Dec. 10, 2001

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook at Villanova Game Notes - Tuesday, December 11, 8:00 p.m.

Media: WUSB 90.1, Internet - at www.goseawolves.org

Game Backdrop: * Stony Brook faces its third BIG EAST opponent of the season tonight against Villanova. The Seawolves opened the season against St. John's on November 17 and took on Rutgers back on November 28.

* Stony Brook is in the midst of its second big stretch of road games this season. The Seawolves began the year with six straight on the road and after a home game against Cleveland State last week, SB will play four straight on the road.

* There will likely be a shakeup in the starting lineup tonight for SB. Inserted back into starting roles will be Mike Orfini and Jairus McCollum while steadily improving JonPaul Kobryn will make his first career start at center.

* An Unhappy Return? The Seawolves will be without starting shooting guard Larry Jennings due to a broken left foot. The former St. John's Prep star , who played two seasons with St. Joe's (Pa.), broke a small bone near the ankle of his left foot back on October 26. He's hoping to return for the December 29 conference game against Binghamton.

Versus Villanova And The BIG EAST: Tonight marks the first meeting between the two teams. Stony Brook is 0-7 all-time versus BIG EAST teams. SB has lost by a combined 54 points to BIG EAST opponents this season.

Macarchuk vs. Villanova: Tonight's game is also the first time that coach Macarchuk has faced Villanova.

About The Wildcats: Villanova is coming off an impressive win over Temple on Saturday night that was part of a unique tripleheader at the Palestra that involved all six Division I schools in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Derrick Snowden hit the game-winning jumper with 21 seconds left to help Villanova to the 70-66 win. The Wildcats shoot the ball well, hitting over 47 percent of their shots from the field so far this season, including 41 percent from three point range.

Last Time Out: Stony Brook fell 76-67 to local rival Hofstra on Saturday. The Seawolves closed to within 40-37 with an eight-point run to begin the second half, but the Pride responded with a 17-4 run to seize control of the game. Jairus McCollum scored a career-high 20 point in the loss while freshman Mike Orfini pitched in with a career-high 14 points.

Seawolves In December: The Seawolves are 6-15 overall, 1-2 this year, in the month of December since 1999-00.

Hey Mister D.J.: D.J. Munir is averaging 19.4 points per game which ranks second in the America East behind from No. Bridgton Academy teammate E.J. Gallup of Albany. He has scored in double figures in ten straight games and has led the team in scoring in six of eight games - scoring over 20 points three times this season. Heading into tonight's game, he is the only Seawolf who is averaging in double figures. Munir Among America East Leaders: Scoring - 2nd - 19.4 ppg Assists - 5th - 3.0 apg Steals - 4th - 1.63

Who's Hot: * D.J. Munir - averaging over 19 points per game and scored in double figures in 10 straight games * Jairus McCollum - averaging 15.5 points per game in his last two outings * Mike Orfini - scored season high 14 points versus Hofstra

Who's Not: * SB shooters - averaging 58 points per game on 38 percent shooting * Mike Konopka - averaging 4.5 points per game in last two outings

Keys: For Stony Brook to have a chance tonight, the defense will have to try and clamp down on the efficient Villanova offense. The Wildcats are shooting 47 percent from the field compared to a chilly 38 percent for the Seawolves. Rebounding will also be a big key for Stony Brook - opponents are outrebounding the Brook by over nine boards per game.

Jairus Steps Up: Jairus McCollum seems to have discovered his scoring touch. Through the first five games of the year, he had scored just 27 points. In the last two, McCollum has exploded for a total of 31 points, including a career-high 20 points versus Hofstra on Saturday. His play is often an indicator of how well the Seawolves will fare -- SB is 12-2 in games where he scores in double figures. After going 8-8 from the line at Hofstra, McCollum has not hit 13 consecutive free throws.

Holding Court: With the win at home last week, Stony Brook extended its home court winning streak to 13. Heading into the season, its 12-game home court winning streak ranked 16th in the nation. The Seawolves last loss at home came against Hofstra on November 25 of last year. SB went on to win its final 12 home games. The longest home court winning streak in school history is 25, bridging the 77-78 and 78-79 seasons.

Rookie Of The Week: Freshman Mike Orfini is starting to emerge as a solid contributor for the Seawolves. He has come off the bench in the last two games to average 13 points and six rebounds per game. On Saturday, he scored a career-high 14 points versus Hofstra in a season-high 36 minutes of action. His play last week earned him America East Rookie of the Week honors. He is the first Seawolf to win the award.

JonPaul I: Classmate JonPaul Kobryn has also been solid for Stony Brook. The rookie out of St. Anthony's (N.J.) is averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 18 minutes of action. He is shooting .556 from the field and is averaging eight points and five rebounds in the two games versus BIG EAST opponents this season. JPK will earn his first collegiate start tonight.

On The Road: The Seawolves have lost all seven games away from home this year and nine in a row dating back to last season. After tonight's game, the Seawolves have two more games on the road before the conference home opener on December 9. The Seawolves will play 10 of the first 11 games on the road and 19 of 28 for the season.

Finding Their Touch: Despite averaging only 38.1 percent on the year, the Seawolves have connected on over 40 percent of their shots in the last three games. Those numbers are in stark contrast to the two games prior to the Harvard contest. Against Binghamton, SB shot 29.2 percent (16-47 ) from the field and then posted a season low 20.4 percent (10-49) against Rutgers, including an anemic 14.3 percent (4-28) in the second half. The Seawolves had made 26 of their last 96 shot attempts (27.1 percent) before playing Harvard on Saturday.

Clamping Down: Stony Brook has held its opponents to under 40 percent from the field in two of the last three games - .390 (73-187) during that stretch. Prior to the Harvard game, Stony Brook opponents had shot 40 percent or better from the field in each of the five games.

Sub-60: In three of its eight outings this year, the Seawolves have scored less than 60 points - that happened only four times all of last year.

Notes . . . : Munir has scored in double figures in 10 straight games dating back to last season . . . the Seawolves have lost nine consecutive games away from home . . . the Seawolves have led at halftime in four of eight games

Off The Bench: The Seawolves were outscored by the opponents bench in the first five games of the year, but have bounced back to outscore the opponents in the last three outings. Stony Brook's bench has been outscored 157-143 so far this season

Road Facts: The Seawolves have lost all seven games away from home this season for three main reasons - poor shooting, turnovers and rebounding. Through the first seven games SB is averaging 18.9 turnovers per game, are only shooting 37 percent from the field and are being outrebounded by an over nine rebounds per game.