Hall and Ray tie for the game-high with 18 points

EASTON, Mass. (December 1, 2007) – Stonehill College used torrid 55.1 percent shooting (27-of-49) from the field to take down Franklin Pierce University, 85-74, in Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

Stonehill junior Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) led five Skyhawks in double-figures with 18 points by hitting 7-of-8 attempts from the field, including 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. Classmate Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) poured in 17 points (nine in the second half) to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks for Stonehill.

Freshman Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee), sophomore AJ Rudawitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) and sophomore Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) also recorded double-figures in points for Stonehill, as the trio combined to miss only five field goal attempts.

Sophomore Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) tied for the game-high with a career-best 18 points to lead the Ravens. Ray hit 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) shots from the field, and also added four rebounds, one block and one steal. Sophomore Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) and junior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon School) each scored nine points for Franklin Pierce, with Wellman taking down a team-high six rebounds as well.

The Ravens had a good shooting game, hitting 41.7 percent (30-for-72) of their shots on the day and 46.3 percent (19-41) in the second half. The team could not stay with the hot-shooting Skyhawks, however, as Stonehill hit 50 percent (13-of-26) on its shots in the first half and bettered that with a 60.9 percent (14-of-23) clip over the final 20 minutes of play.

Franklin Pierce hung with Stonehill in the first half, as the Ravens held a one-point lead with 3:29 remaining in the half before the home team scored the final eight points of the half to take a 34-27 lead headed into intermission. Kernan and Smith each recorded three-pointers to help the Skyhawks regain a lead that they would not relinquish.

In the second half, Franklin Pierce was within nine at 45-36 before Stonehill caught fire from three-point range, as the Skyhawks hit five consecutive three-point attempts and 6-of-7 shots overall to increase the lead to 15 with 11:32 remaining. For the game, Stonehill hit 14-of-27 attempts (51.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

Stonehill increased its lead to as much as 22 on a Smith layup with 4:58 left in the game, but the Ravens halved the lead to 11 by holding the Skyhawks to only one field goal the rest of the way.

Franklin Pierce (2-4, 0-4 NE-10) returns to the Fieldhouse on Tuesday night with a conference matchup against Le Moyne College in at 5:30 p.m. Stonehill (4-4, 2-1 NE-10) takes on Assumption College Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. in Easton.