Game #29: Le Moyne (14-14, 9-6 NEC) vs. Stonehill (9-19, 6-9 NEC)
Info: Saturday, Feb. 21 | 2:00 p.m. | North Easton, Mass. | Merkert Gymnasium
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://stonehillskyhawks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Stonehill links: Schedule | Roster | Stats | News
 
North Easton, Mass. — The Le Moyne College men's basketball team remains on the road for a meeting with the Stonehill Skyhawks.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Dolphins had their three-game win streak snapped with a road loss to the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, 78-77. Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera led all scorers with a career-high 28 points in the setback. He shot 6-8 from three point range and added five rebounds and a team-high four assists. Redshirt sophomore guard Deng Garang recorded 18 points, a team-high nine rebounds and three steals, and two assists. Graduate student forward Shilo Jackson contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while junior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater contributed seven points, seven rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes off of the bench. 
 
YEAR #3
The Dolphins are in their third year transitioning to the Division I level (as members of the NEC) and Le Moyne is the only school in the third year of the transition process. The Dolphins went 15-17 in their first season at the Division I level, including 9-7 in NEC action to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Dolphins won their first game of the NEC Championship over FDU, 82-61, before falling in the semifinals at Merrimack. The program went 9-23 a year ago, including 4-12 in NEC play, and was the eighth seed in the conference tournament.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Le Moyne and Stonehill are facing off for the 47th time, with their series history dating all the way back to the 1962-63 season. The programs were conference rivals from the 1996-97 season to 2021-22 as members of the NE10, and again since Le Moyne joined the NEC for the 2023-24 season.
The Dolphins hold a 26-20 advantage in the all-time series. The programs faced each other twice last season, with each team winning their home matchups. The Skyhawks took the victory in their most recent matchup earlier this season, 65-54 .
 
COMMON OPPONENTS
The Dolphins and Skyhawks faced two common opponents during non-conference action, Fairfield and Lafayette. Le Moyne fell to Fairfield on Nov 22, 97-83, and defeated Lafayette on Nov 28, 76-63, while Stonehill lost to Fairfield on Nov 14, 73-71, before defeating Lafayette on Nov 21, 74-70.
 
In conference play, both teams have defeated NEC foes Chicago State, Wagner, FDU and Mercyhurst, while Le Moyne has defeated Saint Francis, New Haven and LIU and lost to CCSU, and Stonehill has defeated CCSU and lost to Saint Francis, New Haven and LIU.
 
JESUIT CONNECTION
The Dolphins faced three fellow Jesuit institutions this season. They fell at Xavier University on November 6, 74-69, fell at home to Fairfield University on November 22, 97-83, and lost to Boston College, 72-64, on December 28.
 
WELCOME BACK
The Dolphins feature six returning letterwinners and two redshirts. Sam Donnelly is a second-year graduate student, Nate Fouts, Trent Mosquera and Kaelin Thomas are redshirt juniors, Deng Garang and Trevor Roe are redshirt sophomores and Jakob Blakley and Isaac Nyakundi are sophomores.
 
NEW FACES
The Dolphins welcomed seven new players to the program for 2025-26. Ametri Moss, who spent two years apiece at State College of Florida and North Florida, and Shilo Jackson, who joined the team following two years each at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Vincennes, are graduate students; Tennessee Rainwater, who enrolled at Le Moyne following two seasons at Utah Tech, and Samuel Hincapie, who came to Le Moyne after two years at Lake Land College, are juniors and Jakai Sanders is a sophomore after one year at Saint Peter's, while Eli Greenberg and Josiah Lee are freshmen.
 
NEC PRESEASON POLL
In the NEC preseason coaches' poll, the Dolphins were picked to finish ninth in the regular season standings, the same position they finished last year. LIU, which advanced to the semifinals last year, was the unanimous selection to win the league, while back-to-back regular season champion Central Connecticut State landed second in the preseason coaches poll. Stonehill College finished third and Mercyhurst University, which is eligible for the conference tournament this year, placed fourth. FDU, which fell to CCSU in the semifinals, landed fifth and Chicago State, last year's seventh seed, moved up a spot from a year ago. Defending tournament champion Saint Francis University placed seventh in the poll and Wagner College, the 2024 champion, finished eighth. Conference newcomer University of New Haven rounded out the poll in 10th.
 
PRIME PERFORMERS
The Dolphins have had four players earn Northeast Conference weekly Prime Performer honors.
Trent Mosquera – 11/10, 12/1, 12/8, 1/21, 1/27                                   Jakai Sanders – 11/17, 12/22, 2/9
Shilo Jackson – 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/30, 1/6, 1/12, 1/21, 2/16        Tennessee Rainwater – 1/27
 
NET RANKINGS
Through games on February 19, Le Moyne is 281st in the latest NCAA NET rankings, third among NEC members, while Stonehill is ranked 339th, which is ranked eight among NEC members.
 
DOLPHINS IN THE NEC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Shilo Jackson leads the NEC in offensive rebounding (2.7) (94th nationally, but Le Moyne student-athletes don't qualify for national rankings during the institution's transition period) and double-doubles (8) (tied for 46th nationally). He is second in field goal percentage (.643) (11th nationally), rebounding (8.2) (67th nationally), third in blocks (1.6) (tied for 81st nationally), and defensive rebounding (5.5) (79th nationally), fifth in scoring (15.5), sixth in made free throws (89), ninth in free throw percentage (.718) and 23rd in assists (2.2). Trent Mosquera leads the NEC in three-pointers per game (2.6) (tied for 95th nationally), second in three-point percentage (.378) (82nd nationally), sixth in defensive rebounding (5.0), sixth in steals (1.6), seventh in rebounding (5.8), eighth in scoring (14.4) and minutes (32.3), ninth in blocks (0.7) and 21st in assists (2.3). Deng Garang is 12th in blocks (0.6), 14th in steals (1.1), 19th in three pointers (1.4) and 21st in minutes (29.6). Jakai Sanders is second in assists per game (4.4), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.9), and made free throws (94), sixth in free throw percentage (.740) and 18th in minutes (30.6).
 
COACH CHAMP
Le Moyne head coach Nate Champion '14 is the sixth-youngest head coach in Division I this season following back-to-back years as the second-youngest, celebrating his 34th birthday in early December. Tevon Saddler (30) at Nicholls is the youngest, while Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern), John Andrzejek (Campbell) and Zach Chu (Radford) are all 32 and Ronnie Thomas (Longwood) is 33. In his first five seasons of games leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted a 70-79 record and led the Dolphins to the conference tournament each season and the 2020 NCAA Tournament (canceled prior to first game due to COVID pandemic). Champion served as an assistant coach at fellow NEC member Stonehill during the 2016-17 season.
 
FIRST WINS
The Dolphins earned their first win as a Division I program on November 13, 2023 over Division III SUNY Canton, 105-46. They claimed their first victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on November 21, 2023 at CSUN, 80-70, during the first game of the Golden State Hoops Jam. They collected their first home victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on December 16, 2023 over Dartmouth College, 80-54. The 'Phins earned their first NEC victory on January 6, 2024 at FDU, 74-63.
 
SCOUTING STONEHILL
The Skyhawks are led by 13th-year head coach Chris Kraus. Stonehill has posted a 172-179 record overall, including 112-117 in conference play, during his time as head of the program. Kraus led the Skyhawks to two berths in the NCAA Division II Tournament, including the Elite Eight in 2016, while Stonehill was a member of the NE10.
 
Stonehill returned six players, including two starters, from its 2024-25 team that went 15-17 overall and 7-9 in NEC play, while adding eight transfers and two freshmen.
 
Stonehill went 3-10 during non-conference play, and has a 6-9 record in NEC play so far. 
 
Junior guard Davante Hackett led the Skyhawks with 20 points off the bench in a win over Wagner, 69-60. He is one of four Skyhawks averaging double digits this season, and he is second on the squad at 11.3 points per game. Junior forward/center Ridvan Tutic had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game.
 
Hackett recorded a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds for his second double-double of the season in their win over Le Moyne earlier this year, 65-54. Sophomore guard Hermann Koffi added 15 points and two rebounds. He leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game. 
 
Senior guard Chas Stinson had a team-high 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season in the Skyhawks loss to New Haven on Thursday, 64-51. Stinson is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game. Senior guard Rex Sunderland and senior forward Ethan Meuser each contributed eight points and four rebounds, while Koffi also added eight points in the loss.
 
DEDICATED DUO
Le Moyne's Chris Granozio and Don Familo are in their 34th season calling men's basketball games. They are currently the third-longest tenured Division I radio broadcast duo. They trail only Wichita State's Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl (46th) and Providence's John Rooke and Joe Hassett (37th). Baylor's John Morris and Pat Nunley (31st) and BYU's Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant (29th) round out the top five.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Dolphins return to Ted Grant Court for their final home game of the regular season to take on the FDU Knights on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.