Inside game helps Stony Brook grind out a 61-52 win over New Hampshire
Stony Brook, N.Y. - Fueled by 14 points from senior Al Rapier (Chicago, Ill.) and 13 points from junior Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.), the Stony Brook men's basketball team defeated New Hampshire, 61-52, to notch its ninth straight home victory Monday night at Pritchard Gymnasium. Brenton and Rapier were part of an inside offense that outscored UNH in the paint, 34-18.
Stony Brook remains in first place in America East at 5-1 and is 10-6 overall, the fourth consecutive season Stony Brook has reached double-digit victories. The Seawolves are three wins away from tying the program's Div. I record 12-game home unbeaten streak that spanned from Nov. 29, 2000-Dec. 4, 2001.
Stony Brook continued its strong play on the boards, outrebounding an opponent for the ninth straight game after a 32-21 edge over UNH. The Seawolves also continued their dominance on the offensive glass with 14 offensive rebounds that turned into 21 second chance points. Stony Brook had a decisive advantage at the free throw line, going 11-for-14 there versus 3-for-6 for UNH.
Eight Seawolves scored in the well-balanced offensive effort as the team shot 46 percent for the game (23-for-50) and was particularly strong on its two-point shots, going 19-for-35 from inside the arc (54.3%). Senior Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) contributed 10 points to reach double-digit scoring for the 14th consecutive game. Rapier, Stony Brook's America East Player of the Game, finished with nine rebounds, and Brenton chipped in seven.
Senior Alvin Abreu led the Wildcats with 20 points and was named his team's America East Player of the Game. Sophomore Patrick Konan added 15 for a Wildcats team that shot nearly 48 percent for the game (20-for-42), but relied too heavily on outside shots (9-for-22 from three-point range).
"It was a nice win for us against a tough team," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "I thought we did a good job on the glass against a team that does a good job boxing out. We kept them off the foul line, which was important. We did a good job defending without fouling. Now, we're on to the next game, a tough game at Maine."
Stony Brook (10-7) and New Hampshire (6-10) held each other scoreless for the first two minutes. Rapier gave the Seawolves an early 6-3 advantage with three straight baskets in the paint. Senior Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) scored the next four points to extend the Seawolves lead to 10-5 with 14:12 remaining in the first half.
Sloppy play plagued the Wildcats for much of the first half. UNH turned the ball over five times in the first ten minutes, but a Seawolves turnover ignited the UNH offense and resulted in a lay-up by Chandler Rhoads, followed by an Abreu three-pointer to close the gap to 14-10 with 9:14 left in the first half.
The Wildcats knotted the score at 14-14 on a Brian Benson putback off his own missed free throw. Dougher ended the Seawolves' scoring drought with a three-pointer to put SBU up 17-14. The two teams kept pace with each other for the remainder of the first half, and Stony Brook held a 26-24 lead at the intermission.
SBU came out of the locker room strong as Brenton went strong to the hoop and connected on a layup and drew a foul. He completed the three-point play with a free throw to make it a 29-24 ballgame.
After Abreu made it 36-31 with a layup, Stony Brook went on a 12-3 run that gave the Seawolves a 15-point cushion. A Brenton-to-Joyner alley-oop at 10:10 made it a double-digit lead for the first time in the game. SBU quickly regained possession after another Wildcat turnover, and sophomore Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) tallied a trey to make the score 46-33 with 9:16 left. Rapier completed the run with a pair of free throws to give the Seawolves their largest lead of the game at 48-33.
The Wildcats hung around by making a few three-pointers. Konan hit a triple at 3:21 to close the gap to within nine, 52-43, but Dougher immediately responded with his basket from behind the arc to give the Seawolves another double-digit lead.
Twice New Hampshire got within seven towards the end of the game, but Stony Brook hit six free throws in the game's final two minutes to seal the victory.
Stony Brook will next look to notch a conference road win against Maine this Saturday at 1 p.m.
