The Stony Brook men's basketball team trailed Holy Cross for most the game, but led when it mattered most as freshman guard Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a game-winning layup with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Seawolves to a 54-53 win Tuesday night at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass.
Stony Brook (4-4) shot only 35.8 percent and did not lead the entire second half until Coley's electric basket.
"We made some big shots, got some defensive stops and grinded one out tonight," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "Dave made a big play at the end for us."
Stony Brook trailed the game for all but six minutes and 13 seconds. The Seawolves were down 50-45 with 6:07 left after Andrew Beinert's three-pointer put the Crusaders up five. After two minutes of neither team scoring, Bryan Dougher knocked down his first three-pointer of the game to get Stony Brook within two, 50-48, with 4:04 left to play.
Holy Cross (0-7) went back on top by five, 53-48, with 3:37 on the clock after a free throw by R.J. Evans and a layup by Andrew Keister. However, Dougher answered with a pair of free throws to push it back to three, and Coley gained some separation from his defender to knock down an 18-foot jumper to make it 53-52 with 1:57 on the clock.
Stony Brook committed a couple of fouls late that sent the Crusaders to the free throw line, but on two separate occasions, they missed the front end of a 1-and-1. With 30 seconds remaining, Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) lob passed the ball to Danny Carter (Windsor, England) on an in-bound pass, but Carter missed the layup. Holy Cross went to the free throw line, but Eric Obeysekere missed the 1-and-1.
Stony Brook put the ball in Coley's hands, and with 17 seconds left, he lost control of the ball. A scrum ensued and the referees called a jump ball with the possession arrow in Stony Brook's favor. With once last chance and seven seconds on the clock, Coely took the ball and drove to the hoop, avoided a defender's hand and sank the layup for the win.
The win was impressive for Stony Brook, which came back from a first-half that saw the Seawolves shoot only 25 percent from the field (7-for-28). The Seawolves also overcame being outrebounded 39-28. The Seawolves capitalized on 22 Holy Cross turnovers that turned into 17 SBU points.
Carter led the Seawolves with 10 points. Pikiell played 11 Seawolves and nine of them put points on the scoreboard. Devin Brown led Holy Cross with 21 points, but only had five in the second half as the Crusaders could not get the ball in his hands.
Stony Brook is back in action Saturday at home against Sacred Heart at Pritchard Gym at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcasted LIVE on WUSB and televised on MSG-Plus. It will be "Santa Comes to Stony Brook Day" and all fans will be able to get their picture taken with Santa Claus from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for only $2.
