The Game
Stonehill College heads to Connecticut to close out the non-conference portion of its inaugural NCAA Division I schedule as it visits the University of Hartford at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion tonight. The Skyhawks are looking to continue to build momentum heading towards the final month of the season after posting a pair of Northeast Conference road wins at LIU and Fairleigh Dickinson over the weekend, while Hartford is in its final NCAA Division I season and aim to snap a run of 11-straight defeats following a home win over FDU on November 30.

Media Information
Tonight’s game is being broadcast live online via Hartford Hawks All-Access. Jeff Dooley and Dan Lovallo will have the call of the action from West Hartford.

Last Time Out
Sparked by a career-high 23-points from fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.), Stonehill scored 51 points in the second half to secure a 70-59 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson in a Northeast Conference matchup at Stratis Arena. Johnson scored 20 of his career-high 23 points in the second half as Stonehill erased a 16-point deficit two minutes into the second half to complete a 2-0 road weekend and avenge a home loss to FDU just six days ago. He made 8-of-12 shots from the floor, including 5-for-7 from three-point distance, adding six rebounds and three assists off the bench for the Skyhawks. Johnson buried all four of his three-point tries in the second half and finished 7-for-9 from the floor overall in the final 20-minutes, adding 2-for-3 free-throw shooting. Fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) scored all 15 of his points in the second half to assist in the comeback, draining all eight free-throws in sealing the win down the stretch, while adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) contributed 11 points, five boards and two assists, while fifth-year Josh Mack (Winchester, Va.) rounded out Stonehill’s double-figure scorers with eight of his ten in the first half, dishing out two assists.

Against the Hawks
Tonight marks the 11th meeting all-time between Stonehill and Hartford, but the first since the quarterfinal round of the 1984 Northeast-8 Tournament. Stonehill holds a 7-2 known advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1957 according the College archives, but that result is unknown. The series resumed in the 1970s and the two are both former Northeast-10 Conference members. Stonehill won the first six meetings on record between the two, before Hartford swept the regular season series between the two in 1983-84. Stonehill exacted revenge on the week with a 76-70 win at the Hartford PE Center in the NE10 Quarterfinals in 1984 prior to the Hawks making their leap to Division I. Tonight marks Stonehill’s first visit to Chase Arena (opened in 1990), but it has posted a 3-1 record all-time in West Hartford.

George Leonard

Last Time They Met
Stonehill posted a 76-70 victory over Hartford in the quarterfinal round of the 1984 NE8 Tournament, avenging a pair of regular season losses, that marked the only two wins for the Hawks on record in the series that dates back to 1957. George Leonard recorded a double-double of 21 points and ten rebounds for No. 5-seeded Stonehill, adding six blocked shots, while Robert Britto scored 16 points and grabbed five boards. Peter Krause also notched a double-double for Stonehill with 11 points, ten rebounds, two assists and a steal. Steve Mack led No. 4-seeded Hartford with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, adding three assists and three steals. Ulysses Garcia contributed 17 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals. Stonehill dominated the glass with a 55-32 rebounding advantage. Stonehill finished shooting 43% from the floor and was 30-for-40 (75%) from the free-throw line, while Hartford was 8-for-10 from the line and shot 40% from the floor.

Turn Back the Clock
Tonight marks Stonehill’s first meeting with Hartford since February 28, 1984. Let’s take a look back at what was going on in that time:
• It was a Tuesday.
• #1 Song in the U.S. was “Jump” by Van Halen.
• #1 Song in the U.K. was “99 Red Balloons” by Nena.
• 26th Grammy Awards were held, with Michael Jackson winning 8 Grammys for “Thriller”
• Jan 17: Supreme Court rules (5-4) that private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws.
• Jan. 24: Apple Computer Inc unveils its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer
• Feb. 29: Pierre Trudeau announces he is stepping down after 15 years as Canadian Prime Minister.
• I just celebrated my 10th birthday.

Consistent Schedule
This marks the third-straight season Stonehill has played a game on January 25 – all three on the road. The Skyhawks posted an 80-70 victory at American International College behind seven three-pointers and 27 points by Owen Chose, ’22, and notched a 67-59 win at Southern Connecticut State in 2019-20, led by 19 points and five threes from Chose, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic cancellation of the 2020-21 season.

Sims

Johnson

Prime Performers
Stonehill fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) were both named Northeast Conference Prime Performers for their efforts in the Skyhawks 2-0 week by the league office on Tuesday. Sims, who earns Prime Performer status for a team-leading sixth time this season, averaged 14.0 points on 70.6% (12-17) shooting, with 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals over Stonehill’s two wins. He matched his season-high with 24 points for the third time this season at LIU on Friday night, finishing 11-for-13 from the floor, with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Johnson earns his first NEC Prime Performer selection after averaging 12.5 points on 56.3% shooting (9-16), including 5-for-10 (50%) from three, with 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He erupted for a career-high 23 points in Sunday night’s win at FDU, including 20 points in the Skyhawks 51-point second half, finishing 8-of-12 from the floor, including 5-for-7 from three, with six rebounds and three assists. Sims leads the Skyhawks with his six Prime Performer selections, followed by fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) with five and postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) with two, while Johnson is the fourth Skyhawks to earn the recognition this year with his first pick this week.

NEC Prime Performers:
Nov. 14: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 21: Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 28: Andrew Sims
Dec. 5: Andrew Sims & Max Zegarowski
Dec. 12: Isaiah Burnett
Dec. 19: Andrew Sims
Jan. 2: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Jan. 9: Isaiah Burnett
Jan. 18: Max Zegarowski
Jan. 24: Andrew Sims & Shamir Johnson

Milestone Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) is closing in on giving Stonehill two 1,000-point scorers on its roster, having scored 954 points in 82 career games, including his time at Lynn and Franklin Pierce. Zegarowski scored eight points in five games at Lynn University in 2018-19, before playing 55 games over three seasons at former NE10 divisional foe Franklin Pierce University from 2019-22, where he scored 677 points, including 431 points in 2021-22 to help the Ravens to an NCAA Tournament bid. He has totaled 269 points in 22 games at Stonehill this season.

Movin’ On Up!
After becoming Stonehill’s 43rd 1,000-point scorer against FDU on January 16, fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) has moved into 39th place on the program’s career scoring list after his combined 28 points over the weekend. His 1,028 points in 94 career games moved him past Rollie Hollins, ’74 (1,021) for 39th all-time in Stonehill history. He enters tonight’s game 15 points behind Adrian Machado ’96 (1,043) for 38th all-time.

Stop… Thief!
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has collected at least one steal in all 22 games this season and in 28-straight games dating back to the 2021-22 season. He shares the national lead with his 58 steals this season, ranking second in the NEC and eighth nationally with 2.6 steals per game. He has collected multiple steals in 18 games this season, including a career-high matching five thefts at Boston College (12/13), at Binghamton (12/3) and against Wagner (1/5). Burnett is averaging 2.1 steals per game in NEC play so far, ranking second in the Conference, after leading the NE10 with 2.3 steals per game last year, collecting his 100th career steal at Bradley on December 19. (Note that due to NCAA Division I reclassification, Stonehill does not officially appear among NCAA statistical leaders for four years)

Even Better in the N-E-C
Fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has made 37-of-40 free-throw attempts (92.5-percent) through Stonehill’s first eight NEC games to rank second in the Conference – tops among those with over 20-attempts. After making all eight free-throws at FDU on Sunday, he has made his last 12 free-throw attempts dating back to a miss on his first attempt in the Skyhawks first matchup with FDU on January 16. Burnett has made 26 of his last 27 free-throws going back to the second of against Wagner on January 5.

Triples Duo
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) and fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) both rank among the NEC’s leading three-point shooters. Zegarowski is second in the Conference shooting 42.1-percent (53-for-126) from three-point distance – tops among NEC three-point shooters with 100-plus attempts, ranking third with 2.4 three-point field goals per game. Johnson is ranked sixth for both three-pointers per game (2.) and three-point percentage at 38.9-percent (44-for-113) – good for fourth among those with 100 attempts.

NE-Defense
Stonehill ranks third in the NEC for scoring defense in Conference games only, allowing 62.0 points per game in NEC play this season, ranking second in NEC field goal percentage defense (.397), as one of just two teams limiting opponents under 40% in Conference play, and three-point field goal percentage defense (.283).

Sims City
Fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is ranked sixth among NEC scoring leaders with his team-best 14.9 points per game. Sims has scored 20-plus points six times this season, including a season-best 24 points three times after Friday night at LIU, to go along with a 20-point game at Boston College. Sims is ranked  third in the NEC for field goal percentage (.481).

Taking Their Charity
Stonehill is shooting an NEC-best 76.1-percent from the free throw line this season. Three Skyhawks are ranked in the NEC top 15 in free-throw accuracy in postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) now third at 86.3-percent (44-for-51), while fifth-years Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) and Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.), rank sixth and 15th, respectively. Burnett has risen to sixth at 80.2-percent (85-106) and Sims sits 15th at 73.8% (76-103).

Top 15 for I.B.
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) ranks in the top-15 among NEC leaders in seven categories. He ranks second in steals (2.6 spg), sixth in free-throw percentage (.788), 10th in scoring (12.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.443), assists (2.6 apg) and defensive rebounds (3.9/gm), and 14th in rebounding (4.5 rpg).

In Transition
Stonehill announced it had accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference and commence a four-year transition to full NCAA Division I membership on April 5. The Skyhawks started their four-year transition on July 1 and will earn full NCAA Division I membership in 2026-27. At the June NEC meetings, the Conference presidents announced a shift in the waiting period for automatic qualifier sports from competing for NEC postseason championships from four to two years, making Stonehill eligible to compete in the NEC postseason starting in 2024-25.

Proud History
Stonehill won the Northeast-10 Presidents’ Cup six times, finishing in the top three in the final standings 15 of the last 17 years. Stonehill was one of just ten institutions nationwide to receive the NCAA Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Achievement, recognizing athletic departments with an Academic Success rating of 90-percent or better, each of the first ten years of the program’s existence. The College ranks No. 98 in the category of National Liberal Arts Schools by U.S. News & World Report and No. 94 for the Best Value category.

Hoop History
Stonehill men’s basketball earned 15 NCAA Division II Tournament bids over its history, the last was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Stonehill were charter members of the Northeast-10 Conference, winning the first two tournament championships in 1981 and ’82, finishing its time in the Conference with four postseason titles and six regular season championships.

Getting Social
Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics have multiple social media outlets to get updates on all 23 varsity programs. The department’s Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @GoStonehill on Twitter and @stonehillskyhawks via Instagram! You can also search for Stonehill men’s basketball on Facebook, follow the team’s Twitter account via @StonehillBball as well as head coach Chris Kraus @CoachChrisKraus, and its new Instagram feed @stonehillbball. 

Up Next
Stonehill returns to Merkert Gym and Northeast Conference play on Saturday, when it hosts Sacred Heart University at 2 p.m.