FSU's Will Tye to make fast impact for Stony Brook football

By STEVEN MARCUS  steven.marcus@newsday.com

Photo credit: Handout | Stony Brook recruit Will Tye stands on the field during a game with his former Florida State team.

Tye, 6-2, 260 pounds, enrolled at Stony Brook last week and on Wednesday was officially announced as part of the team's recruits on national signing day.Tight end Will Tye was raised in Connecticut but grew up being a fan of Florida State football. Deion Sanders was his idol, and Tye wanted to play football at the same university. After two seasons of limited playing time with the Seminoles, Tye looked elsewhere. Now, his favorite school is Stony Brook.

"Up and coming" is the reason Tye gave for transferring to Stony Brook, where he will have two years of eligibility. "All the I-AA schools called," he said, but after a big recommendation from his high school coach at Salisbury and others who had played for Stony Brook, Tye made a quick decision.

"Will's the top recruit in our class," Seawolves coach Chuck Priore said. "He should make an immediate impact in our run and pass game with his ability to block and stretch the field."

Tye said he wants to be "that everything guy. Be able to block, be open on passes."

Priore signed some promising Long Island recruits -- DL Ousmane Camara (Bay Shore), RB TylerFredericks (Lawrence) and LB John Haggart (Sayville) -- but likely will redshirt all of them.

"My goals as a program is to have a developmental process for our kids, get them here, get them in the weight room. Get them to learn what we do, get their academics under their belts," Priore said. "Then have them for four more years, which will make us a better program down the line."

Stony Brook also announced that Ron Denig, a former All-Long Island linebacker at Newfield, had joined as a walk-on. Denig was slated to play for LIU Post last season but decided to pursue Army Prep. That evaporated when he tore the ACL in his right knee last June in an all-star game. Priore expects Denig to redshirt and compete for a spot in 2014.

Denig has attended youth camps at Stony Brook since age 9. "They've always been friendly over the years," he said. "Stony Brook still wanted to give me a chance."

Also joining the Seawolves will be former St. Anthony's star kicker Nick Ferrara, who has one year of eligibility remaining after leaving Maryland with an injury. Floyd quarterback A.J. Otranto and Stony Brook School running back Donald Liotine also will join the Seawolves as walk-ons.

LIU Post announced the signings of OL Joseph Aliberti (Mepham), WR James Higgins (Connetquot), DB Ryan Renfroe (Connetquot), OL David Rodriguez (Brentwood), LB C.J. Denig (Comsewogue) and OL Giancarlo Carvalho (East Meadow).

2013 Stony Brook football recruiting class

(Name, position, Hometown/High School/Previous School

Reggie Allen, DB, Frostproof, Fla./Frostproof

Humphrey Anuh, LB, Columbia, Md./Hammond

*Conor Bednarski, QB, South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena/Fullerton College

Tyrice Beverette, DB, Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood

Josh Bevillard, DL, Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot

Ousmane Camara, DL, Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore

*Ron Denig, LB, Selden, N.Y./Newfield

Dakota Everett, LB, Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley

*Nick Ferrara, K, Hicksville, N.Y./St. Anthony's/Maryland

Tyler Fredericks, RB, Lawrence, N.Y./Lawrence

*Zedrick Gardner, DB, Miami, Fla./Northwestern/ASA College

Armani Garrick, OL, Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton

Lionel Guillaume, OL, Plantation, Fla./Plantation

John Haggart, LB, Sayville, N.Y./Sayville

Marvin Hart, DB, Minneola, Fla./Lake Minneola

*James Kenner, RB, Willingboro, N.J./Paul VI/ASA College

Quinton Littlejohn, DB, Gaithersburg, Md./Watkins Mill

*Max Martinez, DB, Wichita, Kan./Bishop Carroll/Butler CC

Kamani Odrick, LB, Montclair, N.J./Montclair

Keyon Pinnock, WR, Columbia, Md./Atholton

Travon Reid-Segure, DB, Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton

Markinson Sainvil, DL, Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona

Allen Singleton, DL, Humble, Texas/Atascocita

*Will Tye, TE, Middletown, Conn./Salisbury School/Florida State

*-- Mid-year transfer

Metro Poll: Stony Brook, SJU 1 and 2

By Marcus Henry

Photo credit: Joseph D. Sullivan | Stony Brook's Jameel Warney shoots from the foul line in the first half. (Jan. 12, 2013)

There was no change among the top three spots, as Stony Brook, St. John’s and Iona stayed in control. Princeton jumped three places to fourth after five straight wins and Fairfield jumped four places to fifth after two straight wins. Wagner stayed at sixth, while Rutgers slid four places to eighth.

Seton Hall continues to plummet, dropping two places to seventh. LIU enters the poll for the first time in a while after getting to .500. Rider remains 10th, while Columbia fells out of the poll after two straight losses.

1. Stony Brook (17-5)
2. St. John’s (14-8)
3. Iona (14-9)
4. Princeton (10-7)
5. Fairfield (14-10)
6. Wagner (12-9)
7. Seton Hall (13-10)
8. Rutgers (12-8)
9. LIU (11-11)
10. Rider (12-12)

Men and Women post wins against UNH on Saturday, Women win 60-47 at Pritchard and Men win at Durham, 56-54

Final Stats

Durham, N.H. - Junior Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) scored 11 points, none bigger than his three-pointer with 1:16 remaining in the game that lifted the Stony Brook men's basketball team to a 56-54 win over New Hampshire Saturday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium.

The win is Stony Brook's ninth in its last 10 games as the Seawolves improve to 17-5 overall and 8-1 in America East. It is also Stony Brook's 10th true road victory of the year, which leads the country.

Junior Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led all scorers with 13 points and he chipped in eight rebounds. Freshman Jameel Warney (Plainfield, N.J.) also tallied 11 points. Senior Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) had seven points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Coach Steve Pikiell's Reaction
"It was a tough game tonight against a good New Hampshire team. But we played solid down the stretch and made winning plays to grind out another road win."

Turning Point
In a dogfight of a game, it came down to the final two minutes. UNH's Chris Matagrano went to the foul line at the 1:33 mark with Stony Brook leading 53-51. Matagrano sank the first shot, but the second rimmed out into Brenton's hands.

Brenton then found Jackson on the near wing, and the junior captain buried home a three-pointer to give Stony Brook a four-point edge, 56-52, with 1:16 to play.

UNH's Ferg Myrick drew a foul and hit two free throws with 42.3 seconds to play to make it 56-54. New Hampshire then elected to play defense instead of fouling. With the shot clock winding down, Jackson attempted another three, but it missed and the ball went out to the free throw line for a long rebound. It appeared that a UNH player was going to control the ball, but it slipped out and into the hands of Warney, who passed to Brenton, who then kicked the ball out to Jackson to let the clock expire and end the game.

By the Numbers

• The Seawolves outshot the Wildcats 39.6% to 33.9%.
• UNH was 6-for-26 from three-point range.
• Stony Brook made 15 of its 18 free throw attempts (83.3%).
• Brenton's seven rebounds puts him at 1,017 for his career, tying him for sixth all-time in America East history.

News & Notes

• Stony Brook is off to its best 22-game start in its Div. I history at 17-5. The Seawolves have also matched last season's team for best nine-game America East start at 8-1.
• The Seawolves broke a tie with Bucknell for most true road victories in the country with 10, which also represents the program's most road victories in a season in its Div. I history.
• Stony Brook is now 13-0 this season and 73-1 in the Pikiell Era when holding its opponent under 60 points.
• Stony Brook is 26-4 in its last 30 America East games.
• Jackson was named America East Player of the Game.

Up Next
The Seawolves will play their 13th road game in their last 18 overall contests next Saturday at Hartford at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, available on mobile and tablet

Final Stats

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Sabre Proctor led all scorers with 17 points, whileChikilra Goodman added 11 points and six rebounds as the Stony Brook women's basketball team earned a two-game season sweep of New Hampshire, 60-47, at Pritchard Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

Jessica Previlon and Teasha Harris tallied nine points apiece, and Previlon also pulled down a team-high eight boards as Stony Brook moved to 12-10 overall and 4-5 in the America East.

Cari Reed paced New Hampshire (8-13, 3-6 AE) with 14 points, and the Wildcats owned a 32-27 edge on the glass. 

Proctor and Reed were named America East players of the game.

Coach's Reaction

"I thought it was another great team effort. I think our defensive intensity really ignited our offense, and it helped us push the tempo for 40 minutes."

--Head Coach Beth O'Boyle

Turning Point

Stony Brook claimed its largest lead of the afternoon, 45-31, after Brittany Snow tallied a lay-up off a feed from Goodman with 13:07 remaining in the game, but a 14-6 run by the Wildcats over the next nine and a half minutes, capped off by a second-chance point by Morgan Frame, closed the gap to six, 51-45.

Goodman responded quickly, stealing the ball from Frame and going the distance for a lay-up in transition as SBU went up, 53-45 at the 3:17 mark. With just over 2:30 left in the second stanza, Reed fouled Snow. The freshman forward hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to extend the lead to nine, 54-45.

Proctor all but sealed the deal when she grabbed her own rebound and laid it in to put Stony Brook in front by double-digits, 56-45, with 1:14 remaining in the game. SBU hit its free throws down the stretch en route to a win on its home court. 

By the Numbers

• Stony Brook shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field in the first half and 44.4 percent (24-of-54) for the game to move to 6-2 when shooting higher than 40 percent. SBU's season-best field goal percentage came against St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 19 when it sank 55.8 percent (24-of-43) of its shots from the field.
• UNH posted a 34.8 percent (16-of-46) field goal percentage as Stony Brook improved to 12-2 when shooting a higher percentage than an opponent and 11-2 when it holds its competition to under 40 percent from the field.
• Proctor made the sixth start of her career and was in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game.
• The Wildcats committed 22 turnovers, and the Seawolves took advantage of their miscues, notching 22 points off turnovers.
• Stony Brook is now 8-4 at Pritchard Gymnasium this season.

News and Notes

• With the win, Stony Brook has tripled its overall victory tally from all of last season and quadrupled last year's win total in America East play.
• This marks the first time SBU has swept an opponent since taking two from Maine in 2010-11.
• Dani Klupenger nailed one 3-pointer and is now five triples shy of becoming just the fifth Seawolf to nail 100 3's for her career.
• Klupenger also moved into sole possession of fifth-place all-time at Stony Brook in career 3-point attempts with 317, passing Theresa LoParrino, who suited up for the Seawolves from 2000-04. Kelly Watson is fourth all-time with 374 shots from behind the arc.
• The win halts a three-game losing streak for Stony Brook. The Seawolves had not lost two-straight games all season before dropping three in a row to UMBC, Maine and Albany.
• The Stony Brook student-athletes and coaching staff wore pink to support women's cancer research and Play4Kay, an initiative the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Fans wearing pink received free admission, and SBU collected donations. To learn more about the cause, please click here. 
• SBU held its annual Alumane Day and welcomed back several former women's basketball student-athletes. The day included a pregame reception with remarks from O'Boyle.

Up Next

Stony Brook heads to Boston for a rematch with Boston University Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. before returning to Pritchard to play Hartford Saturday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. The Seawolves will host a pregame Youth Sports Clinic for girls and boys ages 6-16 as part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Additionally, all members of the Boys and Girls Club of America wearing a Boys and Girls Club jersey will receive free admission to the game and may also attend the clinic. For more information about the clinic, please email Andrea.Lebedinski@stonybrook.edu, or go to Goseawolves.org.