Nov. 22, 2008

Final Stats

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Freshman Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) led four Seawolves in double-figures with 15 points but it wasn't enough as the Stony Brook University men's basketball team fell to the Wagner Seahawks, 65-62, on Saturday afternoon at Pritchard Gymnasium. The Seawolves drop to 1-2 with the loss while the Seahawks improve to 2-1.

"I like the toughness we showed today," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We just can't allow the other team to shoot 53.8 percent and expect to win. I like the direction our team is headed in we just have to learn to make a few more plays down the stretch."

Brenton had another terrific game for the Seawolves as he shot 5-for-7 from the field and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) and sophomore Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) added 14 points apiece for the Seawolves who dropped their second straight game after winning the season-opener.

Wagner looked to have the game in hand after a Justin Drummond hoop gave the Seahawks a 62-56 lead with 2:06 to play. But Martin rallied the Seawolves back as he hit two free throws on SBU's next possession and then knocked down a long jumper from the corner, after Jamal Smith had hit one of two free throws for Wagner, to cut the Stony Brook deficit to three.

Smith missed a jumper on Wagner's next possession and Brenton grabbed the rebound to give the Seawolves a chance to tie the game with 49 seconds remaining. After calling a timeout with 24 second left, SBU worked the ball to Joyner who just missed on a jumper. But Brenton grabbed the offensive board and got it to freshman Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) who put up a long three-pointer that hit off the back rim. Doug Elwell corralled the rebound for Wagner with eight seconds left and then hit two free throws on the other end to seal the game.

Smith scored a game-high 21 points for Wagner, shooting 6-for-13 from the field in addition to grabbing five rebounds. Joey Mundweiler chipped in 17 points for the Seahawks who shot 53.8 percent from the field.

Wagner grabbed leads of 12-6 and 17-11 in the early going thanks to Smith who scored 12 of the Seahawks first 17 points. But the Seawolves rallied back, tying the game at 17 on a free throw from Brenton which capped a 6-0 SBU run. The Seahawks responded with seven straight points but the Seawolves would not go away, cutting their deficit to four at 26-22 on a Joyner free throw with 4:13 remaining.

The Seahawks pushed the lead back up to seven on a Smith lay-up with 18 second left but Martin hit a long three-pointer as time expired to make it 32-28 going into the break. Brenton, the America East Player of the game, led the Seawolves with eight first-half points.

SBU stayed close throughout the early portions of the second half and grabbed its first lead of the game at 36-34 on a Martin jumper with 15:36 to go in the game. The lead seesawed back-and-forth over the next several minutes until the Seahawks scored five straight points to take a 53-46 lead with 6:40 remaining.

But the Seawolves had an answer, scoring eight straight points to take a 54-53 lead with 5:26 left on a Brenton three-point play. Smith scored on a lay-up on the next Wagner possession though to kick start 9-2 run that gave the Seahawks the 62-56 lead with 2:06 left.

The Seawolves return to action on Tuesday night, hosting the America University Eagles at Pritchard Gymnasium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.