Danny Carter (Windsor, England) scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and all the points came at crucial moments in the Stony Brook men's basketball team's 64-56 victory over UMBC in the America East conference opener Sunday at Retriever Activities Center Arena in Catonsville, Md. Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.), the America East Player of the Game, tied a career high with 17 points in front of family and friends.
"It was a great road win tonight," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "Our defense was terrific and we held them under their season average in points. We also made big plays down the stretch to close out the win."
Stony Brook improves to 6-6 on the season and 1-0 in conference. The Seawolves have now won 11 of their last 12 America East games and 21 of their last 27. UMBC drops to 1-13, 0-1 in the league.
After holding a 13-point lead at halftime, Stony Brook let UMBC back into the contest as the Retrievers opened the second half with a 19-7 run to get within one point, 41-40, with 11:20 to play.
However, Carter then stepped in and made some big shots. With momentum swinging towards the Retrievers, Carter sank a big three-pointer to silence the crowd and put the Seawolves up four, 44-40. Carter then stole the ball from UMBC's Laurence Jolicoeur to re-gain possession. Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) missed a three-point attempt, but Carter was there for the putback to make it 46-40 Stony Brook.
UMBC's Chris De La Rosa willed the Retrievers back with back-to-back layups. Then Jamar Wertz drilled a three-pointer to once again bring UMBC within one, 51-50, with 3:53. But Carter again answered the call, sinking a three-pointer with three seconds left on the shot clock to put SBU back up by four, 54-50. Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) then followed with a turnaround hook shot to make it 56-50.
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From there, the Seawolves made their free throws (8-for-8) to hold off the feisty Retrievers. Stony Brook was 13-for-17 from the free throw line for the game.
In the first half, Stony Brook came out firing, making 10 out of its first 16 shots to open the game. After Travis King hit a three-pointer to give UMBC a 3-2 lead, the Seawolves went on a 15-4 run to establish a double-digit advantage. Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) opened the run with a long three-pointer off a Carter high ball screen. Rouse then went to work, knocking down a mid-range jumper and then a wide-open three to make it 10-3 in favor of Stony Brook.
After UMBC cut the Stony Brook lead to seven, 17-10, Rouse again took advantage of lax UMBC defense, hitting uncontested three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Seawolves a 13-point lead, 25-12. Stony Brook went into halftime leading 34-21, and Rouse had 11 of SBU's 34 points.
In addition to Rouse and Carter's contributions, Dougher had eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Preye Preboye (Springfield, Mass.) added nine points and six rebounds.
De La Rosa led UMBC with 16 points and eight assists. The Retrievers shot only 35 percent for the game, compared to Stony Brook's 43.1 percent.
Stony Brook will turn around quickly to host Vermont Tuesday at Pritchard Gymnasium at 7 p.m. For tickets, call (631) 632-WOLF or visit the Stony Brook Athletics online ticket office.
