By greg.logan@newsday.com
With 4:02 left in the first half, Boston University's Travis Robinson knocked down a three-pointer to cut Stony Brook's lead to three points. The Terriers' next field goal by Dom Morris came with 11:17 left in the game, a span of 12:45 between BU baskets.
By that time, the Seawolves had a 23-point lead on their way to a 75-48 America East victory Tuesday night at sold-out Pritchard Gymnasium. Coach Steve Pikiell's defense held BU to 30.9 percent shooting and forced the Terriers' three-guard backcourt into a 7-for-29 night from the field, including 2-for-11 from leading scorer D.J. Irving, who totaled only six points.
And still, that wasn't enough for the Stony Brook coach. "I wanted it to be 15 minutes," Pikiell said of BU's field-goal drought. "When we're locked in, we're a good defensive team. I appreciate that. The guys off the bench are playing good defense, too. The other day, we played 32 good minutes , and today we played a few more."
Stony Brook (13-4, 4-0 America East) held BU (8-10, 2-3) to 23.3 percent shooting in the second half. The only Terrier to reach double figures was Dom Morris with 11 points.
The Seawolves led by as much as 34 points. They got double-doubles from Jameel Warney (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Tommy Brenton (12. 10, 4 assists), and guard Dave Coley tied his career-high with 21 points, making his last seven field-goal attempts. He added four steals and was responsible for shutting down Irving.
"I wanted to make it tough for him," Coley said of Irving. "He's one of the best guards in the league. Our plan was to make him finish around the rim. I was able to stay attached and chase him around and not give him any easy looks."
Irving's first basket gave the Terriers their biggest lead at 11-4. But Brenton scored on a layup then forced a turnover, leading to a Warney layup and then hit a three-pointer during a 14-0 Stony Brook run for an 18-11 lead.
"I was definitely trying to start off aggressive to get myself in the game, and transition is always a big factor in our offense," Brenton said.
Some of the toughest losses of Brenton's career have come against BU, so beating the Terriers by such a large margin was as sweet as it was shocking. "It's definitely big," Brenton said. "We'll celebrate tonight, but the coaches will give us enough film for Vermont [on Friday] to last us."
