GMC Hoops Summaries--Friday, November 16, 2007
College Hoops--NYIT Tip-Off Classic

Smith Leads Stonehill Past Queens College, 93-79

By Greg Machos
November 16, 2007

OLD WESTBURY, NY--GMC Hoops began its first full season of men's college basketball coverage with a basketball game involving a college team that has four former GMC standouts. Stonehill College, based in North Boston, has not only four players on its roster from the Greater Middlesex Conference, but also the best the conference has had to offer over the past three seasons. Three of the players: Nick Smith of Colonia, A.J. Rudowitz of Monroe, and Vince Rosario of Cardinal McCarrick, were all Home News-Tribune Players of the Year and all time leading scorers at their respective schools while the fourth player, Darrell Carroll of St. Joseph's, was first team all conference. Three of these four players saw action in Friday's game against Queens College. Only Darrell Carroll, who sat out with an injury, didn't play in the opening game of the 2007 NYIT Tip-Off Classic. According to the NYIT Tip-Off Classic game program, Stonehill, which enters the season two years removed from its best post-season run in school history and a 27-7 record, went 16-12 in 2006-07 including a first round loss in the Northeast 10 Tournament. Meanwhile, Queens College, coming off a .500 season at 14-14, only have one returning player on their roster that averaged in double figures last season in sophomore Khaleef Allicott.

Stonehill started out strong with a 10-2 lead, but in a first half that saw several swings in momentum, the Skyhawk lead didn't get much larger as the team went into halftime with a 43-31 lead thanks to a three pointer by Nick Smith with time running out. Then, in the second half, Smith scored on a layup, and Matt Hall followed with a three point play, and Smith capped a 10-0 run with a score down low for a 50-31 lead at the 18:29 mark. However, Queens College, led by Greg Tull, Mike Liander, and Lamont Lans, rallied with a 13-6 showing to pull within twelve at 56-44. Unfortunately, the Knights couldn't get any closer as Nick Smith, who had a team high 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting including 2 of 6 from downtown as well as 2 of 3 at the foul line, slammed home a two handed alley-oop dunk to spark a 7-4 run including a jumper by Rudowitz, and an assist by the former Monroe Falcon on a three pointer by Colin Scanlon for a 63-48 lead with 11:27 remaining. From there, Stonehill outscored Queens College by a 27-22 margin for a commanding 93-70 lead before the Knights closed the game with the final nine points for the 93-79 Skyhawks' victory.

Liander led all scorers with 24 points on 10 of 18 shooting 3 of 5 from three point land while adding in seven rebounds. Three other players scored in double digits for Queens as well including Allicott (17 points on 5 of 15 field goals including 1 of 3 from three, and 6 of 7 at the line), Greg Tull (10 points and 8 rebounds), and Gerald Eugene (10 points and 5 rebounds). However, Stonehill had six players in double figures including Smith (also had 3 rebounds and 3 assists), Hall (18 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists), Rosario (12 points on 5 of 11 field goals, and 2 of 6 from the three along with 3 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound), Mike Kernan (11 points on 4 of 5 field goals including a perfect 3 of 3 from three along with 8 rebounds and a blocked shot). Nikola Stevanovic and Dan Heppert each added 10 points and 2 rebounds. According to the statistics on the Stonehill web site, the Skyhawks shot 57.4 percent from the floor for the game including a scorching 69 percent in the second half. In addition, the North Boston school went 10 of 11 at the foul line for 90.9 percent. Meanwhile, Queens shot only 35.5 percent in the first half, and 43.1 percent for the game while making only 54.5 percent of its foul shots. Furthermore, the Knights went 1 of 8 from downtown in the second half after going 4 of 8 in the first half while Stonehill was hot throughout with 13 of 26 shooting for exactly 50 percent.

The game was closest in the first half as Stonehill didn't have a lead bigger than ten in the period. The Skyhawks seemed poised to blow the game open on several occasions only to have the Knights rally back with draw within a few points. In the second half, however, Stonehill, outscored their opponent by a 50-39 count for a commanding lead late before the Knights closed with the final points for the easy Skyhawk victory. Orchestrating the offense for Stonehill was former Monsignor Donovan standout, Randall Stallworth, who led the Griffins past St. Joseph's in the first round of the 2005 Non-Public A South State Tournament after the Falcons led by the likes of Los Angeles Laker, Andrew Bynum, and FDU's Sean Baptiste as well as Kenny Widgeon (St. Vincent's), handed out 10 assists while only making three turnovers for an assist to turnover ratio of 3.33 on the game. Stallworth, who had a three pointer in the early game 10-2 spurt by the Skyhawks, also collected two steals. Another Jersey product, Kernan, was a major contributor on Shawnee's Group III State Championship team with a double-double of 13 points (on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor and 1 of 2 at the line) and 13 rebounds while collecting three assists, three blocks, and two steals in the 56-39 victory over Passaic Valley in the 2007 State Final.

Hall, who hails from Springfield, Massachusetts, and only played in 15 games during the 2006-07 season due to injury, showed that he's back at top form. Not only did he shoot well with 7 of 10 shooting from the field including 2 of 5 from three point land, but he also demonstrated some athleticism and toughness with a one handed slam off a upcourt pass by Stallworth for a 17-9 lead in the first half, and a three point play on a layup as he was fouled hard with 19:12 remaining to make the score, 48-31. Smith, who ended up the all time leading scorer back in high school at Colonia when he surpassed the previous mark set by Justin Chiera during the 2004-05 season, scored 12 points in the first half on two three pointers, two field goals, and 2 of 3 from the foul line. Then, in the second half, the junior 6'7", 230 pound forward made four field goals including two in the first 1:31 of the period, and then a huge alley-oop dunk that helped put the game away. Rosario got a three pointer in both the first and second halves while scoring nine of his 12 points in the final period as he added several drives for layups to his second half three. Rudowitz did have his share of struggles in the contest with just 1 of 6 shooting for 2 points, but his lone bucket came as well as his only assist came at a key juncture when Queens was trying to get back in the game.

The game began ominously as Queens College was assessed a technical for dunking during warmups. Smith stepped to the line prior to the tip-off, and made one of two at the charity stripe for the 1-0 lead. Stallworth then took a pass from Hall, who appeared to have gotten away with a traveling violation, and connected on a trifecta from the right wing for a 4-0 lead at about the 19:30 mark. A short time later, Stallworth drove baseline on the left side, and dished to Smith, who was trailing on the break for a layup as he was fouled for a three point play, and a 7-0 lead with 18:15 left in the half. Following a Queens score by Liander at the 17:56 mark, Hall connected for a three pointer for a 10-2 lead at approximately the 17:00 mark. However, the Knights would rally back as they would several times during the opening half. Liander connected for a three pointer from the left wing at the 16:26 mark after an earlier score, and then Allicott picked up a steal, and drove the length of the floor for a layup attempt that drew a foul for two free throws at the 15:43 mark to make the score, 10-9. Stonehill regained control over the contest with nine consecutive points including a three pointer by Hall from Smith at the 15:20 mark, a layup by Smith from Stallworth at the 14:58 mark, a one handed Jam by Hall at the 14:22 mark, and then a pair of free throws by Stallworth at the 13:50 mark for a 19-9 lead.

Queens would score the next five points as Allicott stole a Rosario pass, and drove the length of the floor for a layup to cut the deficit to 19-11 at the 11:40 mark, and then the junior point guard passed to Liander in the right corner for a three pointer that made it a five point game at 19-14 with 10:57 left in the first half. Rosario redeemed himself on the next Stonehill possession with an assist on a short jumper by Stevanovic for a 21-14 lead at the 10:23 mark as Queens called for time. Gerald Eugene got the Knights back to within five again as he was fouled by Kernan on a layup attempt at the 9:43 mark that resulted in two foul shots for a 21-16 score. About a minute later, Rosario took a pass from Kernan on the right wing, and let one go from deep for his first trey of the game to make the score, 24-16. Greg Tull got on the board, and gave Queens a quick response as well with a trifecta of his own from the top of the arc that closed the gap again to five at 24-19 with exactly eight minutes to go in the half. Kernan promptly put the Skyhawks back up by eight on the very next possession when he took a pass from Heppert, and swished a trey from the top of the key for at the 7:49 mark to make the score, 27-19. About fifty seconds later, Smith penetrated a bit on the right side and kicked back out to Kernan for another three from the exact same spot for a 30-19 advantage with exactly seven minutes to go in the half.

The Knights continued to fight as Allicott caught a skip pass off the offensive rebound, drove by Stallworth into the key for an off balanced shot that fell in as he was fouled for a three point play at the 6:30 mark for a 30-22 Skyhawk advantage. Tull then grabbed an offensive rebound, and powered it back up for a two handed jam that made the score, 30-24 with 5:38 to go before the intermission. Smith then took a pass from Hall on the right side, and connected from long distance to make the score, 33-24 moments later at the 5:20 mark. With about five minutes left, Stallworth made another nice dish to Heppert for a layup that gave Stonehill, a double digit, 35-24 lead. About forty seconds later, Liander got the ball in the left corner, and rattled home a three pointer that trimmed the deficit under ten points again at 35-27 with 4:20 remaining before intermission. However, the Skyhawks quickly scored as they got the ball downcourt to Stallworth, who drove in for a layup from the left side to force Queens to call timeout at the 4:13 mark with the score standing at 37-27. Following the stoppage, Queens brought the deficit back down to singe digits as Lamont Lans passed down low to Tull for a layup as he was fouled by Heppert, but missed the bonus free throw for a 37-29 Stonehill lead at the 3:46 mark.

Closing the half strong, the Skyhawks scored six of the last eight points on two threes (one by Hall and the other by Smith) for the dozen point halftime lead. Approximately a minute after Tull's score, Stonehill did a great job working the ball around on offense, and the solid possession culminated with a Rosario pass to Hall for a three pointer from the right wing to make the score, 40-29. Lans then drove in for a layup that pulled the Knights to within nine at 40-31 with exactly 50 seconds left before halftime, but then Stallworth made a nice kickout from the right baseline to Smith at the top of the key for a trey that closed out the opening half scoring with Stonehill on top, 43-31. Smith's half ending trey began a 10-0 spurt that included four more points from the former Colonia forward to start the second half for a 50-31 lead. On the opening Skyhawk possession of the second half, Smith inbounded to Stallworth on the left side, who passed across to Hall on the right side, and Hall made a nice entry pass to Smith on the right baseline for a layup that made it 45-31 at the 19:31 mark. On the next Queens possession, Hall poked the ball away from a Queens player down low, Stallworth grabbed the ball and passed upcourt to lead a sprinting Hall for a layup as he was fouled and eventually went into the stands at the 19:12 mark. Hall managed to get back up, go to the line, and sink the bonus charity shot for a 48-31 lead.

Following a Smith basket on a turnaround jumper in the left low block off a pass from Stallworth that made the score, 50-31 at the 18:31 mark, Queens College called for a full timeout, and after that stoppage, proceeded to score 13 of the next 19 points sparked by a one of two foul shots by Tull and Lans on back to back possessions for a 50-33 lead at the 18:00 mark. Lans then highlighted the run with a steal for a breakaway one handed dunk from the right side at the 14:14 mark. Cutting the margin down to twelve at 56-44, the Knights appeared to be on their way back, but the Skyhawks would have none of it as Smith thundered home his jam, and his teammates followed his lead to the tune of a 37-26 surge for a 93-70 lead with a few minutes remaining. Queens then got some cosmetic points to finish the contest as Stonehill came away with the 14 point win. With the victory, Stonehill, which entered the game at 1-2, evened its record at .500 while Queens College dropped to 0-1. On Saturday, the Knights were scheduled to play Nnamde Ahankeu of Columbia, Barney Anderson of St. Anthony's, and the Deacons of Bloomfield College from the CACC and Northern New Jersey at 3:00 PM while Stonehill faced off against the host school, NYIT Bears at 5:30 PM. View the video highlights of this game at YouTube.

RETURN TO THE GMC HOOPS INFO PAGE

If you are finished checking the GMC Boys Basketball Summaries, and would like to see other parts of the website.  Click below to return to the home page.

• Return to the GMC Hoops Info Page

If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.