Dec. 19, 2003

Stony Brook, N.Y. -

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The Stony Brook men's basketball team returns home for the first time since November 29 when it plays host to Columbia on Saturday. The Seawolves are riding a two-game win streak entering tomorrow's game and hope to climb back over the .500 mark for the first time since opening day. Tip-off is 1 p.m.

Media: Radio: WLIE 540-AM - Ray Alexander (play-by-play), Curt Hylton (analyst); WUSB 90.1 - Jeff Bernstein and Dave Vallone

About the Lions: The Lions enter Sunday's game with a 1-4 mark after a three-point loss to Lehigh last week. Matt Preston is the team's top gun as he leads CU in scoring (15.0 ppg.) and rebounding (6.0 rpg.). Preston has also made 18-of-19 free throws this season. The Lions make it difficult for their opponents to score, limiting them to 39 percent shooting from the field so far this season.

About the Seawolves: The Seawolves have won two straight to level their record at 3-3. Back-to-back road victories over Army and Hofstra have Stony Brook in a position to go over the .500 mark for the first time since opening day. D.J. Munir has averaged 26.5 points per game in his last two outings to ignite the Seawolves attack which has scored 139 points in its last two games. Prior to the Army game, the Seawolves had scored 214 points in four games (53.5 ppg.) The Seawolves combine both youth and experience in 2003-04 as the roster features a combined three freshman, three sophomores, three juniors and five seniors. Leading the Seawolves into battle will be head coach Nick Macarchuk who enters his 27th season as a Division I head coach. Macarchuk has 355 career wins and is one of 33 active Division I coaches who have at least 350 wins. He ranks 33rd on the all-time Division I winningest active coaches list.

Columbia vs. Stony Brook: Stony Brook owns a 3-1 series edge between the two teams and has won the last three meetings. Last year, the Seawolves earned a 65-56 win at Columbia behind 17 points from Bobby Santiago and 14 from Mike Orfini. Three of the four matchups have been played at Columbia, two of them going to overtime.

Hey Mister D.J.: Two-time All-America East selection D.J. Munir is on fire. Last Thursday, he sunk Army with 26 points on 11-for-18 shooting to help snap a three-game losing streak. He came right back with one of the most impressive games of his career, scoring 27 points and hitting the decisive three-pointer with two minutes to go in a 70-69 win over Hofstra. He is averaging 26.5 points in his last two outings, going 20-for-43 (47 percent) from the floor.

Moving Up The Charts: Like a hit record, Munir is moving on the SBU all-time scoring list. Munir's 26-point game against Army moved him into eighth place on the school's scoring list. He spent very little time in the eight hole as his 27-point barrage against Hofstra gave him 1,227 career points pushing him ahead of Mel Walker's 1,226 and into the No. 7 spot. Next up on the list is Larry Tillery who finished with 1,372 career points.

Player Of The Week: Munir's effort did not go unrecognized by the conference as he was named the America East Player of the Week on Monday. It is the second time in his career that he has earned conference player of the week recognition.

Versus The Ivy League: Stony Brook's game against Columbia is the second of three matchups against Ivy League opponents this year. The Seawolves knocked off Dartmouth in the season opener and take on Brown on December 30. SB is 7-6 all-time versus the Ivy League.

Doing The Dirty Work: Junior Mike Orfini has been doing the dirty work in SB's two-game winning streak. Averaging eight points and five rebounds during that stretch, Orfini managed a team-high seven rebounds in SB's win over Hofstra.

Pop Is An All-Around Kinda Guy: Freshman Mike Popoko has been in the middle of Stony Brook's mini two-game win streak as well. A terrific all-around effort at Army saw him total nine points, five rebounds and five blocks. He kept it up against Hofstra as well with eight points, three rebounds and two blocks. His last blocked shot came with 12 seconds to go as he turned away Gibran Washington's running layup attempt. The rookie from Baltimore, Md. is averaging 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He has also shown the ability to hit from long range as he has hit 8-of-13 attempts (.615) this year, including five of his last six.

The Offense Is Back: Through the first four games of the year, Stony Brook struggled on the offensive end shooting only 37 percent and averaging 53.5 points per game. After a 10-day layoff, the Seawolves have discovered their offense in the last two outings. In both games, the team shot over 46 percent from the field and is averaging 69.5 points per game.