Jan. 10, 2004

Stony Brook, N.Y. -

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The Stony Brook men's basketball team will look to win its second in a row when it hosts New Hampshire on Sunday in an America East matchup. Stony Brook (4-8, 1-2) will face the Wildcats (4-9, 0-3) for the sixth time. Tip-off is 1 p.m.

Media: Radio: WLIE 540 AM; WUSB 90.1

About UNH: UNH fell to 4-9, 0-3 in America East action with a 57-52 loss to Albany on Thursday night. Craig Walls paced the Wildcat attack with 14 points and eight rebounds. With Ben Sturgill sidelined, Walls in the team's leading scorer and rebounder entering this weekend action. Aussie Blagov Janev has given UNH a boost off the bench averaging over 10 points per game. He earned America East Rookie of the Week honors last week.

About the Seawolves: The Seawolves snapped a string of five straight setbacks with a 61-56 comeback win over UMBC on Wednesday night. Cori Spencer's 17 points and eight rebounds fueled a comeback that also saw Mike Popoko score 15 points and Mike Orfini grab a career-high 14 rebounds. Freshman Mitchell Beauford had 11 points, five assists and two steals. Stony Brook held UMBC to eight field goals in the second half on Wednesday and have limited opponents to a total of 15 field goals in the second half of the last two games.

UNH vs. Stony Brook: Stony Brook leads the series 3-2, a series that began in 2001, Stony Brook's final season as a Division I independent. The teams split a pair of games last year with each squad winning on the road. UNH closed the 2002-03 regular season with a 62-55 win over SB at the Indoor Sports Complex. Ioannis Karalis had 15 points to lead UNH.

Snapping A Skid: The Seawolves stopped a five-game losing streak with a Wednesday night win over UMBC. It also snapped a string of four straight losses at the Indoor Sports Complex where the Seawolves are 2-4 this season.

Big Man On Campus: Cori Spencer has been a force in the paint since conference play began against Northeastern. Spencer totaled 17 points and eight rebounds to power Stony Brook's comeback win over UMBC on Wednesday and is the team's leading scorer since conference play began. In three games, Spencer is averaging 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds to go along with a .471 shooting percentage.

Orfini Grabs 14 Rebounds: Junior Mike Orfini turned in one of the most impressive performances in school history against UMBC. Orfini grabbed 14 rebounds against the Retrievers (4 offensive, 10 defensive) which tied him for the second-best single-game effort at the Division I level. Leon Brisport holds the SB Division I mark with 17 against Albany on Jan. 27, 2001. Brisport also had 14 versus Texas-Arlington on December 23, 2000. Jairus McCollum pulled down 14 boards in the season opener against Sacred Heart in 2002.

Mike And Mike: Orfini and freshman Mike Popoko were a formidable frontcourt against UMBC. Orfini had eight points and 14 rebounds while Popoko went 6-for-6 from the field and finished with 15 points.

Getting To .500: A win over New Hampshire would get the Seawolves to the .500 mark in conference play. It would be the earliest that SB has reached .500 in conference play since it joined the America East three years ago.

Stealing the Spotlight: Freshman Mitchell Beauford has been stealing his way through his opponents. In 12 games, Beauford has totaled 26 steals.

The Numbers Tell The Story: A look at the defensive numbers in Stony Brook's wins and losses: In the four wins: opponents shoot 38.8 percent from the field and average 55.5 points per game. In the eight losses: opponents shoot 52.2 percent from the field and average 70 points per game.