Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) had a season-high 16 points to go with eight rebounds and two blocks to lead the Stony Brook men's basketball team to a 67-42 win over Binghamton Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out Pritchard Gymnasium crowd of 1,630.
The Seawolves shot a season-high 52.2 (24-for-46) percent from the field and made 10 three-pointers for the sixth time in 10 games on the way to ending the regular season with a 13-16 overall and 8-8 America East record. The Seawolves finish with a .500 or better conference record for the third straight season. Binghamton ends the regular season 7-22 overall and 4-12 in the league.
"This was a great game for us," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We got all-around efforts from all our guys. Chris had a career-high assists, Dallis had a season-high in points and Bryan does what he does. And the community came out and did a great job supporting us. I hope the same crowd comes up to Hartford and supports us because our guys feed off of that."
Joyner was named Stony Brook's America East Player of the Game for his efforts. He was 5-for-5 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) added 15 points on five three-pointers, the seventh time this season he's had a game with five or more triples. Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.), who was honored as part of Senior Day prior to the game, had a career-high six assists.
Stony Brook used the three-ball to get off to a great start. The game was tied 12-12 when the Seawolves went on a 13-0 run that included three-pointers from Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) and Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.). Hayes' three at 9:24 came in transition off a pass from Jackson and made the score 25-12 in favor of Stony Brook.
Dougher's three-pointer at 3:15 of the first half gave Stony Brook its largest lead of the half, 19 points, at 39-20. The team went into halftime up 42-25, the most points its scored in a half this season.
In the second half, the Seawolves poured it on as Dougher connected on two more three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to open up a 21-point lead, 48-27. The team extended the lead to 30, 62-32, with a 20-5 run that was punctuated by Joyner's dunk at 8:25. At that point, Binghamton was only 2-for-12 from the field in the half.
In all, the Seawolves defense limited the Bearcats to 29.5 percent shooting (13-for-44) and 13 field goals and forced 14 turnovers that turned into 20 points. Stony Brook also outrebounded Binghamton 33-27 and blocked three shots. All 13 eligible Stony Brook players played in the game, and all but one scored at least one point.
Binghamton was led by America East Player of the Game Greer Wright, who had 11 points and four assists.
Stony Brook now turns its attention to the 2011 America East Championship, held at Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion in West Hartford, Conn. March 3-6. The Seawolves are seeded No. 5 and will take on No. 4 Albany in the quarterfinals Saturday, March 5, at 12 p.m. The winner of the America East Championship receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
