Dec. 9, 2005

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The Stony Brook University men's basketball team travels south to open up the America East lid lifter, as the Seawolves take on UMBC in Baltimore, Md.

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Radio: WLIE 540 AM TV: none Internet: www.goseawolves.org

Stony Brook Travels To Take On UMBC

The Seawolves take an 0-4 record on the road against UMBC this evening. Tonight is the America East opener for both teams.

Stony Brook's next contest will be next week, when the Seawolves travel to play rival Hofstra on Dec. 14 at 7:00 p.m.

On The Radio

The game will be carried live on WLIE 540 AM.

Versus The Red Storm

The Seawolves own a 3-2 series edge over the Retreivers. In this series, the host school has been victorious, each winning twice. Stony Brook won the one game on a neutral court in the 2004 America East Playoffs.

1/7/05 at Stony Brook 61, UMBC 56 2/8/05 at UMBC 72, Stony Brook 53 3/5/04 Stony Brook 65, UMBC 59 1/5/05 at UMBC 74, Stony Brook 67 2/5/05 at Stony Brook 42, UMBC 40

America East Openers

• The Seawolves have not had much success in America East Conference openers since they joined the league. The Seawolves have yet to win a conference opener, falling to Northeastern twice, along with Vermont and Binghamton.

About UMBC

• The Retreivers enters tonight's contest 2-4 after falling to Big East foe West Virginia on Wednesday, 82-53. John Zito led the way with 17 points in his first game back from an ankle injury. Zito leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game and in rebounds with 7.0 boards a game. Jerrell Dinkins has netted 10.5 points per game will picking up 6.2 rebounds a contest.

The Last Time Against the Retrievers

These two teams split their meetings last season, with the home team winning each time. • In the 42-40 win over UMBC, Mike Popoko and Bobby Santiago each netted 11 points. • In the 74-67 loss to the Retreivers, Popoko had 12 points and eight boards, Antwan Hardy netted 16, and Santiago chipped in with 15.

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.

Shooting Woes

The Seawolves struggled from the field and the free throw line once again against St. John's. Stony Brook shot 25% from the field in the first half, and finished the game with a 31% shooting percentage. The Seawolves also went 8-18 from the charity stripe, for a 44% rating.

Hardy's Way

Antwan Hardy has led the Seawolves in their last two contests. After an impressive outing against Columbia, Hardy netted 13 points, including 3-3 from downtown, versus the Red Storm of St. John's.

It's Getting Hot In Here

Coach Steve Pikiell is not one to keep his suit coat on for long. His jacket came off just 41 seconds into the game at St. John's.

Rattling the Rim

Tre Cunningham had the Seawolves first dunk of the year, when he slammed home at fast break in the second half against the Red. Storm.

Feist Is On Fire!

Hendrik Feist has been the Seawolves offensive weapon this year. He matched a career-high 14 points against Columbia and netted 13 points vs. Lehigh. Even more impressive, Feist has been dangerous from behind the arc, shooting 44% (8-18).

Back It Up

The Seawolves have had better success so far this season from three-point land than they have had from the free-throw line. A dismal 37.3% from the charity stripe, Stony Brook has been 37.7% from behind the arc.

Not So Automatic

Stony Brook missed four of six free throws in the final minute in the loss to Columbia last week. Bobby Santiago missed three and Antwan Hardy missed the back end of a one-and-one that lead to the game-winning shot.

A Hardy Effort

Antwan Hardy finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists against Columbia in his first start of the season. Hardy is second on the team in points per game with 9.8, and first in rebounds with 3.8.

Bakinde on the Blocks

• Stephane Bakinde came off the bench against Columbia to have his best game as a Seawolf. Bakinde had three big blocks, along with a career-best five points and five boards. • Bakinde came off the bench against St. John's to snag a career-best six boards in 20 minutes of action.

Pop's Vision Is 20-20

Mike Popoko scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the loss to Lehigh. Dating back to last season, Popoko has scored at least 22 points in three of his last five games. He dropped 22 on New Hampshire in the season finale last year and then 22 on Northeastern in the America East quarterfinals.

Feist Connects

Hendrik Feist was 3-for-3 from three-point range against Lehigh and finished with 13 points. He also matched a career high with seven rebounds.

From Way Downtown

The Seawolves were good from long distance against Lehigh, drilling 10 of 22 attempts from behind the arc. SB is shooting 40 percent from three-point range over its first two games.

Boarding School

The Seawolves crashed the boards in a big way against the Mountain Hawks, outrebounding them 42-35, 18 of them coming on the offensive glass.

Offense Needs To Heat Up

Stony Brook is averaging only 47 points per game , shooting only 333 percent from the field.

Not So Charitable

The Seawolves have hit only 5 of 18 free throw attempts in the first two games.

Tough Opponent

Stony Brook opened the season against No. 5 Villanova, the highest ranked opponent that the Seawolves have faced since the 1999-00 season when SB took on No. 4 Auburn.

On The Marques

Freshman Marques Cox was one of the bright spots in the loss to Villanova. Earning his first collegiate start, he shot 3-for-7 from the field to finish with seven points. He also tied for the team lead in rebounds with four in only 17 minutes of action.

Way To Goba

Freshman Andrew Goba also showed promise in the season opener. The 6-9 center from South Africa notched four points and four rebounds in his first college game.

Hello, My Name Is Tre Cunningham

Freshman Tre Cunningham was arguably Stony Brook's best player against Villanova. The rookie shot 3-for-5 from the field, tying for the team lead in points (7) and rebounds (4) in only 14 minutes of action.

Thirty Something

Stony Brook scored 35 points in the loss to Villanova, their lowest game total since the 1995-96 season. The Seawolves dropped a 50-32 decision to Franklin Pierce on January 28, 1996.

Pikiell Takes Over

Steve Pikiell was named the 10th men's basketball coach in the program's history in April of 2005, taking over for Nick Macarchuk who retired at the end of last season. Pikiell comes to SB after four seasons as the Associate head coach at George Washington where he helped breathe life back into the program and see it capture its first Atlantic-10 title last season. Pikiell is no stranger to success. The former two-time captain at UConn advanced to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in his final two years and college and brought that air of accomplishment to the bench. Prior to GW, Pikiell served as an assistant at Central Connecticut State and was part of the most successful seasons in Blue Devil history, winning the NEC crown in and advancing to the NCAA tournament.

Road Warriors

Stony Brook will play 17 of its 27 regular season games away from home this season. The 10 home games are the second lowest total in Division I history, surpassing the nine home games that SB had during the 2001-02 season.