Dec. 5, 2007

Box Score

Bethlehem, Pa. - Senior Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va.) scored a game-high 21 points but it wasn't enough as Lehigh knocked down 11 of 15 three-pointers on its way to a 76-61 victory over the Stony Brook men's basketball team on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena. The Seawolves fall to 1-7 with the loss while Lehigh improves to 4-5.

"We played well at times," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "But we need to learn to play a full 40 minutes of basketball."

Lehigh led all the way in the opening half, taking a 7-1 lead three minutes in. The Hawks built that lead to eight at 13-5 before a three from junior Michael Tyree (Somerset, N.J.) and a short jumper from senior Emanuel Neto (Luanda, Angola) cut the lead to three. But Lehigh answered with seven straight points capped by a Dave Buchburger three that forced the Seawolves to call time. Another Buchburger three a possession later gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 23-10.

Lehigh still had a 12-point lead at 29-17 with 3:59 left but the Seawolves clamped down on defense from there, forcing three Lehigh turnovers and holding the Hawks without a field goal for the remainder of the half. The Seawolves were able to close within nine on a free throw from junior Demetrius Young (Sacramento, Calif.) and a hoop from sophomore Eddie Castellanos (Hoboken, N.J.) but Lehigh knocked down two free throws just before the break to go into the locker room with a 31-20 lead.

Young led SBU with five points in the stanza but the Seawolves struggled from the field, shooting just 6-for-25 while the Mountain Hawks shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23).

The Seawolves got off to a quick start in the second half, getting consecutive hoops from Lucas and freshman Chris Martin (Queens, N.Y.) but the Hawks answered with back-to-back threes to build the lead back up to 14 at 39-25.

Stony Brook came back though, getting a Lucas three and a Beauford jumper to make it 39-30 and force a Lehigh timeout. The Hawks answered back with seven straight to build their largest lead of the game at 46-30 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

The Seawolves mounted one last charge as Lucas and Tyree hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 10 with 6:31 remaining. But Lehigh answered with a three-point bomb of its own from Rob Keefer to push it back to 13. A Tyree three and two freebies from freshman Jermol Paul (Palm Beach, Fla.) cut the lead to eight with under four minutes remaining but that is as close as the Seawolves would get as Lehigh snapped its two-game losing streak.

Buchberger tallied a game-high 21 points for the Hawks who shot 52 percent from the field and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from three. Neto led the Seawolves with 11 rebounds while Tyree added 11 points, the only other SBU player in double-figures.

The Seawolves return to action on Monday, hosting NJIT at 7 p.m.