Who are they?
Stonehill College is a selective Catholic college located near Boston in Easton, Massachusetts. The Skyhawks (24-8) captured thier second regional title in program history to advance to the Elite Eight in Highland Heights, Ky. Stonehill made it to the Elite Eight for the first time in 2006 during head coach David McLaughlin’s third season at the helm. The No. 3-seeded Skyhawks broke a 23-year conference title drought and captured its fourth Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a 73-61 win against the No. 4-seeded University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Players to Watch
Junior guard Brian Hamor has led the Skyhawks all season and was named the East Regional MVP after he averaged 22.3 points per game over the Skyhawks three regional victories. Hamor is only one of three players on the team to start in all 32 games thus far and leads Stonehill with 14.2 ppg.
Senior Andre Tongo, in his first season as a starter, is averaging 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Northeast-10 Conference tournament. Fellow senior Pat Lee is averaging 10.8 points and 8.6 rebounds and was picked as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
How will they fair against the Hilltoppers?
These two teams will meet in an Elite Eight matchup on Wednesday, March 21 at noon at the Bank of Kentucky Center and this game has the potential to be a blowout. Stonehill is the only team to advance to the Elite Eight without getting a single vote in the last NABC coaches’ Top 25 poll. That should sit well with the No. 3-ranked Hilltoppers, who are coming off an 11 point victory against No. 7 Shaw. West Liberty also is averaging a shooting percentage of 55 in its last three games. Consider the Skyhawks a roadbump on the Hilltoppers’ way to the Final Four.
Sports Talk on the Hilltop 