March 6, 2003

America East Conference Tournament First Round Game Notes in PDF Format
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Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's basketball team enters this weekend's America East Tournament in the underdog role. Looking for their first-ever postseason win at the Division I level, the sixth-seeded Seawolves take on the No. 3 seed Hartford Hawks Sunday night at 8:30 p.m at the Walter Brown Arena on the campus of Boston University. The game will be carried live on Island Talk 540 WLIE-AM.

RADIO INFORMATION: The game will be broadcast on Island Talk 540 WLIE-AM, WUSB 90.1 and on the internet at www.goseawolves.org.

Follow the game live on the internet basket-by-basket at http://americaeast.com/mbasketball/2003/championshiplive.htm

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Hartford has had the upper hand between the two teams winning all four previous matchups.

EARLIER THIS YEAR: 1/8 Hartford 68, at Stony Brook 61 Ryan Stys scored a game-high 18 points and Jerell Parker added 15 to lead Hartford to a seven-point win at Stony Brook. With UH, trailing 34-33 with just under 16 minutes to go, Stys drilled a three-pointer that put the Hawks up for good. Cori Spencer was high man for the Brook with 14 points and eight rebounds. 2/19 at Hartford 72, Stony Brook 64 The Hawks shot a season-high 64 percent from the field and Ryan Stys came off the bench to score 19 points to propel UH to a season sweep of Stony Brook. Jerell Parker was equally outstanding with 16 points and a game-high 13 boards. SB led 19-14 with 11 minutes to go in the first half, but UH closed on a 21-12 run to take a 35-31 halftime lead. Munir and Spencer led the Seawolves with 15 points apiece.

VERSUS THE AMERICA EAST:

2001-02	5-11
2002-03	7-9

LAST TIME OUT: Stony Brook lost the regular season finale at home 62-55 to New Hampshire. The Seawolves were undone by poor shooting (1-16) from three-point range. The season-low six percent from downtown was uncharacteristic of a team that entered the week second in the America East in three-point field goal percentage. Cori Spencer and D.J. Munir each scored 20 points, but it was not enough as SB shot only 36 percent for the game.

PLAYOFF FACTS: This is Stony Brook's second playoff appearance at the Division I level and 18th in the program's history. SB dropped a 74-59 decision to Vermont in the America East tourney last year. SB is 16-19 all-time in postseason play. The Seawolves have never won at playoff game at the Division I level.

HE KEEPS ROLLING: Munir has been sensational over the last half of the conference schedule. Last week, he averaged 25.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and posted his third 30-point game with a 31-point effort against Binghamton. He shot 43 percent from the field and averaged 17.9 points per game in conference play -- third best overall.

A FREE THROW SHOOTER: Munir is also sensational from the free throw line, shooting a blistering 91 percent from the line in conference play (68-75) which ranks first in the America East. He has missed only nine free throws all year (84-93).

TWENTY-TWENTY: Cori Spencer and D.J. Munir each scored 20 points in the loss to New Hampshire.

SCOUTING HARTFORD: The Hawks finished third in the America East this season, led by junior transfer Jerell Parker. Parker is one of the best newcomers in the conference this season. Parker is averaging a team-best 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Pierre Johnson has also been a force for Hartford (11.4 ppg., 6.1 rpg.).

THE STYS HAS IT: UH guard Ryan Stys has been a nemesis for the Brook. This season, Stys averaged 18.5 point per game and shot 70 percent from the field in the two matchups between the teams -- well above his season averages of 9.1 ppg. and 38 percent from the field. Last season, Stys averaged 14 points per game in Hartford's two wins.

ALL-STATERS: UH's Josh Odugbela and Stony Brook's D.J. Munir were both first team All-State picks from Rhode Island in 1999.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Point guard Bobby Santiago has shown poise with the basketball in his first season at the college level. The rookie totaled 98 assists and only 64 turnovers for a 1.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has been even better in conference play with a 1.7:1 (56-33) ratio.

NEWS FROM BEANTOWN: Stony Brook is 1-5 in games played in Boston since joining the America East. The lone win came earlier this year against Northeastern.

OLD TIME HOCKEY: Stony Brook has played three games this season (Boston College, Seton Hall, Maine) where the arena also serves as an ice hockey facility. SB is 0-3 in those games.

ISN'T HE GRAND: Munir moved into exclusive company this season as he became the 18th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. His 35 points against BU put him over the mark and was the second-best single-game performance of his career. He finished the season with 1,114 career points, good enough for 13th on the all-time scoring list. Should he score 18 or more points in the tournament, Munir will move into 11th place

FEIST OR FAMINE: Freshman Hendrik Feist has enjoyed a good year from three-point range, connecting on 44 percent of his shots from downtown (28-64). But lately, Feist has been cold, scoring only two points in his last six games.

30-POINT FACTS: Munir has three 30-point games to his credit this season. The last time any SB player scored 30 or more points three times in a season took place during the 1991-92 campaign when SB's all-time leader scorer Emeka Smith put up six 30-point efforts. Smith finished with 15 games of 30 or more points in his career. In almost three full seasons, Munir has four.

THE BROOK NEEDS JAY: A good indication of how the Seawolves play often rests on the shoulders of junior forward Jairus McCollum. Since his freshman season, the Seawolves are 21-8 when he scores in double figures.

SPENCER FOR HIRE: Cori Spencer has been the man in the middle for the Brook. He has scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games and now ranks second on the team in scoring. He is averaging a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game.

WE LIKE MIKE: Orfini has become a valuable member off the Seawolves bench this season. He average 5.32 points per game but shot 40 percent from three-point land and played solid defense.

TOEING THE LINE: Stony Brook's ability to get the ball inside has resulted in many more free throw attempts than its opponents. SB has gone to the free throw line 589 times this season, and made 407 attempts. Its opponents have attempted 427 free throws this season. In conference play, the Seawolves have made more free throws (265) than Binghamton and Albany attempted.

A BALANCED ATTACK: When SB wins, it is often due to a balanced offensive attack. SB has had four players score in double figures nine times this season -- it is 7-2 in those games, the only losses coming to Hartford on January 8 and Maine on February 23.

INSIDE AND OUTSIDE: SB's scoring success has come in part due to their knack for getting the ball inside to free up its outside shooters. Center Cori Spencer is averaging over 13 points per game in conference action and that has loosened things up on the perimeter for the Seawolves where SB is shooting 35 percent from three-point land -- fourth best in the America East.

BOBBY SOCKS: Freshman Bobby Santiago is on pace to score 257 points this season which would rank second among freshman since the move to the Division I level. D.J. Munir scored 301 in 2000-01. The record for most points scored by a freshman in a single season is 622, set by Emeka Smith during the 1989-90 season. He also averaged 3.9 assists per game, third best in the conference.

SECOND HALF DEFENSE: In SB's nine conference losses, the second-half defensive effort has been part of the problem. Here's a look at what opponents shot in the second half in SB's eight conference defeats:

1/5	Vermont - 64%
1/8	Hartford - 63%
1/11	Binghamton - 38%
1/15	Boston Univ. - 59%
2/8	Vermont - 63%
2/14	Albany - 48%
2/19	Hartford - 63%
2/23	Maine - 54%
3/2	UNH - 48%

TAKE WHAT THEY GIVE YOU: D.J. Munir has hit 36 of his last 38 (.946) free throws.

30 POINTS BACK-TO-BACK: D.J. Munir scored 35 points against BU and then had 30 against Albany for Stony Brook's first back-to-back 30-point games since the move to the Division I level. It also marked the first time that has been done since 1987, when SB Hall of Famer Charlie Bryant scored 30 or more points three games in a row to finish the 1986-87 season.