Stony Brook beats Division III Mount Ida, 93-57
Photo credit: Joseph D. Sullivan | Stony Brook's Tommy Brenton is fouled under the hoop by Mt. Ida's Cam Walker in the first half. Stony Brook defeated Mount Ida, 93-57. (Nov. 11, 2012)
Suspenseful it was not. Stony Brook's 93-57 non-conference men's basketball victory over Division III Mount Ida of Newton, Mass., wasn't nearly as close as the score makes it sound.
The tipping point was the opening tip. (Stony Brook won that.) After six minutes, Stony Brook led 14-0. After 15½ minutes, the lead was 41-3, and Mount Ida had missed 21 of 22 shots. Stony Brook went ahead by 40 on three occasions.
It could be cold comfort for Mount Ida to know that, technically, the game didn't happen, because the season's starting date for Division III schools, mandated by the NCAA, isn't until Thursday. ("Exhibitions" against Division I or II schools are allowed, as is Stony Brook's right to count the pummeling in its record, now 2-0.)
All manner of impressive numbers could be found in the Stony Brook boxscore, from 6-8 freshman Jameel Warney never missing a shot -- he was 8-for-8 -- and finishing with 16 points to senior Ron Bracey's game-high numbers in scoring (21) and rebounds (10).
All 12 players on Stony Brook's roster played. Ten of them got at least one rebound. Ten of them scored at least one point. Nine of them contributed at least one assist. Six had at least one steal and five -- Bracey, Warney, Dave Coley (13), Anthony Jackson (12) and Carson Puriefoy (11) -- scored in double figures.
Tommy Brenton, the team's best all-around player, didn't even attempt a shot until the second half and took only two in the game, making one, busying himself with a game-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
"I forget the stats already," Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said, "because we have a 6 a.m. game at Rider on Tuesday. So my favorite stat was the win . . . I'm never happy. Defensively, we gave up way too much in the second half. Thirteen points [allowed] in the first half, it should have been 26 for the game."
Ultimately, the only comparison Mount Ida won was when Brandon Castro, with 1:27 to play, made two of the only three free throws awarded his team all day. Those gave Mount Ida 53 points, one more than its football team scored in a 52-28 victory over Castleton on Saturday.
