Feb. 14, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Hartford (11-15, 8-4) at Stony Brook (4-19, 3-9) Game Notes

Media: WUSB 90.1

Game Backdrop:* Stony Brook seeks its first two-game win streak of the season tonight as they take on America East foe Hartford. The Hawks have won four of six and seven of their last 10.

* Guard Larry Jennings will miss the remainder of the year due to complications from a broken foot suffered in October. He underwent surgery on February 8 and will be sidelined for 12 weeks.

* Stony Brook is coming off a rousing road win over Maine last Sunday. With the win, Stony Brook swept the season series from the Black Bears.

Versus Hartford: Hartford owns a 1-0 series edge.

Macarchuk Versus Hartford: Macarchuk is 4-2 all-time versus the Hawks.

Last Time Out: D.J. Munir's three-pointer with 1:28 remaining gave Stony Brook a 55-53 edge and the Seawolves held on for a 57-53 win last Sunday against win. Munir sealed the win with a jumper with 15 seconds to go. JonPaul Kobryn was the high man for the Brook, scoring a game-high 18 points while Joakim Eriksson scored a season-high 12 in his second straight start.

Lucky 13: Stony Brook's point guard sensation D.J. Munir has emerged as the top free throw man in the America East and one of the best in America. He is now shooting .896 from the stripe which ranks 13th in the nation - the first time a Seawolf has ranked in the Top 20 since the program moved to Division I in 1999-00.

Seawolves In February: The Seawolves are 6-9 in February since moving to the Division I level.

Home Versus Road: The difference in the Seawolves' play at home compared to the road is drastic this season. SB shoots 43.5 percent from the field at home, 37.8 from three-point range. On the road, the shooting percentage dips to 38.8 and 30.4 from downtown. As a result the Seawolves score an average of 62.2 points per game at home compared to 59.1 on the road which has resulted in a negative 3.3 scoring margin at home as opposed to a negative 15.2 point scoring margin on the road.

Second That Emotion: Junior Patrick Spitler has been inserted into the starting lineup in the last two games and has given the Seawolves an emotional lift. Against New Hampshire, he posted five points and five rebounds and came back to have four points, five rebounds and four assists. The Seawolves are 1-1 with Spits in the starting lineup.

Jennings Has Surgery Junior guard Larry Jennings underwent surgery last Friday to repair his broken left foot which did not heal properly after he broke it back in October. He is expected to be out of action for 12 weeks.

The Last Time - Versus UH: Hartford rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to score 48 second half points as the Hawks earned a 76-70 win in Hartford on January 26. Junior Amous had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Hawks while D.J. Munir led the Seawolves with 21 points.

Better Late Than Never: D.J. Munir had connected on only only of his first 10 shots against Maine on Sunday but made his final two attempts count when it mattered most. With SB trailing 53-52, Munir drilled a three-point from the top of the key to give the Seawolves a 55-53 lead. He then sealed the win with a jumper with 15 ticks on the clock to help SB sweep the Black Bears.

He Only Like The Road: Freshman JonPaul Kobryn would prefer to play all of his games on the road. His numbers bear that out. He is averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 boards per game on the road as opposed to 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds at home.

And Seven Feet Tall Too: Kobryn would apparently also like his opponents to be seven-feet tall. He has faced two seven-footers this year and came away with some of his best efforts of the season. Kobryn scored a season-high 19 points against Nick Billings of Binghamton and poured in game-high 18 points versus Justin Rowe of Maine on Sunday.

Joe Gets It Done: Junior Joakim Eriksson has started the last two games and made a huge impact. On Sunday, he scored a season-high 12 points and keyed a 13-2 run late in the game by scoring seven of the 13 points in that stretch. He is averaging eight points and five rebounds in his two starts.

Familiar Faces: Kobryn and Hartford's Wayne McClinton played together at St. Anthony High School in New Jersey.

Say Hey Jay: Jairus McCollum has also experienced a resurgence. His tenacious defense and prowess around the basket helped SB split last weekend's road games. He scored a team-high 14 points against UNH last Friday and had seven points in the win over Maine.

Highway Robbery: Munir set a new career-high against Maine with six steals. He is now tied for fourth in the conference in steals at 1.61 per game.

An All-Conference Guy?: D.J. Munir has been the man for Stony Brook all season long and his numbers bear that out. He leads the team in scoring (17.5), assists (3.6), free throw shooting (.896) and is second in rebounding (4.0). He now ranks first in the America East in free throw shooting, third in scoring, third in assists and four in scoring.

A Close Shave: In games decided by eight or less points, the Seawolves are 4-6.

Getting Better?: One statistic that has been nagging the Seawolves is rebounding. Opponents are outrebounding SB by almost seven a game but the last two games have brought a change in that trend which has led to SB having a chance to win. The Brook had the same number of rebounds as UNH (32) last Friday and outrebounded Maine 31-30 in Sunday's win. Stony Brook's field goal percentage is now at 40 percent. It is the first time this season that SB has been at 40 percent or better for the year.

Trends: * The Seawolves have shot over 40 percent, from the field in nine of their last 11 games. They did that only three times in the first 12.

* D.J. Munir is the only Seawolf to start all 23 games

Young Guns: Stony Brook features a young team dominated by underclassmen. A look at the game starts this year broken down by class. Starts by class: Freshmen: 16 Sophomores: 75 Juniors: 17 Seniors: 7