Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Dec. 11, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's basketball team will battle Army Thursday night at the Indoor Sports Complex in a non-conference matchup. The Seawolves hope to push their record to 4-2 after six outings for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The series is level at 2-2 after four meetings between the two teams. The last meeting between the two teams was almost exactly one year ago. Army defeated SB 71-60 on December 13, 2001. Chris Spatola scored 27 points to lead Army while J.B. Bennett paced the Seawolves with 18 points.

LAST TIME OUT: Bobby Santiago scored a game-high 17 points to propel SB to a 65-56 win over Columbia on December 4. Santiago scored 13 first half points to stake SB to a 28-18 lead and help the Seawolves to their second straight win. Mike Orfini chipped in with 14 points and rookie Hendrik Feist added 10. Center JonPaul Kobryn finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

SCOUTING ARMY: The Black Knights dropped to 2-4 after a 47-44 loss to Albany on Monday night. Andy Smith is the team's leading scorer at 13.2 points per game followed by Sean O'Keefe. O'Keefe is Army's top rebounder at 5.7 per game.

VERSUS THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Stony Brook is 3-5 versus the Patriot League all-time.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Stony Brook and Army have both recorded victories over Sacred Heart this season.

BACK-TO-BACK WINS: The early returns this year seem to indicate that Stony Brook is on the upswing. The win over Columbia gave SB back-to-back wins to improve to 3-2. SB didn't win two consecutive games in 2001-02.

TOEING THE LINE: Stony Brook has made it a point of getting to the free throw line this season. After five games, the team has converted more free throws (65) than its opponents have taken (52). The Seawolves have gone to the line 104 times in five games, an average of almost 21 per contest.

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD: In just three weeks freshman Bobby Santiago has shown that he is one of the best newcomers in the America East conference. On Monday, Santiago was again named America East Rookie of the Week, the second time that he has earned the honor this season. Santiago averaged 20 points and four assists in SB's two wins last week.

THREE IN A ROW: A win against Army would up the winning streak to three -- the last time SB won three in a row was in the midst of a seven-game winning streak from Jan. 24-Feb. 13, 2001.

BOBBY TAKES AIM: Freshman Bobby Santiago enjoyed an outstanding week in leading Stony Brook to two wins. He averaged 20 points and four assists in those two games and took over the team's scoring lead at 15.4 points per game. He has been an offensive force for the Brook shooting 47.9 percent from the floor, 45.8 percent from three-point range, and had a team-best 11 three-pointers to his credit.

HE LIKES IT: Sophomore Mike Orfini came off the bench to score 14 points and record two steals against the Lions. Through four games, he is averaging 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.

HOT SHOOTING: Stony Brook has been on fire the last two games, beginning with a good shooting performance against Rhode Island College where the Seawolves hit 49.3 percent of the shots en route to a 95-51 win. The 95 points were the most scored in a game for SB since a 107-45 win over New England College on November 21, 2000. The Seawolves followed that up with a torrid 60.5 percent shooting effort (23-38) in the triumph over Columbia.

DIAL 3 FOR LONG DISTANCE: Included in Stony Brook's improved shooting has been an dramatic improvement from three-point range. The Seawolves have connected on over 40 percent of their attempts from behind the arc. Last year, SB shot only 33 percent from three.

WILL THE FRESHMAN STEP FORWARD: Freshmen Santiago and Hendrik Feist have wasted little time in making their presence felt. Santiago leads the team in scoring and is shooting over 45 percent from downtown. Feist registered a season-best 10 points against Columbia and is shooting 70 percent (7-10) from three-point land.

SAY HEY JAY: Junior forward Jairus McCollum has been a major force in four games this season. He is scoring 10 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at an 8.0 clip. McCollum's improved play is evident in the numbers -- entering this season he had averaged 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 54 games. McCollum currently ranks third in the America East in rebounding. McCollum has emerged as the X-factor for the Seawolves during his two plus years at the Brook. During that time, he has scored in double figures on 20 occasions and the Seawolves have gone 15-5 in those games.

DEJA VU?: The win against Columbia upped the Seawolves record to 3-2, the same record SB held after five games during the 2000-01 season. The Seawolves went on to win 17 games that year.

JPK: Sophomore center JonPaul Kobryn added 25 pounds to his frame in the offseason and the hard work has paid off. He is third on the team in scoring and has hit 21 of his 38 shots so far this season for a .553 shooting percentage. Kobryn finished second in the America East in field goal percentage last year.

A ROAD WARRIOR Stony Brook's JonPaul Kobryn has proven he feels quite comfortable on the road. In his last 10 road games dating back to last season, the sophomore has scored in double figures eight times, averaging 12.9 points per game. In his only road game of the season, JPK scored 18 points and pulled down six rebounds against St. John's.

THE MARKSMAN Rookie Hendrik Feist has started to emerge as a three-point threat for SB as well. He has hit six three-pointers in his last two games and was 3-3 from long distance against Columbia.

THIRD WIN COMES QUICKER Stony Brook got its third win of the season last Wednesday night. The Seawolves did not earn their third win of the season until January 15 last year.