COLCHESTER, Vt. - In its final home game until Dec. 30, the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team lost to regionally-ranked Stonehill College, 97-82, on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center during Northeast-10 Conference play. The Purple Knights are winless through seven contests, including five league outings, while the Skyhawks improved to 4-4 and 2-3. Stonehill is ninth in this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.

Senior Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md./North Point) turned in his fifth double-double of the season behind 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in addition to 13 rebounds, adding five offensive boards, two blocks and two steals. He has netted at least 20 points in six of seven contests thus far. Sophomore Levi Holmes III (East Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers Prep) had 18 points, junior Colin Richey (Upton, Mass./Choate Rosemary Hall) collected 10 points, six boards and three assists, and senior David Sullivan (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) posted seven points. Classmate Zaire Williams (Paterson, N.J./Newark Academy) dished off seven assists, as Saint Michael's shot 48.4 percent from the floor and 13-of-16 on free throws.

Bonds is now eighth in program history in rebounds, upping his career total to 859 to pass Michel Bonebo '90 (856). He is 10 shy of seventh-place Brian Monahan '08 (869). In scoring, Bonds stands 30th at 1,117, passing Bob Millikin '85 (1,097) and Anthony Scott '02 (1,098) while nearing Tom Lemanowicz '57 (1,118).

Stonehill's five starters all scored at least 16 points, combining for 89 points and 22 assists on 15-of-25 three-point shooting. Junior Isaiah Bess had 22 points and five assists, shooting 9-of-9 on free throws, while senior Ryan Logan turned in 19 points, nine boards and four assists. Classmate Jim Walsh, junior KJ Lee and first-year Will Moreton all collected 16 points, with Lee handing out seven assists and Moreton blocking three shots. The Skyhawks shot 50.0 percent overall but 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from three-point range, scoring more than half of their points from distance.

Lee knocked down his team's first three 1:28 into the game to produce a 6-0 lead, but the Purple Knights knotted the game at nine behind five straight points from Holmes. An 8-0 run by Stonehill pushed the margin to 20-11 by 13:22 of the opening stanza, but the hosts continued to stick around, with Richey burying a three, Holmes knocking down a jumper and Bonds dropping home a lay-up to make it 20-18. First-year Stan Foster's (Rochester, N.Y./Avon Old Farms School) jumper kept Saint Michael's within 24-20 with 9:32 to go, but the Skyhawks netted 12 of the next 14 points, with Moreton canning two threes, and the visitors led 36-22 at 5:47.

A 6-0 run during which Bonds, Richey and junior Bruno Beča (Zagreb, Croatia/Westchester Country Day School) all scored ensued, with Beča's lay-in bringing Saint Michael's within 36-28, but first-year Daniel Largey hit a three for one of only two Skyhawk bench baskets of the night at 3:43, pushing the lead to 42-30. Moreton's tip-in just before the buzzer had the visitors ahead 48-35 at the intermission, and the lead slowly swelled to a game-high 22 at 70-48 with 14:58 left in regulation.

The Purple Knights chipped their deficit to 74-63 with 10:26 left on a pair of Sullivan free throws, as sophomore Derek Cheatom (Buffalo, N.Y./The Park School of Buffalo) knocked down a pair of threes during the 15-4 run, and Holmes' lay-in had the hosts within 82-71 at 6:19 before an 8-2 stretch put Stonehill in command.

The Purple Knights head to Bentley University, which is seventh in this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll, on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest.