By MARK HERRMANN mark.herrmann@newsday.com
Quick SummaryStony Brook acted like one of the big boys in every way, especially in closing out an 82-78 clinching victory over second-place Vermont.
Students rushed the court as soon as the buzzer sounded, just like they do at all the venerable schools in major conferences. It was just another example that, at Stony Brook, everybody was ready for something they had never seen before. The school with the little gym and smaller cachet had made a huge leap.
Coach Steve Pikiell accepted the championship trophy of the America East conference and said into the microphone at the top of his lungs, "I want to thank all the fans who stuck with us through the bad times and now the good times." Even he would have been hard pressed, though, to imagine the bad turning to good so swiftly.
Still basically a fledgling program in Division I, Stony Brook acted like one of the big boys in every way, especially in closing out an 82-78 clinching victory over second-place Vermont at Pritchard Gymnasium.
"It means a lot, because you go to all those other schools and they all have a flag," said Muhammad El-Amin, the senior who scored a team-high 23 points on Senior Night. "Whether it's Binghamton or Vermont or UMBC. We don't have a flag."
But the Seawolves will have one as soon as someone can stitch one. They are 13-2 in America East, safely ahead of Vermont's 11-4 with only one game remaining before the conference tournament. No matter what happens there, Stony Brook is assured of at least a place in the NIT, the school's first Division I postseason berth.
This happened only four years after Pikiell arrived and began 4-24. "You don't understand," the coach said, now that his team is 21-7 overall. "We had ineligible players, we had injuries. There were sleepless nights." He credited the current group for pulling the program "out of the mud."
The footing on the final step still was slippery. Stony Brook led Vermont by 20 in the second half, having double-teamed and contained Marqus Blakely, the two-time America East Player of the Year. Then Vermont raced back with a burst led by a couple steals an layups by Blakely, who had 10 of his 14 points in the second half.
Vermont was within three, 77-74, with 15.8 seconds left, when Tommy Brenton made a soft jumper off a feed from his fellow sophomore Dallis Joyner, who had a career-high 20 points. Still, Vermont didn't go away. Stony Brook responded as if it were an old hand at this kind of thing. Bryan Dougher sank two free throws with eight second left to make the lead 81-75. And after Vermont's Maurice Joseph sank his fifth three-pointer with 24.3 seconds remaining, Chris Martin made one last key free throw, 1.5 seconds left before the student body stormed the court.
In other words, Stony Brook had what the moment required. "They believe. They've got tremendous confidence," Pikiell said of his players, adding that they have had it all season, including "times when I didn't think they should have."
Dougher, a sophomore who had 18 points, said, "We're young, but we played a lot of minutes as freshmen. We played at high schools that had winning teams. In the end, it all just comes down to playing basketball."
Everyone at Stony Brook looks as if basketball has been part of the DNA for decades. Pikiell said, "The students are learning to be great basketball fans."
They all know that one flag isn't the biggest prize. "This is huge for the university," Dougher said. "But our goal is to make it to the NCAA Tournament."
That would be only another first.
Quick SummaryStony Brook acted like one of the big boys in every way, especially in closing out an 82-78 clinching victory over second-place Vermont.
Students rushed the court as soon as the buzzer sounded, just like they do at all the venerable schools in major conferences. It was just another example that, at Stony Brook, everybody was ready for something they had never seen before. The school with the little gym and smaller cachet had made a huge leap.
Coach Steve Pikiell accepted the championship trophy of the America East conference and said into the microphone at the top of his lungs, "I want to thank all the fans who stuck with us through the bad times and now the good times." Even he would have been hard pressed, though, to imagine the bad turning to good so swiftly.
Still basically a fledgling program in Division I, Stony Brook acted like one of the big boys in every way, especially in closing out an 82-78 clinching victory over second-place Vermont at Pritchard Gymnasium.
"It means a lot, because you go to all those other schools and they all have a flag," said Muhammad El-Amin, the senior who scored a team-high 23 points on Senior Night. "Whether it's Binghamton or Vermont or UMBC. We don't have a flag."
But the Seawolves will have one as soon as someone can stitch one. They are 13-2 in America East, safely ahead of Vermont's 11-4 with only one game remaining before the conference tournament. No matter what happens there, Stony Brook is assured of at least a place in the NIT, the school's first Division I postseason berth.
This happened only four years after Pikiell arrived and began 4-24. "You don't understand," the coach said, now that his team is 21-7 overall. "We had ineligible players, we had injuries. There were sleepless nights." He credited the current group for pulling the program "out of the mud."
The footing on the final step still was slippery. Stony Brook led Vermont by 20 in the second half, having double-teamed and contained Marqus Blakely, the two-time America East Player of the Year. Then Vermont raced back with a burst led by a couple steals an layups by Blakely, who had 10 of his 14 points in the second half.
Vermont was within three, 77-74, with 15.8 seconds left, when Tommy Brenton made a soft jumper off a feed from his fellow sophomore Dallis Joyner, who had a career-high 20 points. Still, Vermont didn't go away. Stony Brook responded as if it were an old hand at this kind of thing. Bryan Dougher sank two free throws with eight second left to make the lead 81-75. And after Vermont's Maurice Joseph sank his fifth three-pointer with 24.3 seconds remaining, Chris Martin made one last key free throw, 1.5 seconds left before the student body stormed the court.
In other words, Stony Brook had what the moment required. "They believe. They've got tremendous confidence," Pikiell said of his players, adding that they have had it all season, including "times when I didn't think they should have."
Dougher, a sophomore who had 18 points, said, "We're young, but we played a lot of minutes as freshmen. We played at high schools that had winning teams. In the end, it all just comes down to playing basketball."
Everyone at Stony Brook looks as if basketball has been part of the DNA for decades. Pikiell said, "The students are learning to be great basketball fans."
They all know that one flag isn't the biggest prize. "This is huge for the university," Dougher said. "But our goal is to make it to the NCAA Tournament."
That would be only another first.
