Countdown to #Seawolves Tip-Off: Broadcast Schedule

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook Athletics certainly wants #Seawolves Basketball fans to come out to Pritchard Gymnasium to watch the men's & women's teams play. But for the fans who can't travel to Stony Brook, there will be every opportunity to watch and/or listen to all the action via television, radio and the Internet.

Every Stony Brook men's & women's basketball home game will be broadcast either on television or the Internet, and nearly every game, home and road, will air either on the radio or the Internet.

Through the America East Digital Network, AmericaEast.TV, all men's & women's basketball home games at Pritchard Gymnasium that have not been selected to be produced for television will air for FREE at AmericaEast.TV.

Nearly every men's basketball game, home and road, will be produced for distrbution on television or the Internet. The #Seawolves will have at least four games air on traditional television - Nov. 17 at Indiana (Big Ten Network), Dec. 7 vs. La Salle (MSG), Jan. 3 at VCU (SNY) and Jan. 24 vs. Vermont (ESPNU). Four other games (Jan. 12 vs. Hartford, Jan. 20 at UMBC, Feb. 4 at Binghamton and Feb. 27 at Vermont) will be produced for ESPN3, which can be seen on the Internet and through mobile devices using the WatchESPN App. More games could be added in the coming months, and the team will be guaranteed at least one more game on ESPN3 at the America East Championship.

Champions Radio, which is 96.9 FM and 107.1 FM in Suffolk County, ChampionsRadio.com on the web and available on mobile devices through the TuneIn App, will air a minimum of 20 men's basketball games, beginning Friday night vs. Marist in the 2013-14 season opener. For games that do not air on Champions Radio, a radio only feed will be provided on the web at GoSeawolves.org.

The women's basketball team has been selected for two ESPN3 broadcasts (Jan. 23 at Vermont & March 1 at Albany) and will be guaranteed a third game at the America East Championship. Champions Radio will carry the home opener vs. NJIT on Friday and a select number of future games to be determined. All games not carried by Champions Radio will air on the web at GoSeawolves.org.

WUSB 90.1 FM, the campus radio station at Stony Brook and the longtime home of #Seawolves Athletics, is back to carry a minimum of 28 basketball games this season. The WUSB feed is also available online at sbradiosports.blogspot.com.

See Full Broadcast schedule:

Castanio leads #Seawolves past Maine, into America East Final

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Redshirt junior keeper Ashley Castanio (Oceanside, N.Y.) made 16 saves and blocked two shootout attempts to help the Stony Brook women's soccer team knock off No. 3 Maine in the America East Semifinals on Sunday at LaValle Stadium. After a 1-1 draw, the Seawolves prevailed in the penalty shootout, 3-1, to advance to their second consecutive America East championship game.

Coach Sue Ryan's Reaction

"First of all, I can't say enough how much respect I have for Maine. They have great coaching, great team organization, and they were a wonderful, competitive opponent for us. There's a saying in soccer that if the other team can't score, you can't lose, so having Ashley Castanio in net for us was really the difference. She's a big-time player and she made some big-time plays in some big-time moments. We're excited to face UMBC in the final and I expect it to be a very competitive game."

Goal Recaps

• Stony Brook (11-5-2) opened the scoring in the 30th minute when freshman Leah Yurko (Cumberland, Md.) pounced on a rebound in the box and stuffed it into the open cage to give the Seawolves the lead. 
• Maine (9-5-5) equalized with just 11:58 to play in the second half when Lisa Bijman directed a header over Castanio off a free kick from Joanie L'Abbe.

Penalty Shootout Summary

• After two scoreless overtime periods, the game proceeded to the penalty shootout. Sophomore Stella Norman (Lakewood, Colo.) shot first, but her attempt was stopped by Maine keeper Claudia Dube-Trempe.
• With the momentum on its side, Maine was unable to capitalize as Castanio robbed Charlene Achille with an unbelievable diving stop to her right.
• Freshman Maxie New (Clayton, N.J.) then stepped up and drilled the first goal of the shootout to put the Seawolves up, 1-0. 
• Maine answered right back as Noelle Leon-Palmer guided her attempt inside the left post to knot the shootout at 1-1.
• The Seawolves responded when senior Caitlin Pfeiffer (Holland, N.Y.) fooled Dube-Trempe to put Stony Brook ahead, 2-1.
• Castanio then stopped Maggie Malone's attempt with a dive to her right to keep the score at 2-1.
• Senior Larissa Nysch (Dresher, Pa.) was next up and she made no mistake, firing it home to make it 3-1.
• Needing to score to stay alive, Maine's Joanie L'Abbe hit the right post with the ensuing attempt to end the shootout in favor of Stony Brook, 3-1. 

The Numbers Game

• The America East Goalkeeper of the Year, Castanio made a career-high 16 saves, including several highlight-reel stops, to backstop Stony Brook to victory.
• Maine held a 25-22 shot advantage overall.
• Dube-Trempe stopped 11 shots for the Black Bears.
• Maine held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.
• Nysch and Bijman each had five shot attempts to lead their teams on the day.

News & Notes

• Stony Brook will be making its second consecutive trip in the America East Final. Last year the Seawolves beat No. 1 Hartford; this year they will look to knock off another No. 1 in UMBC.
• Stony Brook beat Maine in the Semifinals for the second straight season.
• The Seawolves have prevailed in their last four America East Tournament matches.
• Stony Brook is now 2-0 all-time in penalty shootouts in the America East. The Seawolves defeated UNH, 3-0, on penalties in the 2002 America East Semifinals.
• Castanio has 29 saves in her last two games, both against Maine.
• The game counts as a 1-1 draw for statistical purposes, with Stony Brook advancing, 3-1, on PK's. 

Up Next

The 2012 America East champions will look to defend their title on Saturday, Nov. 9 against No. 1 UMBC. The championship game is set for 7 p.m.  

Joe Nathan '97 wants multiyear deal

By Richard Durrett | ESPNDallas.com

Closer Joe Nathan is waiting and wondering what the Texas Rangers are going to do about his option for 2014.

But he knows what he would like to do: negotiate a multiyear deal.

The Rangers have three days to either exercise Nathan's $9 million option for next season or cut him a check for $750,000 as a buyout. If the club decides to exercise the option, Nathan has the right to void it thanks to finishing at least 55 games in 2013.

"I want at least two years," Nathan said Thursday. "The last couple of years, I think I've proven that I'm healthy. I think I've proven to lots of skeptics and critics that I can handle a two-year deal or maybe two and an option."

Texas will have Joakim Soria, who has closed before, and Tanner Scheppers, who performed well in eighth-inning relief, in the bullpen in 2014. Either player could shift to the closer's role for not nearly the cost of Nathan. And he understands that.

"I know they have a surplus of arms in the bullpen, and I know the business side of it," Nathan said. "You're trying to get as much money as you can to strengthen your club, so they may want to spend that money somewhere else. They have some work to do to piece some holes together."

But neither Soria nor Scheppers has the experience or track record of Nathan. The 38-year-old (he turns 39 on Nov. 22) had 43 saves and sported a 1.39 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 22 walks this season. He has made the All-Star team in each of his two seasons with Texas.

"I'd like it to be in Texas," said Nathan, who added that he figures if the Rangers wanted to do something for more than one year that they would have likely talked to his agent about it by now. "It's no secret this club can win. It's no secret the organization has that goal in mind and works to improve on weaknesses and doing things better than the previous year. In that sense, I love this organization and that everybody is on board to try to get to the World Series and win it, not just get to the postseason.

"With that said, I also need to or would like to go beyond that one year and stick around for a couple of years. If that's something they want to do, great. If not, I'm in the position that I need to go out and find that."

Stony Brook second-half rally falls short

By Greg Logan, Newsday

Six first-half drives that resulted in only 60 yards of total offense and mustered no points sent Stony Brook into the halftime break trailing 13-0.

A second-half resurgence was not enough for the Seawolves as Stony Brook (1-4, 3-5) dropped another tight CAA game, 19-14, on the road against Maine (5-0, 8-1).

"We switched our game plan at halftime and moved the ball well," Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore said. "It wasn't a great game offensively by either team, but the better team won."

It was a switch back to the power running offense in the second half that sparked the Seawolves.

The Seawolves opened the second half by going 67 yards -- all on the ground -- in 11 plays, capped by a Lyle Negron 1-yard touchdown run to climb back within one score. James Kenner, who finished with 124 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, carried the ball four times for 24 yards on the drive.

Stony Brook forced Maine into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession but the Seawolves' next drive stalled at the Maine 9-yard line when Negron was intercepted by Troy Eastmon.

The Stony Brook defense followed by stopping Maine in its tracks once again, forcing another three-and-out.

Negron converted two crucial plays to Will Tye, a third-and-3 with a 20-yard completion and a crucial fourth-and-10 with a 22-yard strike that brought the ball down to the 10-yard line.

Kenner took care of it from there and punched in the go-ahead touchdown from 1 yard with 11:02 left in the game.

The Stony Brook defense held Maine for one drive but finally broke with less than five minutes remaining. Marcus Wasilewski hit John Ebeling for a 34-yard gain that converted a third-and-11 and he found Ebeling again on the next play for a 24-yard touchdown.

The Seawolves limited Maine to 117 yards in the second half.

Stony Brook had two more drives but stalled out at the Maine 31-yard line when Negron threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4. The Seawolves got the ball a final time with 40 seconds remaining but Negron was intercepted to end the threat.

Stony Brook returns to the field Saturday when it hosts Richmond in a CAA game.

Stony Brook returns four starters in quest to make NCAA Tournament

Greg Logan, Newsday

The list of achievements for Stony Brook's men's basketball team was impressive last season -- third America East regular-season title in four years, school-record 25-8 mark, conference player of the year in Tommy Brenton and rookie of the year in Jameel Warney.

But the memory lingers of Albany's Mike Black driving for the winning basket on his home floor to eliminate the Seawolves in the conference semifinals and deny them a shot at earning their first-ever NCAA bid.

As senior guard Anthony Jackson said, "I carry that loss on my sleeve. To lose in the semifinal game against a rivalry, that's on my heart. But that's fuel to the fire."

The road to redemption began with Stony Brook's first-ever NIT win at UMass, but now it's back to chasing that elusive NCAA bid.

"We've done 99 things here, and no one cares about any of them," Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said. "So now we've got to do 100 . . . We have to go up to Albany again and swing at the plate. But it's way too early to think about those things. Right now, I'm just trying to get them to box out."

Pikiell has four returning starters in post man Warney, forward Eric McAlister and guards Jackson and Dave Coley. Redshirt freshman Ahmad Walker is the likely starter at small forward. Sophomore guard Carson "Trey'' Puriefoy is like a sixth starter, and there is size on the bench in 6-10 three-point shooter Scott King, 6-10 backup center Anthony Mayo and 6-7 transfer forward Rayshaun McGrew.

Four freshmen will compete for playing time, including true freshmen swingmen Chris Braley and Roland Nyama and redshirt guards Kameron Mitchell and Ryan Burnett. Pikiell views the 6-6 Nyama as his two-guard of the future, but a redshirt year also is a possibility.

"Nyama's talent is off the charts," Pikiell said. "Roland is a freak athlete who can pin shots on the backboard and get tip dunks."

The determining factor in who plays, as Pikiell put it, is "who's going to help Jameel the most?" A year ago, that player was Brenton, who essentially was a point forward as the assist leader. Now the question is who will get the ball to Warney, who averaged 12.4 points and 7.2 rebounds and shot 61 percent from the field.

"Everyone," Pikiell said. "They all are well-trained. He's going to get the ball plenty."

Jackson, a 36-percent shooter from three-point range, was second in assists last season and figures to take the point guard role, but Puriefoy runs the point when he enters. "The weight is on my back to distribute the ball because that's my job," Jackson said. "But in turn, I feel I need to score the ball. I've been working in practice, trying to turn myself into a great point guard who can make the right decision at the right time, similar to Tommy."

Brenton's graduation, Pikiell predicted, will allow power forward McAlister to emerge as a force. "Eric has been awesome," Pikiell said. "I think he's going to have an unbelievable senior year."

Most everyone expects Warney, an imposing 6-8, 265-pound paint presence, to become more dominant now that he has developed a 15-foot jumper.

"Last season, I was very one-dimensional just catching the ball and laying it in and playing good defense," Warney said. "Over the summer, I came back with a good array of post moves and a little jump shot that can make me seem more unguardable."

The Seawolves face a tough non-conference schedule that includes such NCAA Tournament teams as Indiana, LaSalle and VCU. Coley, a tri-captain with Jackson and McAlister, said the seniors must fill Brenton's leadership role.

"With our experience, the importance of leading this team is drastic," Coley said. "We have a lot of talent, but we're very inexperienced. My intention is to lead these young guys someplace we've never been, and that's the NCAA Tournament."

Warney added: "That's all we think about -- NCAA Tournament. Either get there or fail."

Seven new faces to join SBU women's program on the upswing

Greg Logan, Newsday

In Beth O'Boyle's second season in charge of Stony Brook women's basketball, the Seawolves made a quantum leap forward with a 10-win improvement to 14-16. But that's just a jumping-off point for the 2013-14 team, which has added some high-end recruits to the mix and was voted third in the America East preseason poll.

O'Boyle knows she has a solid foundation with forwards Sabre Proctor, who is the leading returning scorer in the conference with a 10.9 average, and Brittany Snow, who was named to the all-rookie team last season. And senior point guard Chikilra Goodman averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals.

The mystery is how well seven newcomers, some of whom could be major contributors, will blend with eight returning players. "It is a little bit different," O'Boyle said. "We've established the culture of how we're going to do things, but we have seven players who have never played a college game, and that's a very scary experience."

But it's a good kind of scary. With the prospect of modernized 4,008-seat Stony Brook Arena looming next season, O'Boyle's recruiting stock is going up. The real source of anxiety is the wait for a ruling from the NCAA on whether 6-1 junior guard Jessica Ogunnorin, a transfer from Cal-Riverside, will be eligible this season or must sit out a year.

"She would be a big addition," O'Boyle said. "Very athletic, strong, shoots threes, plays inside, very good player. Fingers crossed."

Even if Ogunnorin has to wait, O'Boyle has depth in the backcourt with seniors Teasha Harris and Natalie Myers, sophomores Kim Hanlon and Miranda Jenkins and freshmen Kori Bayne-Walker and Kristie Costantino competing for playing time. The third starting forward position figures to be a battle between two freshmen, Elizabeth Manner, who averaged 24 points as a high school senior, and 6-3 Angelica Hauer, with freshman Jasmine Bailey and sophomore Alyssa Coiro adding depth.

In a way, the template for this season is similar to what O'Boyle did a year ago when she blended in Snow as a freshman and Proctor as a transfer. "Sabre has the ability to score in a variety of ways," O'Boyle said. "She's a go-to player for us. It elevates all of our players because they have to learn how to defend her in practice.

"Brittany leads by example. She's got such a motor. It's really helping us with our tempo. I think she's going to have another big year."

Snow's work ethic helped set a tone a year ago, and she has confidence in the newcomers' ability to fit in after a summer spent working together. "The summer workouts helped us so much to play together as a team," she said. "I feel we're better off than last year even with all the new players."

Two-time defending America East champion Albany was the unanimous winner of the preseason poll, with Hartford second. But Stony Brook clearly is gaining respect.

"We have a lot of talented freshmen, and I believe the sky is the limit for us," Proctor said. "As long as we stay humble, we can go anywhere."

Muhammad El-Amin selected in NBA D-League Draft

NEW YORK - Former Stony Brook men's basketball star and 2010 America East Player of the YearMuhammad El-Amin has been selected by the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the fourth round of the 2013 NBA D-League Draft. El-Amin becomes the first Stony Brook men's basketball player to be drafted in the NBA's official minor league system.

El-Amin joins a D-Fenders squad that is the affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers. The D-Fenders play their home games at the Toyota Sports Center, the Lakers' practice facility, located in El Segundo, Calif., minutes away from Los Angeles International Airport. The D-Fenders are coached by Bob MacKinnon.

The 6-5 guard joined Stony Brook in 2008, and became an instant offensive threat. He led the #Seawolves in scoring as a junior at 15.7 points per game and again as a senior at 16.7 points per game. He was named second-team All-America East as a junior in 2009 and then elevated his game in his senior season to earn 2010 America East Player of the Year honors after finishing second among conference student-athletes in conference scoring at 19.1 points per game. 

El-Amin, who was also an Associated Press All-America honorable mention in 2010, finished his Stony Brook career with 971 points in just two seasons, including a Div. I program record 517 points in 2009-10. He led Stony Brook to its first-ever America East regular season championship and NIT appearance in 2010.

El-Amin has already been in the professional ranks for three years overseas. He has played in Hungary, Israel and Italy. He averaged 22 points a game in 2010-11 for PVSK Pannonpower Pecs in Hungary.

El-Amin will report to D-Fenders training camp in anticpation of the season opener on Nov. 23.