ALBANY – Stonehill College converted 10-of-14 attempts from the foul line throughout the final 1:13 to secure a 69-62 Northeast-10 Conference victory over The College of Saint Rose this afternoon at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Skyhawks (14-2/9-2 NE-10), ranked #20 in this week's NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, won their eighth straight and remained undefeated on the road this season (6-0).

The first 16 minutes of the contest went back and forth with three ties and five lead changes before Stonehill junior forward A.J. Rudowitz converted a layup at the 3:11 mark that put the Skyhawks up for good, 22-21. Rudowitz struck again less than a minute later, but it was senior guard Matt Hall's 3-pointer with 10 seconds left that capped off an 8-0 run to give Stonehill a seven point, 28-21, halftime edge.

The Skyhawks began to seize control midway through the second half when sophomore guard Daniel Heppert laid the ball in to give Stonehill its largest lead of the afternoon, 43-32, with 11:41 to play. The Golden Knights (7-10/5-7 NE-10) were unable to get closer than seven points throughout the next 10 minutes and it was still an 11-point ballgame, 59-48, following a layup by Hall with 1:35 left.

Saint Rose tried to make things interesting down the stretch by putting the Skyhawks on the line, thus forcing them to seal head coach David McLaughlin's 100th career victory from the stripe. The tactic by Golden Knight's head coach Brian Beaury started to set in as Saint Rose junior guard Jermaine Clark hit a layup and buried a trey to close the gap to six, 59-53.

Clark got to the rim two more times on consecutive trips and added another score after a jumper by freshman guard Shea Bromirski to get the Golden Knights as close as five, 65-60, with 23 seconds on the clock. However, Stonehill senior forward Nick Smith and Rudowitz knocked down four straight free throws to pull away.

Clark, who led Saint Rose with 18 points, drained the 150th 3-pointer of his career in the waning moments to move into eighth place on the all-time list at the College. Junior forward Malcolm Williams contributed 16 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 38 seconds remaining, while Bromirski and senior forward Evan Lane added eight points apiece.

Rudowitz tossed in a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and Hall recorded 17 points to go with three steals to pace the Skyhawks. Additionally, Smith contributed 14 points in 23 minutes off the bench and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.

Both clubs are scheduled to return to league action Tuesday night in a pair of road contests. The Golden Knights will travel to Merrimack, which is tied for the NE-10 lead with Stonehill, for a 7:30 pm tip-off in North Andover, MA. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks head to Pace University for a 7:30 pm meeting in Pleasantville. 

Box Score