Feb. 22, 2007

Stony Brook, N.Y. -

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The Stony Brook University men's basketball team plays its final home contest of the 2007 season and will honor four seniors for their dedication to the program on Thursday evening against in-state rival Albany. Solomon Bamiro, John Henkel, Andre Vanterpool, and Mike Popoko will all play their last contest at SBU Arena. The Seawolves are looking to build on their 67-49 win over New Hampshire on Sunday as they seek to pick up a crucial win over the Great Danes.

Versus The Great Danes
• Albany owns a 29-14 advantage in the all-time series and has won the last three meetings. In their last meeting on January 15th in Albany, the Seawolves were topped by the Great Danes, 66-61.
• SBU's second-half rally fell short as the Seawolves fell to Albany, 66-61, at the SEFCU Arena. After a Solomon Bamiro basket put Stony Brook up by four, 17-13, with 4:36 left in the first half, the Great Danes closed out the first stanza on a 11-6 run to take a 24-23 lead heading into the locker room. The low-scoring half was fueled by a combined 23 turnovers for each team. John Iati kept Albany in the game as he netted 15 first half points. After a Jimmie Covington three-point play put the home squad up by 10 with 14:53, the Seawolves fought back to cut the lead to four just 1:19 later. After Emanuel Neto was called for a technical foul at the 12:38 mark, the Great Danes responded with a 14-6 run to claim their largest lead of the game, leading 54-40 with 9:10 to play. The Seawolves showed resilience as they continued to chip away at the lead and found themselves trailing by just four points, 61-57, with 1:49 left to play. The 17-4 run was sparked by seven points from Ricky Lucas. Albany iced the game down the stretch as they were able to convert on 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to earn the 66-61 victory. The Great Danes went 19 for 22 from the free-throw line in the second half and 24 for 30 in the game. Lucas tallied a team-high 17 points while Mitchell Beauford came off the bench to score 15 points to go along with five boards. Bamiro was terrific off the bench as he went 6-of-8 from the floor for 12 points. Eddie Castellanos finished with eight points, four steals, and three assists on the night. The Seawolves owned a 34 to 31 advantage on the glass that included 16 offensive boards. Iati went for a game-high 20 points and Jason Siggers netted 15 points. Covington netted 11 points while Jamar Wilson was held without a field goal in the game but finished with eight points from the foul line to go along with seven assists and five boards.

About Albany
Albany has locked up the second seed in the America East Tournament and currently sits at 18-9, 11-3 in conference play. In their last contest at Boise State, the Great Danes fell 83-82 on Feb. 16. The Great Danes are paced by Jamar Wilson's league-best 18.1 points, 4.89 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game. As a team, Albany leads the league in free-throw percentage and field goal percentage.

How Low Can You Go?
The Seawolves defense was the best it had been all year against New Hampshire as the Wildcats were limited to just 28% shooting from the floor and only five field goals in the second half.

Hitting the Boards
Emanuel Neto was a force on the glass against New Hampshire as he grabbed a game-high 11 boards, 10 of which came in the first half.

Career-Day For Ricky
Ricky Lucas had one of the best games in his Seawolf career againist New Hampshire as he tied career-best in points and rebounds versus the Wildcats. Lucas went for 22 points and eight rebounds, both career highs, as he shot 8 of 18 from the floor in 34 minutes of action.

Second Half Charity
In the second half, the Seawolves were outstanding from the free throw line as they connected on 20 of 24 shots. For the game, SB went 21 of 26 (81%) from the line and at one point in the second half made 12 straight.

Get to the Point Mitch...
Mitchell Beauford stepped in at the point guard position against UNH and directed the SB offense. Beauford was incredibly efficient as dished five assists and grabbed seven rebounds while having just one turnover. On the offensive side of the ball, he netted seven points on 2 of 6 shooting, his second lowest shot output of the season.