Junior Muhammad El-Amin leads Seawolves with 22 points.
Stony Brook, N.Y. - Junior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) scored a game-high 22 points and senior Demetrius Young (Sacramento, Calif.) added 14 points and seven rebounds but it wasn't enough as the Stony Brook University men's basketball team dropped its second straight game, 64-54, to the Maine Black Bears on Thursday night at Pritchard Gymnasium. Stony Brook falls to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in the America East with the loss while Maine improves to 6-9 and 1-1.
"We've won games this season with defense and tonight we just didn't come to play on the defensive end of the court," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "But we'll go back to work tomorrow and get ready for Dartmouth on Tuesday."
The America East Player of the Game, El-Amin scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half. Freshman Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) added 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds for the Seawolves, who shot just 33.3 percent for the game. Malachi Peay led four Maine players in double-figures with 12 points. The America East Player of the Game, Peay shot 5-for-8 from the field.
The Seawolves fell behind early, as Maine went 8-for-12 from the field over the first eight and a half minutes to take a 19-6 lead. Joyner kept SBU alive in the early going, scoring four of Stony Brook's first six points. The Black Bears would eventually build their lead to as much as 18 on a Gerald McLemore three with just over six minutes left in the first half.
Stony Brook would creep back within 14 at 30-16 with just under four minutes remaining on two free throws from freshman Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) and a jumper from El-Amin before Maine came back with four straight points to build its lead back to 18 with three minutes left in the half. The Seawolves would gather some momentum heading into halftime, going on an 11-2 run to close to within 36-25 at the break. El-Amin scored five points in the run.
Young scored a team-high eight points in the opening period for the Seawolves, with Joyner adding six points and five rebounds. Peay scored a game-high 10 points in first half for the Blacks Bears, who shot 64 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Maine came out quickly in the second half, going on a 7-2 spurt to build its lead back to 16. Joyner ended the run with dunk but Sean McNally answered with a three to put the Black Bears up 46-29 with 15:56 to go in the game. Both teams struggled to score over the next several minutes and the Seawolves still trailed by a score of 48-31 midway through the half.
SBU then went on a 9-2 run though, highlighted by four points from Young, to cut the Maine lead to 50-38 with eight minutes remaining. But Maine answered with five straight points, on a Junior Bernal three-point play and a Troy Barnies fast-break lay-up, to push its lead back to 17.
The Seawolves would have one final run left in them, scoring 11 straight points to close within six on a hoop from El-Amin with 2:11 remaining. But that is as close as they would get as Bernal hit one of two free throws and Mark Socoby then followed with a fast break lay-up to seal the game for Maine.
The Seawolves return to action on Tuesday, traveling to take on Dartmouth. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
"We've won games this season with defense and tonight we just didn't come to play on the defensive end of the court," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "But we'll go back to work tomorrow and get ready for Dartmouth on Tuesday."
The America East Player of the Game, El-Amin scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half. Freshman Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) added 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds for the Seawolves, who shot just 33.3 percent for the game. Malachi Peay led four Maine players in double-figures with 12 points. The America East Player of the Game, Peay shot 5-for-8 from the field.
The Seawolves fell behind early, as Maine went 8-for-12 from the field over the first eight and a half minutes to take a 19-6 lead. Joyner kept SBU alive in the early going, scoring four of Stony Brook's first six points. The Black Bears would eventually build their lead to as much as 18 on a Gerald McLemore three with just over six minutes left in the first half.
Stony Brook would creep back within 14 at 30-16 with just under four minutes remaining on two free throws from freshman Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) and a jumper from El-Amin before Maine came back with four straight points to build its lead back to 18 with three minutes left in the half. The Seawolves would gather some momentum heading into halftime, going on an 11-2 run to close to within 36-25 at the break. El-Amin scored five points in the run.
Young scored a team-high eight points in the opening period for the Seawolves, with Joyner adding six points and five rebounds. Peay scored a game-high 10 points in first half for the Blacks Bears, who shot 64 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Maine came out quickly in the second half, going on a 7-2 spurt to build its lead back to 16. Joyner ended the run with dunk but Sean McNally answered with a three to put the Black Bears up 46-29 with 15:56 to go in the game. Both teams struggled to score over the next several minutes and the Seawolves still trailed by a score of 48-31 midway through the half.
SBU then went on a 9-2 run though, highlighted by four points from Young, to cut the Maine lead to 50-38 with eight minutes remaining. But Maine answered with five straight points, on a Junior Bernal three-point play and a Troy Barnies fast-break lay-up, to push its lead back to 17.
The Seawolves would have one final run left in them, scoring 11 straight points to close within six on a hoop from El-Amin with 2:11 remaining. But that is as close as they would get as Bernal hit one of two free throws and Mark Socoby then followed with a fast break lay-up to seal the game for Maine.
The Seawolves return to action on Tuesday, traveling to take on Dartmouth. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
