Storrs, Conn. - The Stony Brook men's basketball team outmuscled nationally ranked Connecticut in the paint, but the Huskies won the perimeter battle, connecting on 10 three-pointers, eight in the second half, to come away with a 73-62 win over the Seawolves Sunday at Gampel Pavilion.
Playing regular season games on back-to-back days for the first time since November 2001, the Seawolves (4-2) had a great effort, outrebounding the Huskies 38-35, outscoring them in the paint 24-18, and using 16 offensive rebounds to produce 20 second chance points. Junior Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 15 points to lead the Seawolves, senior Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) chipped in 14 points and freshman Jameel Warney (Plainfield, N.J.) had eight points, a career-high 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Coach Steve Pikiell's Reaction
"We had a good first half and we outrebounded a good team, but they made three-pointers, more than I thought they would. I thought we could score in the post more, and we actually scored more there than they did, but we didn't get enough touches inside."
Turning Point
The deep ball proved to be the difference. Stony Brook led 39-35 after a Brenton steal and fastbreak dunk with 13:04 remaining in the second half. The Huskies then went on a 26-8 run that included seven consecutive three-pointers, the last by Shabazz Napier that also drew a foul and a free throw for a four-point play. UConn led 61-47 with 4:16 to play in the second half and finished out the win.
By the Numbers
- Stony Brook was +3 on the boards against Connecticut.
- The Seawolves had another strong game from the free throw line, making 11 of 15 attempts.
- The Seawolves' largest lead was eight points, at 14-6 in the first half.
- Stony Brook held UConn to 32.3% shooting in the first half before allowing 63.6% shooting in the second half. Half of UConn's shots in the second half were three-point attempts.
- Brenton added three steals to his season total and is averaging over two per game.
- Prior to today, UConn had only made 23 three-pointers all season (five games - average 4.6).
- Stony Brook had been bidding to be 5-1 for just the second time in program history.
- Pikiell remains stuck on 99 career wins at Stony Brook and will go for win No. 100 on Wednesday.
- Stony Brook's last time playing two games on consecutive days in the regular season was Nov. 2001 when the program played in the Colonial Classic in Washington, D.C.
Stony Brook hits the road once more for a Wednesday night game at Cornell at 7 p.m. The Seawolves are back at home Saturday, Dec. 1 against Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit GoSeawolves.org/tickets or call (631) 632-WOLF.
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