Dec. 4, 2001

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Cleveland State at Stony Brook Game Notes

Media: WUSB 90.1 FM, Seawolves Radio Network at www.goseawolves.org

Game Backdrop: * Stony Brook is off to a 0-6 start, the worst start since they began the 1999-00 season by losing its first seven games. Tonight is the home opener for the Seawolves who played their first six games of the season away from home - the most since playing the first seven games of the 1971-72 season on the road. The Seawolves have won 12 straight home games. Tonight is the only non-conference home game on the 2001-02 schedule.

* This is the fourth straight year that these two teams have met. Cleveland State head coach Rollie Massimino began his college coaching career at Stony Brook back in 1969. He led the Patriots to a 33-16 mark in two seasons and their first ever postseason appearance. Massimino is a member of the Stony Brook Athletics Hall of Fame.

* The Seawolves will be without starting shooting guard Larry Jennings due to a broken left foot. The former St. John's Prep star broke a small bone near the ankle of his left foot back on October 26. He is expected to be out another four weeks.

Versus Cleveland State and the Horizon League: Stony Brook is 0-3 versus the Vikings and 0-5 overall against teams from the Horizon League (formerly known as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). The other two losses came against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Stony Brook vs. Cleveland State matchups: Jan. 8 , 2001 Cleveland State 70, Stony Brook 53 February 16, 2000 Cleveland State 79, Stony Brook 60 November 14, 1999 Cleveland State 94, Stony Brook 65

Macarchuk vs. Cleveland State: Macarchuk is 0-4 all-time versus Cleveland State

About Cleveland State: The Vikings are 2-2 and are led by Theo Dixon who leads the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg). Jamaal Harris is averaging 14.8 points per game and Jermaine Robinson is the team's top playmaker - averaging just over five assists per game. The Vikings are shooting the ball well so far this season, connecting on 48 percent of its shots from the feld and over 43 percent from three-point range.

Last Time Out: Mike Konopka's career-high 22 points were not enough as Harvard defeated SB, 64-59, on Saturday. The Seawolves were undone on the boards as HU outrebounded SB, 48-38, 23 of them coming on the offensive glass. Freshman JonPaul Kobryn chipped in with 11 points and five rebounds.

Seawolves In December: The Seawolves are 6-13 overall, 0-1 this year, in the month of December since 1999-00.

Hey Mister D.J.: D.J. Munir is averaging 20.2 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 eight straight games and has led the team in scoring in five of six outings. He also ranks second in the league in steals (1.83) and third in free throw shooting at .872.

Rollie At The Brook: The legendary coach began his college coaching career at Stony Brook, guiding the Patriots to a 33-16 record in two season and the school's first ever postseason appearance. He was inducted into the Stony Brook Athetics Hall of Fame on April 27, 1991.

Holding Court: Stony Brook puts its 12-game home court winning streak on the line tonight against the Vikings. Stony Brook went 13-1 at home last year, winning its last 12. The 13 regular season home wins ranks second all-time and the 12-game home court winning streak equals the second-best mark in school history (see box page 7). The longest home court winning streak in school history is 25, bridging the 77-78 and 78-79 seasons.

Special K: Sophomore Mike Konopka broke out his his shooting slump on Saturday against Harvard. Heading into the game, Konopka had connected on only 30 percent of his shots on the year, compared to a 48 percent shooting percentage from a year ago. Konopka torched the Crimson for a career-high 22 points on 9-13 shooting and raised his season field goal percentage to 39.3 percent.

Double Figures: In Saturday's loss to Harvard, SB had three players score in double figures for only the second time this season. D.J. Munir scored 17 and JonPaul Kobryn came off the bench to score 11.

On The Glass: Stony Brook has struggled on the boards in its last two outings - being outrebounded 102-63 in that stretch. Opponents hold a 42.7-33.0 advantage in rebounding so far this season.

Lending A Hand: The Seawolves handed out a season-high 18 assists on Saturday against Harvard, led by a career-high six assists for sopohmore Lee Church. Munir pitched in with a season-high five.

Heating Up?: Stony Brook shot 42.1 percent from the field against Harvard which might indicate that it is ready to break of its shooting slump The two games prior to Harvard saw the Seawolves struggle to make shots. 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.

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

JPK: Freshman JonPaul Kobryn has been a steady contributor in the early going. Kobryn, a 6-9 center, has come off the bench to average 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in just under minutes of action. He came off the bench to score 11 points against Harvard, his second double-digit scoring effort of the season. Kobryn matched his career high in rebounds with six against Rutgers.

Injury Report: Larry Jennings is still out with a broken foot - will likely miss another 3 weeks . . . Jairus McCollum sprained his ankle in practice on Friday and sat out versus Harvard. He will likely play tonight

Streaks: Munir has scored in double figures in eight straight games dating back to last season . . . the Seawolves have lost eight consecutive games away from home . . .

Off The Bench: The Seawolves have been outscored by the opponents' bench in all but one game this season - last Saturday versus Harvard. This is due in part to the injury to starting shooting guard Larry Jennings and Joakim Eriksson missing the first three games which left the Seawolves with a small rotation. Stony Brook's bench has been outscored 121-72 so far this season

To Be Or Not To J.B.: Sophomore J.B. Bennett truly has made his mark as one of Stony Brook's most improved players this year. Although it is early, it is evident that Bennett has stepped up his game. Last year, J.B. averaged 1.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 21 appearances, averaging just over six minutes per contest. What's the difference? This year, Bennett has logged an average of 28.0 minutes, averaging 5.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He ranks ninth in the league in rebounds and fourth in blocked shots.

Team Notes: Trevor Bryant left the team for personal reasons . . with Bryant's departure, Weldon McWilliams will now travel with the team . . .

Slow Starts: Stony Brook has lost its first six games, the first time it has done that since the inaugural Division I campaign two years ago when the season began with seven straight losses. The worst start in the program's history took place in 1974-75 when the then Patriots lost their first 14 games.

A Good Sign . . . In the early going, sophomore Jairus McCollum has struggled to find his scoring touch. Although its only one season, a good indicator of the Seawolves' success seems to be how well McCollum plays. Last year, McCollum scored in double figures 12 times - SB was 11-1 when he scored in double figures - the only loss came in the season finale to Army. In the five games that McCollum has played he has yet to score in double figures and the Seawolves are 0-5.