Seawolves to play winner of No. 4 Boston University/No. 5 Hartford on Sunday at 5 p.m.
West Hartford, Conn. - Sophomore Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) scored 13 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to lead the top-seeded Stony Brook University men's basketball to a 68-59 win over the No. 8 Albany Great Danes on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena in an America East quarterfinal game. It is the first time since 2004 that the Seawolves have advanced to the semifinals. SBU will now take on the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal game between No. 4 Boston University and No. 5 Hartford on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Chase Arena.
"Terrific win for our team," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We struggled a bit offensively but our defense was really solid all day and that's what won us the game. Chris [Martin] was able to get the line early to get us going and Tommy played an outstanding all-around game.
It was the seventh double-double of the season for Brenton, who has recorded double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games. Junior Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) scored a team-high 15 points as he knocked down 12 of his 15 free throw attempts. Sophomore Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) each chipped in with 12 points for the Seawolves, who held Albany to 33.3 percent shooting.
Albany jumped to a 11-7 lead behind seven early points from Will Harris before freshman Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) drilled a three to bring SBU within one. The Great Danes answered with a 7-2 run to take a six-point lead but Martin then hit one of two free throws and freshman Preye Preboye (Springfield, Mass.) followed with an acrobatic lay-in off a feed from Brenton to trim the Albany lead to three.
A Harris hoop put the Great Danes back up by five but the Seawolves then ran off 10 straight points to take a five-point lead with three minutes remaining in the half. SBU held Albany scoreless for almost seven minutes during the run.
A Logan Aronhalt three ended the Albany drought before Martin hit two free throws to give SBU a 27-23 advantage. The Great Danes scored five of the next seven points to draw within one but a put-back dunk from sophomore Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) with 30 seconds left sent Stony Brook into the break with a 31-28 lead.
Joyner scored the first hoop of the second half, slamming home a feed from Brenton. But Albany responded by scoring eight of the next 11 points to tie the game at 36. The Seawolves scored the next four points though, on a Brenton drunk and an El-Amin hoop, to take the lead for good.
The Stony Brook advantage would grow to seven with 16 minutes remaining as Dougher drilled his first triple of the game. Stony Brook still led by six midway through the half but Brenton then completed a three-point play and followed with two free throws to give the Seawolves a 54-43 lead with seven and a half minutes remaining.
Tim Ambrose scored the next hoop but Dougher scored on a reverse lay-up and then followed with a three to give Stony Brook its largest lead of the game, 59-45, with four and a half minutes left. Albany hit four late threes to close within six with 46 seconds remaining. But the Seawolves hit three free throws over the final 44 seconds to put the game away.
West Hartford, Conn. - Sophomore Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) scored 13 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to lead the top-seeded Stony Brook University men's basketball to a 68-59 win over the No. 8 Albany Great Danes on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena in an America East quarterfinal game. It is the first time since 2004 that the Seawolves have advanced to the semifinals. SBU will now take on the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal game between No. 4 Boston University and No. 5 Hartford on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Chase Arena.
"Terrific win for our team," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We struggled a bit offensively but our defense was really solid all day and that's what won us the game. Chris [Martin] was able to get the line early to get us going and Tommy played an outstanding all-around game.
It was the seventh double-double of the season for Brenton, who has recorded double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games. Junior Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) scored a team-high 15 points as he knocked down 12 of his 15 free throw attempts. Sophomore Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) each chipped in with 12 points for the Seawolves, who held Albany to 33.3 percent shooting.
Albany jumped to a 11-7 lead behind seven early points from Will Harris before freshman Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) drilled a three to bring SBU within one. The Great Danes answered with a 7-2 run to take a six-point lead but Martin then hit one of two free throws and freshman Preye Preboye (Springfield, Mass.) followed with an acrobatic lay-in off a feed from Brenton to trim the Albany lead to three.
A Harris hoop put the Great Danes back up by five but the Seawolves then ran off 10 straight points to take a five-point lead with three minutes remaining in the half. SBU held Albany scoreless for almost seven minutes during the run.
A Logan Aronhalt three ended the Albany drought before Martin hit two free throws to give SBU a 27-23 advantage. The Great Danes scored five of the next seven points to draw within one but a put-back dunk from sophomore Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) with 30 seconds left sent Stony Brook into the break with a 31-28 lead.
Joyner scored the first hoop of the second half, slamming home a feed from Brenton. But Albany responded by scoring eight of the next 11 points to tie the game at 36. The Seawolves scored the next four points though, on a Brenton drunk and an El-Amin hoop, to take the lead for good.
The Stony Brook advantage would grow to seven with 16 minutes remaining as Dougher drilled his first triple of the game. Stony Brook still led by six midway through the half but Brenton then completed a three-point play and followed with two free throws to give the Seawolves a 54-43 lead with seven and a half minutes remaining.
Tim Ambrose scored the next hoop but Dougher scored on a reverse lay-up and then followed with a three to give Stony Brook its largest lead of the game, 59-45, with four and a half minutes left. Albany hit four late threes to close within six with 46 seconds remaining. But the Seawolves hit three free throws over the final 44 seconds to put the game away.
