Press Release

PURPLE KNIGHTS, ASSUMPTION SPLIT NORTHEAST-10 DOUBLEHEADER Sorrentine, SMC men hold off Greyhounds, 89-84; SMC women drop 53-39 decision FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               FOR MORE INFORMATION February 8, 2005                                                                                 Contact: Seth Cole                                                                                                          Phone: (802) 654-2537 COLCHESTER, Vt. – Saint Michael’s College and Assumption College split a Northeast-10 Conference basketball doubleheader on Tuesday at the Ross Sports Center. In the opener, the Assumption women pulled past Saint Michael’s, 53-39, and in the nightcap, the Purple Knight men held off the Greyhounds, 89-84. In the men’s contest, freshman James Sorrentine (Pawtucket, R.I./Saint Raphael Academy) drained eight 3-pointers and tallied a game-high 28 points and a team-best six assists as Saint Michael’s (7-16, 4-14) held on for its second straight win. Four other Purple Knights scored in double figures, as juniors Mike Keating (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) and BJ Robertson (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) each netted 13 points, while senior Eric Swiezynski (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) and sophomore Brendan Mullins (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) chipped in 11 points apiece. Keating added a team-high nine rebounds as Saint Michael’s connected on 14-of-31 3-pointers and committed a season-low five turnovers, including just one miscue in the second half. For the Greyhounds, senior Brian Robinson (Bayonne, N.J.) and post-grad Elijah Bland (Hackensack, N.J.) each posted double-doubles, with Robinson notching 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Bland 16 points and 10 boards. Freshman Mike Foti (Franklin, Mass.) scored 17 of his 19 points after halftime, and senior Kevin Harrington (Bernardston, Mass.) added 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as Assumption (4-19, 2-17) lost its fifth straight contest and fell to 0-11 on the road despite shooting 51.5 percent from the field, including 57.6 percent in the second half. After Assumption opened the contest on an 11-3 run, the Purple Knights countered with a 14-3 stretch to take a 17-14 lead with 12:29 left in the period. Saint Michael’s led for the remainder of the half, and took a 51-37 lead into intermission, as Sorrentine notched 17 points and five assists in the frame. The Greyhounds, however, came out red-hot to start the second half, and a 3-pointer by Foti with 10:03 remaining pulled the visitors even at 69-all. Another trifecta by Foti less than a minute later gave Assumption its first lead since 11-9, and the Greyhounds led by four, 82-78, with less than four minutes to play. A pair of free throws from freshman Brian Monahan (Kinderhook, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) pulled the Purple Knights within two, and Sorrentine’s eighth and final 3-pointer gave Saint Michael’s the lead for good, 83-82, with 2:54 to go. A Robinson lay-up cut Assumption’s deficit to one with 45 seconds left, but Robertson’s putback off of a miss from Sorrentine with 12 seconds on the clock pushed the margin back to three, 87-84. Bland’s contested 3-pointer with five seconds left was off the mark, and a pair of Sorrentine free throws with 1.8 seconds to go sealed the win.   In the women’s game, Assumption (10-12, 6-11 NE-10) held Saint Michael’s to just 27.5 percent shooting from the field in recording the victory. Junior Kristen DiCalogero (Walpole, Mass.) paced the Greyhounds with 16 points, including 12 in the second half, while freshman Megan Urban (Portland, Maine) added 11 points and 10 rebounds off of the bench to help the visitors outrebound the Purple Knights, 40-30. For Saint Michael’s, junior Brigid Hegarty (North Andover, Mass./Central Catholic) was the lone player in double figures, netting 16 points. Sophomore Dani Rayner (Westminster, Vt./Bellows Falls Union) chipped in seven points. The Purple Knights opened the game strong, as the hosts scored the first six points, including a four-point play for Hegarty. Assumption, however, began to control the glass and clamp down defensively, pulling out to a 24-19 lead at intermission. Saint Michael’s would get no closer in the second stanza, as the Greyhounds scored 12 of the first 16 points after halftime to open up a 36-23 lead. Assumption maintained its double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest, as the visitors shot 44 percent from the field in the second half and committed just six turnovers. Both teams return to action on Saturday, with Assumption hosting Le Moyne College, and Saint Michael’s visiting American International College for a conference doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Purple Knights’ next home contest is Wed., Feb. 16 versus league-rival Bryant University, with the women tipping off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. Men's Box Score Women's Box Score ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002