Dec. 22, 2005

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Game time: 7:00 p.m. Radio: WLIE 540 AM TV: none Internet: www.goseawolves.org

Stony Brook Hosts Rival Albany

The Seawolves will host just their second game of the season tonight as they take on America East foe Albany. The Seawolves enter the game with an 0-6 record. The Seawolves are looking for their first win under first year head coach Steve Pikiell.

Stony Brook's next contest will be on December 28th when the Seawolves travel to take on UConn, in Hartford, Conn. Tip-off with the Huskies, who are ranked second in the nation, is 7:00 p.m. in the Hartford Civic Center. This will be the highest ranked opponent the Seawolves have ever played.

Versus The Great Danes

Albany holds a 26-14 lead in the all-time series, as this game will mark the 41st time these two squads have faced each other. The Seawolves have won four of the last six match-ups. Three of those games went to overtime, two of which required double OT.

1/19/03 at Stony Brook 92, Albany 87 (2OT)

2/14/03 at Albany 82, Stony Brook 74

1/21/04 at Stony Brook 65, Albany 61 (OT)

2/18/04 Stony Brook 81, at Albany 74 (2 OT)

2/2/05 at Albany 69, Stony Brook 63

2/24/05 at Stony Brook 68, Albany 63

About Albany

• The Great Danes enter tonight's contest with a 3-6 record after topping Binghamton, 70-65, in their America East opener on Tuesday night. Jamar Wilson led five players in double-digit scoring with 17 points and eight rebounds. Wilson leads the team in scoring with 16.1 points per game, while Jon Iati and Brent Wilson have netted 11.7 and 10.6 points a contest.

The Last Time Against the Great Danes

The two teams faced off last year twice in conference play, splitting the contests.

• On Feb. 2, Albany topped the Seawolves 69-63 in Albany. Bobby Santiago led the way for Stony Brook with 20 points, four boards, and six assists.

• The Seawolves claimed a victory on February 24 in the Indoor Sports Complex, topping the Great Danes, 68-63. Santiago netted 17, while Mike Popoko and Hendrik Feist each had 11 points.

Pops Leads the Way

Mike Popoko led the way for the Seawolves against Hofstra. Popoko netted 15 points and pulled down five boards.

Help from the Bench

Antwan Hardy and Tre Cunningham both had an impact off the bench against Hofstra. Hardy was 3-of-5 from behind the arc and finished with nine points and two assists, while Cunningham had a productive game, scoring six points, five rebounds, and three assists in just 18 minutes.

The First Time

Stephane Bakinde earned his first career start against the Pride, and was effective in the post. Bakinde, a freshman from Cameroon, scored six points, grabbed two rebounds, recorded two steals, and had an assist and a block.

Better Charity in the Holiday Season

The Seawolves had the best performance from the charity stripe by far this season, going 9-of-12, 75% from the free throw line. Freshman Marques Cox hit 4-of-6 to the lead the Seawolves, whose previous best performance from the line was 60 % off only 3-of-5 from the line against St. John's. The Seawolves are still just shooting 44% on the year.

A Rare Roster

The Seawolves roster this seasons is one of the more rare in the country. • Every player that has appeared in a game this season, has also earned at least one start for the Seawolves.

• Marques Cox, a freshman walk-on, has started four games at point guard.

• Senior walk-on Solomon Bamiro had just appeared in a total of six games with one start in the last two years for a total of 27 minutes. Bamiro has been in each game earning one start.

• Redshirt-junior Anthony Noble has been in each game earning one start. Noble, a transfer from Hofstra, had appeared in just seven games with one start for 19 minutes, before the 2005 campaign.

• Freshman Tre Cunningham has been a key reserve, appearing in all games with 4.2 points per game.

• Freshman Andrew Goba has started every contest in his inaugural Seawolf campaign.

• Senior Hendrik Feist has been an offensive weapon this year, netting 8.2 points a game, up over five points from his career average.

• Freshman Stephane Bakinde has been a jumpstart for the offense off the bench, appearing in every game with one start, averaging 3.0 points per game and grabbing just over 3 boards.

Oh What A Class

Stony Brook has the 32nd best recruiting class in the nation according to hoopscooponline.com. The Seawolves have five players signed to National Letters of Intent, the largest class in school history.

We Got Class

Hoopscoop.com has ranked the incoming recruiting classes in the America East. Steve Pikiell and his coaching crew have committed the top class in the conference, followed by Hartford and Albany.

It's Getting Hot In Here

Coach Steve Pikiell is not one to keep his suit coat on for long. • It must haven been a bit cooler in Hofstra Arena, with Coach Pikiell keeping his coat on over 2:30 into the game against the Pride.

Hofstra 16:37

UMBC 19:43

St. John's 19:13

Columbia 19:11

Lehigh 18:46

Villanova 19:26

A Tough Start

The last time the Seawolves opened the season with five losses was in 2001-02, when they stared 0-6 before snagging a 76-64 win against Clevland State on December 4. Stony Brook went 6-22 that season.