Dec. 7, 2001

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook at Hofstra Game Notes - December 8, 2001 at Hofstra - 4 p.m.

Media: Radio: WUSB 90.1 FM, Internet Broadcast at www.goseawolves.org

Game Backdrop: * Stony Brook broke into the win column for the first time this season with a stirring 64-56 upset win over Cleveland State on Tuesday night at the SBU Sports Complex. It was Stony Brook's first win and it came in the 2001-02 home opener.

* The Long Island rivalry resumes as the two teams meet for the third straight year and for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.

* 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 3-4 weeks.

Versus Hofstra and the CAA: Hofstra is 13-1 versus Stony Brook all-time - the only win came back in the 1985-86 season when the then Patriots earned a 86-75 win. This afternoon's game is the first time that Stony Brook has ever faced a school from the Colonial Athletic Association. Stony Brook vs. Hofstra - the last two years November 25, 2001 Hofstra 72, Stony Brook 60 November 27, 2001 Hofstra 68, Stony Brook 53

Macarchuk vs. Hofstra: Macarchuk is 6-6 all-time versus Hofstra

About Hofstra: The Pride, who won the America East title for the past two years, are in the midst of their first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. Off to a 4-2 start, Hofstra is led by smooth shooting Rick Apodaca who leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game. He is one of three players who average in double figures. Freshman Kenny Adeleke leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg.) and Joel Suarez is the team's top playmaker with 28 assists. Hofstra is outrebounding their opponents 42.2-37.2 in each game. The Pride had their two-game win streak stopped at Syracuse on Tuesday night.

Last Time Out: Stony Brook registered the 64-56 upset win over Cleveland State behind D.J. Munir's 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. Mike Orfini chipped in with 12 points and seven boards while Jairus McCollum pitched in with 11 points.

Seawolves In December: The Seawolves are 6-14 overall, 1-1 this year, in the month of December since 1999-00.

Hey Mister D.J.: D.J. Munir is averaging 20.3 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 nine straight games and has led the team in scoring in six of seven outings - scoring over 20 points three times this season. He also ranks third in assists (3.1) and second in free throw shooting at .875.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm.....: The play of Jairus McCollum seems to be an indicator of Stony Brook's success on the basketball court. Through the first six games of the year, McCollum had not scored in double figures. Last year, he scored in double figures 12 times and the Seawolves were 11-1 in those games, falling only to Army in the season finale. On Tuesday night, McCollum scored 11 points, his final basket was the one that put the Seawolves ahead to stay with 1:51 to go in the game. SB is now 12-1 in games where he scores in double figures.

Last Year: The Pride held off Stony Brook 72-60 at the SBU Sports Complex last year. Norman Richardson scored a game-high 17 points and was one of four HU players to scored in double figures. Greg Springfield registered the double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Holding Court: With the win on Tuesday, 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.

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.

We Like Mike: Freshman Mike Orfini turned in his best performance in a Seawolf uniform on Tuesday. He came off the bench to hit for a season-high 12 points and grab seven rebounds. His layup with 5:12 remaining tied the score at 52.

JonPaul I: Freshman JonPaul Kobryn is the first JonPaul in the program's history and may be emerging at coach Macarchuk's first player off the bench as well. The rookie out of St. Anthony's (N.J.) is averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. He came off the bench against CSU to score eight points on 4-5 shooting in just 14 minutes. In his last two outings, he is averaging 9.5 points per game. He is shooting .548 from the field.

On The Road: The Seawolves have lost all six games away from home this year and eight in a row dating back to last season. After beginning the year with six straight games away from home, today's game begins another streak of four straight on the road.

Young Guns: Hofstra and Stony Brook boast relatively inexperience squads. Both teams are largely made up of underclassmen- each team has eight underclassmen on their roster.

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

Heating Up?: After back-to-back games of shooting under 30 percent from the field, the Seawolves have seemingly found their scoring touch. They shot 42.1 percent against Harvard and a stellar 47.7 percent in Tuesday's win against Cleveland State. 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.

Cooling Down: While its seems like the offense is heating up in the last two outings, it also appears as if the defense is putting its opponents in a deep freeze. Stony Brook has held its opponents to under 40 percent from the field in the last two games - .361 (43-119) 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 seven 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 nine straight games dating back to last season . . . the Seawolves have lost eight consecutive games away from home . . . the Seawolves have led at halftime in four of seven games . . . this is Stony Brook's first appearance in Hofstra's new arena . . .

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 two outings. Stony Brook's bench has been outscored 123-103 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 26.4 minutes, averaging 5.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He ranks ninth in the league in rebounds and fourth in blocked shots.

Road Facts: The Seawolves have lost all six games away from home this season for three main reasons - poor shooting, turnovers and rebounding. Through the first six games SB is averaging 18.8 turnovers per game, are only shooting 36 percent from the field and are being outrebounded by an over nine rebounds per game.