Feb. 24, 2002
Box Score
Albany, N.Y. - Mike Konopka made two free throws with no time remaining to
lift Stony Brook to a 48-47 America East Conference victory over Albany on
Sunday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both teams at the
Recreation and Convocation Center.
Albany's Will Brand bumped Konopka after he pumped fake a shot 30
feet from the basket following an in-bounds play. He made both attempts to
complete a string of seven straight points that reversed a 47-41 deficit
with 1:33 remaining.
D.J. Munir, who scored 19 points, sliced the gap to 47-46 with 45.4
seconds remaining as he buried one of his four 3-point field goals. After
Albany's Earv Opong missed two free throws, Stony Brook (6-21, AE 5-11) set
up for the last shot. Konopka misfired on a bank shot from right of the
lane, and the Great Danes' Joe Vukovic grabbed the rebound. However,
Vukovic tossed the ball up the floor into the hands of Munir, who called
timeout with less than one second to play.
Albany (8-19, AE 5-11) trailed by as much as 10 points in the
opening period, but closed within 28-25 at halftime. The Great Danes went
ahead 34-30 with 15:39 remaining on back-to-back fastbreak layups by junior
guard Antione Johnson, who led all scorers with 20 points.
Munir, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who had three assists and three steals,
hit a driving layup to get the Seawolves within 42-41 with 5:03 left. But
Brand converted a pair of free throws and Johnson canned a three-pointer
from the top of the arc to build Albany's lead to six points.
Stony Brook's Jairus McCollum had 11 points and nine rebounds off
the bench. Zone defenses by both teams forced each squad to struggle from
the perimeter. The Seawolves made 35.7 percent from the field, while Albany
was limited to 34.1-percent shooting.
The win left Stony Brook in a three-way tie for sixth place in the America East standings with Albany and Northeastern. Tiebreakers give the sixth seed to Albany while Northeastern and Stony Brook fall seventh and eight respectively. As the eighth seed, Stony Brook will face number one Vermont on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the America East tournament.
