By GREG LOGAN greg.logan@newsday.com
One desperation shot went down for Stony Brook's Bryan Dougher with 4.3 seconds left in overtime last night at Pritchard Gym. It came from deep on the right side and drew contact from Lehigh's Mackey McKnight before it banked in off the glass.
The whistle blew, but it was only to stop the clock and allow the refs to check whether Dougher's feet were behind the three-point line. They weren't. It was a two that left the Seawolves trailing by one in a game they once led by 14 points. McKnight could have been called for a foul, but that didn't happen either.
So, after Lehigh's C.J. McCollum made two foul shots with 4.1 seconds left to increase the Mountain Hawks' lead to 79-76, Dougher was left to try one last desperation shot. He let fly from about 40 feet and watched as it banked off the glass and the front rim, sealing a loss that dropped the Seawolves to 3-3.
Dougher did everything he could to pull it out, finishing with 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting, including 5-for-10 accuracy from behind the three-point line. But he didn't have enough help from a Stony Brook team struggling to blend in some new faces and establish an identity.
Junior college transfer Al Rapier made his first start and contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. The player he replaced in the starting lineup, freshman point guard Dave Coley, added nine points, but four turnovers limited his playing time. Senior Chris Martin struggled through a 1-for-9 shooting night.
Still, the Seawolves could have won had they been better than 12-for-21 at the foul line. By contrast, Lehigh (4-3) was 18-for-20 from the stripe. You could say that was the difference, or you could say that McCollum simply got away from Stony Brook's defense in the second half when he scored 23 of his 31 points.
Lehigh also had an advantage inside with 6-9 center Gabe Knutson, whose eight points and four rebounds in the first half helped Lehigh stay within striking distance at halftime, trailing 38-30. He finished with 18 points.
A 7-0 Lehigh run early in the second half that cut the deficit to 40-37 prompted Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell to pull all five starters at the 18:34 mark. They were back two minutes later when the Hawks got within one at 42-41 on a Knutson layup. Dougher had nine points in a 17-4 run that gave the Seawolves their biggest lead at 59-45, but the Hawks' McCollum took over and Stony Brook almost seemed powerless to stop him.
