Jan. 4, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Maine at Stony Brook Game Notes - Sunday, Jan. 6 - 4:06 pm tip-off

Media: Television: Live on FoxSports NY in New York market . Bob Picozzi - play-by-play, Ron Perry, color Radio:WUSB 90.1 FM, Internet: www.goseawolves.org

Game Backdrop: * Stony Brook looks to snap a six-game losing streak today and earn its first ever America East Conference victory.

* Stony Brook is 0-2 in conference play after falling to Vermont on Wednesday.

* Guard Larry Jennings made his first start in a Seawolf uniform on Wednesday against Vermont. It was his first collegiate start since his tenure at St. Joe's (Pa.)

Versus Maine and the America East: Stony Brook is 0-3 all-time versus the Black Bears and 1-6 in games against America East schools.

Macarchuk Versus Maine: Head coach Nick Macarchuk sports a 10-3 record versus Maine in his career.

About Maine: Maine is riding a two-game win streak coming into Saturday's game following wins over Brown and Albany. The Black Bears trounced Brown at home on Dec. 30, 89-76, behind Errick Greene's 30 points and earned a 59-52 win over Albany on Wednesday night. Greene led the Black Bears with 15 points. Greene leads the America East in scoring at a 21.5 ppg. clip and checks in second in steals (1.9) and assists (4.0). Teammate Justin Rowe is seventh at 14.0 ppg. Rowe is also third in rebounds (8.5), first in blocked shots (3.7) and first in shooting percentage (.633)

The Last Time: This is not the first Division I matchup between the two schools. Stony Brook faced Maine at home in the championship game of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational during SB's inaugural Division I season. The Black Bears came away with a 67-55 victory behind Huggy Dye's 18 points.

Last Time Out: Stony Brook fell behind 16-0 as Vermont went on to a 91-60 win on Wednesday night in Burlington, VT. Five Catamounts scored in double figures. JonPaul Kobryn led the way for SB with a season-high 18 points and seven rebounds.

Seawolves In January: The Seawolves are 10-8, 0-1 this year, in January since moving to the Division I level.

Mr. Jennings Makes Start: Larry Jennings made his first start in a Seawolf uniform on Wednesday against Vermont. He made his debut versus Binghamton on the 29th after being sidelined with a broken bone in his left foot since October 26. He scored seven points against Binghamton as it was his first collegiate action since March of 1999 and the first points he has scored since he had three against Xavier late in the 1999-00 season.

Something New: Stony Brook's first Division I conference game on December 29 against Binghamton was the first conference game for the men's basketball program since the Division II era when it competed as a member of the New England Collegiate Conference. A member of the NECC for four seasons, the Seawolves compiled a 32-40 record in Division II conference play.

Seawolves on TV: Stony Brook has been on television four times since the move to Division I and is 1-3 in those games: 2001-02 November 17 at St. John's - SJU 72, SB 55 2000-02 November 18 at St. John's - SJU 92, SB 62 December 28 at UConn - UConn 67, SB 58 February 24 vs. Binghamton - SB 66, BU 56

Home Sweet Home: Binghamton snapped SB's 13-game home court winning streak on December 29. The 13-game win streak was the second longest home-court winning streak in the history of the program.

Hey Mister D.J.: Stony Brook's top scorer, D.J. Munir, ranks among the best performers in the America East so far this season. He has scored 20 points or more on four occasions and has one 30-point effort to his credit. Entering the week he is where Munir stood among America East Leaders: Scoring - 4th - 17.8 ppg FT% - 1st - .902 Assists - 5th - 3.1 apg

D.J. is no stranger to the state of Maine. He prepped for one year at Bridgton Academy.

Keys To Victory: * Get off to a good start - SB fell behind 16-0 against UVM on Wednesday * Contain Greene - he leads the conference in scoring * Defend Rowe down low * Just score, baby - SB is averaging only 57.8 points per game

JPK: Freshman JonPaul Kobryn has continued to improve for the Brook with each and every game. He has made a steady contribution over the last few games. He chipped in with a season-best 18 points on 8-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds versus Vermont on Wednesday. In his last three games, he has averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, far above his season average of 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

We Like Mike: Another freshman has made solid contributions for SB. Mike Orfini found his scoring touch again versus Binghamton and has been solid in his last two outings. He hit for 15 points against Binghamton and posted nine points to go along with a season-high four steals at Vermont. He is 10th in the league in steals at 1.3 per game.

Slow Starts: Stony Brook has gotten off to slow starts many times this season. Against Brown and Vermont, the Seawolves fell behind 21-2. The stats don't lie -- over the first 13 games the Seawolves have been outscored by 64 points over the first four minutes of the game.

Hello, Joe: Junior forward Joakim Eriksson turned in his best game of the season on Wednesday against Vermont. The 6-8 forward drained two three-pointers (a career-high) and finished with a season-high eight points. It was his first start since December 8th against Hofstra.

Not Apple Turnovers: SB has had trouble protecting the ball in the last two games, averaging 23 turnovers per game. The Seawolves are averaging 18.6 per game.

Common Opponents: Stony Brook and Maine have two common opponents to this point in the season -- Brown and Sacred Heart. The results: Stony Brook (0-2) Sacred Heart 76, Stony Brook 71 Brown 87, Stony Brook 60 Maine (2-0) Maine 67, Sacred Heart 61 Maine 89, Brown 76

Centers of Attention: Last year, Leon Brisport averaged 16 points and eight rebounds per game. Coach Macarchuk wondered how he was going to replace that type of production. Well, J.B. Bennett (5.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg.) and JonPaul Kobryn (7.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg) have done just fine in that regard.

Just Score, Baby: Stony Brook has flat out had trouble scoring points this season. Through 13 games, SB is averaged only 57.8 points per game, down from the 70.2 average from a year ago. In 13 games, the Seawolves have scored less than 60 points on five occasions --- that occurred only four times all of last year.

It's Not Easy: In addition to most of Stony Brook's games being on the road, the level of competition has also been very high. So far this season, Stony Brook's 12 opponents have a combined record of 82-55 for a winning percentage of .599. The non-conference opponents are 73-52 (.584) Stony Brook's schedule ranks 162 in the nation.

Charity Cases: Despite Stony Brook's struggles to score points, the Seawolves have cashed in at the free throw line. SB has connected on 71.6 percent (166-232) of it free throws so far this season which ranks second in the league behind Vermont (.758). D.J. Munir leads the team at a .902 clip.

Downtown Blues: Stony Brook's shooting trouble are extremely evident in its lack of three-point prowess this season as well. The Seawolves have connected on only 29.4 percent of its attempts from downtown and rank last in the league in three-point field goals made (3.8). SB went 0-12 from behind the arc against Army on December 13. It was the first time that SB has not made a three-pointer in a game since January 31, 1996 when SB went 0-7 from three-point land in a 65-52 loss to Adelphi.

Brook Bits: * Stony Brook welcomes a new addition to the roster this winter. Sophomore Tyrone Stallings (So., G, 6-3, 190) transferred from Fordham and will be eligible to play second semester of next year. * D.J. Munir is the only Seawolf to start every game * Vermont was the first opponent this season to score more than 90 points against SB

Congratulations, Rollie: Former Stony Brook head coach Rollie Massimino achieved his 500th career win on Dec. 27 against Duquesne. Massimino began his college coaching career at SB in 1969 and earned his first win over Albany. He became the 92nd coach to reach the 500-win plateau and the 3rd active coach this season to do so. Nolan Richardson of Arkansas and Dave Bliss of Baylor reached the mark earlier this season.

On The Road: The Seawolves have lost all nine games on the road and two neutral site games this season. The Seawolves have not won a road game since January 27 of last year -- a a 67-64 win over Albany.