Stony Brook used defense and rebounding to pick up its second straight road victory. The Seawolves forced Fairleigh Dickinson to hoist a lot of three-point attempts, 26 in total, while also outrebounding the Knights 51-41. SBU got 15 offensive rebounds that led to eight second-chance points.
As Fairleigh Dickinson tried to control the tempo with a fast-paced offense, the Seawolves stayed with the Knights in a frantic back-and-forth affair. The game was tied at 29-29 with under two minutes in the first half remaining when the Seawolves went into the half on a 5-0 run on two baskets by Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and a 5-0 run coming out in the second half on an Al Rapier (Chicago, Ill.) layup and Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) three. Stony Brook was on top by 10, 39-29.
Every time FDU tried to get back in the game, the Seawolves had an answer. When Tyler Reynolds hit a three to make it 47-42, Coley responded with a big three of his own. When Mike Scott cut the lead to five again, 50-45, Dougher drained a three-pointer on a catch-and-shoot lob pass from Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.).
Again, Scott made it close with a three at 5:12 to make it 53-50, but Coley busted out a long three-pointer from 23 feet out to go back up six. Rapier then had a big play, fighting for an offensive rebound and then sinking a reverse layup from underneath the basket on the baseline to make it 58-50.
The lead was 10, 60-50, when FDU started fouling. The Knights got within four, 61-57, thanks to poor SBU free throw shooting, but FDU missed four of its last five shots while Stony Brook recovered to make a few free throws to seal the victory.
It was a balanced effort for the Seawolves, who shot better from three-point range (37.5 percent) than from inside the line (34.3 percent). Dougher led SBU with 4 points. Coley had 11, and Danny Carter (Windsor, England) added nine. Coley had four steals and six rebounds. Martin had a well-rounded game with a team-high nine rebounds and three assists.
Scott led the Knights with 20 points. Kamil Svrdlik had 11 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.
Stony Brook will have two days to rest as it takes on Wagner Sunday at Pritchard Gymnasium at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast onn WUSB and televised on MSG-Plus. For tickets to the game, call 631-632-WOLF or visit the Stony Brook Athletics Ticket Office online.
