Post Game Press Conference | Box Score
Stony Brook, N.Y. - Senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) led four Seawolves in double-figures with 19 points as the Stony Brook University men's basketball team defeated the Boston University Terriers, 71-55, on Saturday night at a sold-out Pritchard Gymnasium on Basketball Alumni Day. With the victory, the Seawolves improve to 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the conference. It is the best ever start in America East play for the Seawolves, who moved into first place in the conference with the win.
"I'm really pleased with the effort our guys put forth tonight," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We came out focused and really fed off the energy of our crowd. I was also really happy with our defensive effort against a talented and well coached Boston University team."
The America East Player of the Game for Stony Brook, El-Amin knocked down four three-pointers and went 5-for-6 from the line. Junior Chris Martin(Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) added 16 points while freshman Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) chipped in with 14. Sophomore Tommy Brenton(Columbia, Md.) tallied a game-high 14 rebounds and sophomore Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) collected 11 boards for the Seawolves, who out-rebounded the Terriers 46-24.
Stony Brook jumped on BU early, scoring the first 13 points of the game. The Terriers did not score until Jake O'Brien got free for an inside hoop 4:24 into the game. El-Amin scored six points in the opening run while Martin added five.
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BU closed within 15-8 on three free throws from Corey Lowe but Rouse answered with a long jumper to kick start a 7-0 run that gave the Seawolves a 22-8 lead. The Terriers then ran off seven points of their own to get back within seven before Rouse hit a jumper from the baseline to push the SBU lead back to nine.
The Seawolves eventually grew their lead to 14 on a Martin hoop with 3:32 left in the half but the Terriers responded with another 7-0 run to cut the Stony Brook lead to 33-26 with under a minute remaining. Rouse answered with a floater in the lane though and El-Amin and Brenton followed with two free throws each to put the Seawolves up 39-26 before Carlos Strong hit a three at the buzzer to make it 39-29 heading into halftime.
The Terriers scored the first hoop of the second half but Joyner got free for a dunk off a feed from Brenton to spark a 9-2 Seawolves run that gave SBU a 48-33 lead just over four minutes into the period. O'Brien hit a three to cut the Stony Brook lead to 12 but sophomore Danny Carter (London, England) responded with a three and senior Eddie Castellanos (Jersey City, N.J.) then scored on a driving lay-up to give the Seawolves their largest lead of the game, 53-36.
SBU still led by 14 with just over seven minutes remaining when Brenton followed a miss by sophomore Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) with a thunderous dunk that gave the Seawolves a 59-43 lead. The lead grew to as many as 18 on two Rouse free throws with four minutes left and the Seawolves then coasted to the finish line for their fourth straight win. It is the first time since 2002-03 that the Seawolves have won four straight conference games.
The Seawolves are now 9-1 at home, matching its best record at home after 10 games since 2000-01. O'Brien scored a team-high 17 points for BU and was named its America East Player of the Game. SBU held the Terriers 14 points below their season scoring average which led the conference entering Saturday's play. The Seawolves also held the conference's leading scorer John Holland to just six points.
Stony Brook returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to take on the Hartford Hawks. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
