Columbia's John Daniels sank a free throw with 2.7 seconds left to give the Lions a 73-72 win over the Stony Brook men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at Levien Gym in New York, N.Y. Juniors Danny Carter (Windsor, England) and Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) each scored 13 points to lead Stony Brook.
Daniels had gotten to the line after Carter fouled him on an offensive rebound. The play succeeded junior Al Rapier's (Chicago, Ill.) free throw with 23 seconds left that tied the game at 72-72.
The victory was a result of Columbia erasing Stony Brook's 18-point first-half lead. The Lions connected on 11 three-pointers in the game, their third 10-plus three-point effort of the season.
"It was a great game between two exciting teams," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "I thought we played really well, but Columbia was one point better than us today. We got a great effort out of our veterans and our younger guys. We just fell a little short today."
The first half proved to be a game of runs as each team took its turn lighting up the scoreboard. Stony Brook made 13 of its first 17 shots and used a 17-4 run to open up a 21-7 lead. Six different Seawolves scored during the run, led by Anthony Mayo, who made three baskets in a span of two minutes.
Later on, a 7-0 run on a three-pointer by Dougher and back-to-back baskets by Coley gave Stony Brook its largest lead of the game, 18 points, making the score 33-15 with 8:19 left in the first half.
Columbia then ended the half on a 22-6 run, using six three-pointers to catapult its offense. After Dougher's jumper at 5:29 made the score 35-18, Columbia knocked down triples in three of its next four possessions. Lions guard Steve Frankoski made three of the six three-pointers, including the game-tying one with 1:22 left in the half to make it 37-37.
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The second half was a slugfest that featured 13 lead changes. Stony Brook went up four points on Anthony Jackson's (Columbus, Ohio) three-point play at 13:43, 52-48, but Columbia kept battling. The Seawolves again went up four, 65-61, with 6:53 to play after a three-point play from Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.), but Columbia's Frankoski answered with three consecutive three-pointers , followed by a pair of free throws from Mark Cisco to put Columbia on top 72-65 with 2:53 to play.
But the Seawolves did not back down and stayed in the game. Dougher sank a three-pointer to quiet the crowd and then Rapier followed with a three-point play after taking the ball nearly the length of the court off a rebound from Anthony Mayo (Philadelphia, Pa.). Stony Brook was within one, 72-71.
Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) then stole the ball from Noruwa Agho, and got it to Dougher, who missed a shot that Agho rebounded, but Rouse again came up with a steal to keep possession. He fed the ball to Rapier, who drove inside and got fouled. He made the first free throw, but missed the second.
With 23 seconds left, Columbia got the ball in Brian Barbour's hands, but he missed a layup. A scrum for the rebound ensued, and it ended up in Daniels' hands at which point Carter was called for bumping him, setting up the game-winning free throw. Daniels intentionally missed the second free throw, Carter grabbed the rebound and attempted to pass to Dougher. The ball was knocked out of bounds as time expired. However, the referees placed 0.4 seconds back on the clock. However, Carter's baseball pass down towards the basket was stolen, ending the game.
Despite the loss, Stony Brook had its best shooting performance of the season, going 27-for-55 from the field (49.1 percent) and 8-for-20 from three (40 percent). The Seawolves also fared well at the free throw line, making 10 of 13 shots (76.9 percent). In addition to Dougher and Carter's 13, Rapier chipped in 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Columbia shot 43.3 percent (26-for-60) for the game and 42.3 percent (11-for-26) from three. The Lions outrebounded the Seawolves 40-28, scoring 14 second-chance points.
Stony Brook will return to the court Tuesday at Holy Cross at 7 p.m. The Seawolves' next home game will be Saturday, Dec. 11 against Sacred Heart at Pritchard Gymnasium at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on MSG-Plus, and it will be Santa Day, in which all fans can get their picture taken with Santa Claus for $2. For tickets, call (631) 632-WOLF or visit the Stony Brook Athletics ticket office online.
