 run for the Lakers gave them a 20-19 lead, but Semona came alive, knocking down a pair of threes as the Skyhawks hit five straight shots to retake a 32-24 lead.
• After a three-point play for senior Nathan McGill (Dillsburg, Pa.) made the score 37-29 with three minutes remaining in the half, Mercyhurst cut its deficit in half with a 7-3 run to send the teams into the break, with Stonehill leading 40-36.
• The Skyhawks shot 55.2% (16-29) in the first half and outrebounded the Lakers, 16-10.

SECOND HALF

• Mercyhurst pulled within two points of the Skyhawks, 51-49, seven minutes into the second half, but Stonehill continued its stellar shooting to build a double-digit lead, 76-66, with 2:43 left to play.
• Stonehill made 13 of its first 21 (61.9%) shots in the second half, with Semona scoring 16 points during the Skyhawks' run.
• Stonehill sunk all seven of its free throw attempts down the stretch to secure the 85-73 win at Merkert Gym over the Lakers.
• Stonehill led for all 20 minutes of the second half as Semona scored 20 points in the second half alone.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill's 55.6% (30-54) shooting performance as a team today is its best mark of the season and the best since the Skyhawks shot 60% (30-50) at Texas A&M Commerce on November 20, 2023.
• Stonehill improves to 2-1 all-time against Mercyhurst in a series that dates back to 2004 when the two teams were Division II. This was the first win for the Skyhawks against the Lakers at the DI level and the first meeting between the two teams at Merkert Gym.
• Brogna remains the lone NCAA Division I basketball player, averaging 50/40/90 shooting splits, as he now sits at 53.0/42.6/91.2 after tonight's 5-8 FG and 6-6 FT performance.
• Brogna has now scored in double figures in eight of the past 10 games while recording at least six rebounds in 10 of the last 12 games. This was his third double-double of the season and the first since putting up 11 points and 13 rebounds at Saint Francis on Jan. 5.
• This was Semona's 15th straight game scoring in double figures as the sophomore from Cincinnati is averaging 16.6ppg over the last 18 games (since Dec. 1). His five threes today match a career-high he set on Feb. 1 against CCSU.
• Semona is the first 30-point scorer for the Skyhawks this season and the first since Feb. 24, 2024, when Tony Felder had 30 points against Saint Francis last season.
• Stonehill is now 10-3 at Merkert Gym this season, the most home wins in the conference as the Skyhawks move into fourth place in the NEC with today's win.
• Stonehill outrebounded Mercyhurst by 15, 36-21, including a 10-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill men's basketball (14-13, 6-6 NEC) begins a three-game road trip at Wagner (12-13, 4-8 NEC) on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. as the Skyhawks take on the Seahawks at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island in a Northeast Conference matchup.

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