Easton, Mass. – Louie Semona tallied 33 points to lead Stonehill College to an 85-79 come-from-behind victory over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team in the Northeast Conference finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

With the loss, the Dolphins close the regular season with a 4-12 record and will be the eighth seed in next week's NEC Tournament. The Dolphins will take on top-seeded Central Connecticut State University in the first round on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Sophomore guard AJ Dancler (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) led the Dolphins with 28 points, 19 of which came in the second half, while adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals. He finished NEC play averaging 20.125 points per game, the second-best mark in the league and just 0.008 behind first place. He is the first Dolphin to average 20 points per game during conference play since Laurence Ekperigin '10 averaged 22.41 points during the 2009-10 season. Senior forward Ocypher Owens (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian Prep/Indian River State) turned in 14 points, including nine in the first half, while redshirt freshman guard Deng Garang (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Grimes) posted nine of his 13 points in the first half.

Semona tallied 19 of his 33 points in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, and 6-of-7 from the foul line. Nathan McGill scored all 13 of his points in the second half, while adding a game-high seven rebounds. Todd Brogna and Ethan Meuser each had 11 points and three assists, while Brogna pulled down seven rebounds.

Stonehill opened the game with the first eight points, all of which were scored by Semona.

Le Moyne answered with 10 of the next 12 points to even the score at 10 with 11:54 remaining. Dancler started the run with a three-pointer, redshirt junior forward Dwayne Koroma (Berlin, Germany/Bishop Walsh (Md.)/Iona/Salt Lake C.C./UT Arlington) and junior guard Zek Tekin (Istanbul, Turkey/Ozel Esenkent Okaynus Anadolu Lisesi/Siena) each scored in the paint and then Garang nailed a three-pointer.

The Skyhawks nailed three-pointers on their next three possessions to take a 19-10 lead with 10:30 left. Meuser hit the first and then Hermann Koffi buried the second and third.

The Dolphins countered with 11 of the next 13 points to tie the game at 21 with 6:24 to go. Garang hit consecutive three-pointers, redshirt sophomore forward Nate Fouts (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles/Kimball Union Academy) had a conventional three-point play and then Owens had a tip-in to knot the score.

After five points from each team over the next two and one-half minutes, the Dolphins scored five straight points and 12 of the last 17 points of the half to take a 38-31 at the intermission. Owens scored the first five points, Dancler scored four in a row, Tekin made a free throw and then Owens capped the half with a lay-up off a steal.

The Dolphins scored the first five points of the second half to take a 12-point lead. Garang made a jumper and then Dancler drilled a three-pointer.

Stonehill answered with 14 of the next 19 points to trim its deficit to three with 15:03 to play. Semona scored the first seven points and capped the run with a three-pointer, while McGill and Brogna each scored two points in the span.

Following six points from each team over the next 2:48, the Dolphins scored eight of the next 10 points to push their lead back to nine. Dancler hit a three-pointer and a jumper and then Owens buried a three-pointer for a 62-53 advantage with 10:04 left.

The Skyhawks pulled within two points with 8:24 remaining after scoring nine of the next 11 points. Amir Nesbitt and McGill made three-pointers and then Semona followed a Koroma lay-up with a three-pointer of his own to get within 64-62.

After Le Moyne's lead was either three or five points over the next 4:14 and was at 76-71 following a Dancler three-pointer with 4:10 left, the Skyhawks scored seven straight points to take the lead. Four players scored in the span and Semona put Stonehill in front with a lay-up with 1:58 left.

Two possessions later, Dancler cut the deficit in half with one free throw with 48 seconds left, but Meuser countered with a three-pointer with 33 seconds left.

After an empty Le Moyne possession, Semona made two free throws with 15 seconds left for a six-point lead. Dancler had a dunk with 10 seconds left to Le Moyne's scoring, while Semona made two more foul shots with eight seconds left to end the game's scoring.