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Tommy Brenton scores team-high 14 as the Seawolves improve to 11-1 in America East.
Durham, N.H. - Junior Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) scored 10 of his team-leading 14 points at the free throw line, as the Stony Brook men's basketball team as a whole was 26-for-33 from the charity stripe in a 57-48 win over New Hampshire Monday night at Lundholm Gymnasium.
Stony Brook has now won seven straight games and 13 of its last 14 to improve to 16-7 overall and 11-1 in America East. The Seawolves continue to make program history; the 11-1 start and 13 of 14 winning stretch are both program bests in its Div. I history.
Brenton was 10-for-12 from the free throw line and 2-for-4 from the field to earn America East Player of the Game honors. Senior Bryan Dougher added 10 points, and senior Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
UNH was led by Alvin Abreu's 19 points and Ferg Myrick's 15 points. Abreu was 8-for-12 from the field to earn his team's America East Player of the Game award.
Stony Brook shot only 31.1 percent in the game, while UNH shot 36,7 percent and connected on 7-of-25 three-point attempts. The Seawolves outrebounded the Wildcats, 40-24, and limited UNH to just four offensive rebounds and two second chance points.
"We did our job tonight, but it was a real grind," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "New Hampshire does a good job on defense; they really make you work for it. We were fortunate to attack the basket and draw contact to get ourselves to the free throw line. Our defense was strong too; our goal was to hold them to 50 points and we succeeded."
The first half proved to be a defensive battle as both teams played physical defense. Stony Brook shot just 27 percent in the first half while New Hampshire faired only slightly better at 35 percent. The difference in the half was Stony Brook's ability to draw fouls, getting to the line 12 times and making eight of them.
The Seawolves' largest lead of the first half was only five points, coming at the 6:00 mark when Brenton put up a couple of free throws to make it 16-11.
The game was tied at 20-20 after back-to-back Abreu layups when the Seawolves made two of their final three shots. Sophomore Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took his man off the dribble late in the shot clock and hit a fadeaway jumper from 17 feet. Then Dougher ended the half with a circus layup in traffic just as the clock expired, sending the Seawolves into halftime leading 24-20.
Stony Brook opened the second half on a 14-6 run and benefitted from a Dougher three-pointer from Brenton at 11:17 that gave the Seawolves a double-digit lead at 46-36.
Myrick got UNH back in the game with 14 consecutive Wildcats points. His layup at 8:13 cut the lead to six, 38-32.
But the Wildcats couldn't come all the way back, going without a field goal for nearly a four-minute stretch. Dougher put the dagger in UNH with a 15-foot jumper in the corner at 1:25 that made it a 12-point game. The Seawolves converted seven of eight free throw attempts in the final minute to seal the victory.
Stony Brook will continue its stretch of four games in nine days this Thursday when it hosts UMBC at Pritchard Gymnasium at 7 p.m. The Seawolves have won 12 consecutive home games. The game will be televised on Optimum Local Channel 118. For tickets, call (631) 632-WOLF or visit GoSeawolves.org/tickets.
