EASTON, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team erased a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Stonehill College, 70-66, on Wednesday at Merkert Gymnasium during Northeast-10 Conference play.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (8-15, 5-12 NE10), Stonehill (13-11, 9-9 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Patrick Gardner (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun/Nassau CC), 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 11-for-19 field goals
• First-year Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4-for-7 field goals, 2-for-4 three-pointers
• First-year Nic Button (Skaneateles, N.Y./Cheshire Academy), 12 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4-for-9 field goals, 3-for-5 three-pointers
• Junior Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School), 7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 offensive rebounds, 5-for-5 free throws

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Fifth-year Owen Chose, 17 points
• Senior Andrew Sims, 16 points, 4 rebounds
• Senior Isaiah Burnett, 9 points, 4 assists, 5 steals
• First-year Christopher Melis, 10 rebounds

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's outshot Stonehill both overall, 42.1%-40.7%, and from three-point range, 37.5% (9-for-24) to 26.1% (6-for-23).
• The Purple Knights moved to 3-2 in their last five games.
• Each of the Purple and Gold's last four games was decided by five points or less, as 11 of its contests has been determined by six points or fewer this winter.
• Saint Michael's defeated Stonehill for the first time since Feb. 7, 2015, and in Merkert Gymnasium for the first time since Feb. 8, 2014.
• Gardner posted his 14th double-double of the season while totaling 19 points and seven rebounds in the second half alone.

THE ACTION

• Four lead changes in the opening 6:14 preceded Stonehill utilizing a 9-0 run to grab a 16-7 lead by 9:49 of the first half on Burnett's jumper.
• The Purple Knights twice edged within three points, including on first-year CJ Crews' (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School) three-pointer from the top of the arc at 5:26 (20-17).
• The next seven points came from the Skyhawks, who carried a 32-21 lead into halftime.
• Stonehill pushed its advantage to 47-31 at 13:39 of the second period on Chose's triple and was still ahead 53-40 following two Sims free throws with 8:32 remaining.
• Duniver had five points during a 7-1 spurt that cut the deficit to 54-47 at 6:17, but Chose's three pushed the lead back to 10.
• Duniver hit three-pointers to bookend a tying 15-5 run that took 2:40 to elapse, with Gardner at one point scoring three straight baskets and Gorham converting a three-point play at 3:42 to draw his team within 60-59. Duniver's second trey with 3:00 to go knotted the teams at 62.
• Stonehill went on top thanks to Chose's jumper at 2:09, only to see Gardner again tie the game on his own jumper 18 seconds later, with Button assisting.
• The duo swapped roles at 1:10, with Gardner feeding Button for a tie-breaking three-pointer (67-64).
• Chose knocked down another jumper with 49 seconds left, but Gardner's second-chance basket at 20 ticks recreated the three-point margin (69-66).
• Playing with four fouls, Gardner blocked a Stonehill jumper five seconds later and snagged a rebound. Still up just three, Saint Michael's missed a pair of free throws, giving the hosts a chance to tie, but a three-point try was offline, and Gardner pulled his 10th board at six seconds before making a clinching free throw.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at regionally-ranked Saint Anselm College, 3:30 p.m.
• The Hawks were 10th in this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.