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BLOOMFIELD FALLS TO STONEHILL IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

March 11, 2006

EASTON, MA - Freshman Nick Smith scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead five players in double figures as top-seeded and 12th-ranked Stonehill used a season-high 14 three-pointers to post a 96-77 victory over eighth-seeded Bloomfield in quarterfinal round play of the 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Northeast Regional Championships Saturday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

The host Skyhawks, who advance to the NCAA Northeast Regional semi-finals to take on fifth-seeded Adelphi (a 90-86 winner over Bentley in other quarterfinal round action), set a school single season record for victories with the triumph in improving to 24-6 on the season, bettering the 23-win mark set in 1988-89.

Stonehill overcame an early seven-point deficit by closing the half on a 7-0 run to take a 46-41 advantage at the break, and the Skyhawks blistered the nets at a 61 percent clip in the final 20 minutes of play in expanding its lead to double digits over the final six-plus minutes of action in their first NCAA tournament game in eight years. Smith connected on 6-of-7 attempts from behind the arc as part of his career-high effort in accounting for nearly half of the hosts' three-pointers on the evening in recording his second career double-double.

Senior Sean Nelson added 21 points and eight boards for the winners, who also received 13 points from senior Marquis Taylor as well as 12 points from senior Chris Kraus. Freshman Matt Hall came off the bench to add 10 points for the Skyhawks, who shot 58 percent from the field for the night and held a 39-29 rebounding advantage in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Stonehill recorded 27 assists on its 36 field goals and held a 37-0 scoring advantage in bench points for the contest.

Senior Daniel Terrell led all scorers with 24 points in the setback for the Deacons, who finish the season at 21-10 overall. Junior Rob Lawrence added a double-double effort of 19 points and 10 rebounds for Bloomfield, which also received 16 points from junior Andre Dabney as well as 11 points from junior Tony Wilson. The Deacons shot 43 percent from the field and canned nine three-pointers but were hurt by the bench scoring margin for the contest.