By Marcus Henry, Newsday
It’s been a tough stretch for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves quest to repeat as America East champs took another blow when it was announced senior guard Chris Martin will be lost for indefinite period after tearing his right meniscus.
Facing Notre Dame without the veteran leadership of Martin and Tommy Brenton, who won’t play this season because of an off-season knee injury, was just too much for Stony Brook, as it fell, 88-62, in South Bend o Sunday.
Seawolves coach Steve Pikiell lauded the veteran play of the 24th-ranked Irish.
"Notre Dame was a real good team, a veteran team that works hard and is well-coached," he said.
"It was a tough game for us. Our veterans really struggled today and in order for us to play in a game like this, you need them to play well,” he said. “You just have to learn from this, move on and hope you don't face an offensive team like this again."
Notre Dame was a difficult matchup for us. They have size and experience at every position."
Martin is scheduled to undergo surgery this week. His timetable for return won’t be determined until after the procedure.
But there is a bright side. Freshman guard Anthony Jackson had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting in the loss. Fellow freshman Dave Coley added 11 points and sophomore guard Marcus Rouse led the Seawolves with 15 points.
As Pikiell stated earlier, Stony Brook needs veterans like Bryan Dougher and Dallis Joyner to have solid efforts every game. But there's nothing wrong with seeing a young trio begin to find their way.
Coley and Jackson were highly-touted recruits. If either one of them can get it going, the loss of Martin won't be felt as much.
But make no mistake about it, Martin is a bull of a guard. He knows how to run the offense and he's capable of making big plays down the stretch. He will be missed.
