Feb. 14, 2008

Box Score

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Trailing by two with eight seconds remaining, junior Michael Tyree's (Somerset, N.J.) three-pointer was just off the mark as the Stony Brook men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit but fell short, losing to the Hartford Hawks 53-51 on Thursday night at Stony Brook Arena. Stony Brook falls to 4-20 overall and 1-11 in the America East while Hartford improves to 14-13 and 8-4.

"I'm very proud of our guys, we really battled tonight," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We just weren't quite able to overcome the hole we put ourselves in early."

The Seawolves trailed 48-40 with just under eight minutes remaining but held the Hawks to just three points over the next 7:41, cutting their deficit to two at 51-49 on a jumper from Tyree with 38 seconds remaining. Morgan Sabia missed the front end of a one-and-one with 29 seconds left on the Hawks ensuing possession, giving SBU the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Stony Brook worked the ball around to Tyree who just missed on a three-point attempt from the right side. Warren McLendon corralled the rebound and made two free throws on the other end with five seconds remaining to ice the game.

Tyree, the America East Co-Player of the Game, led the Seawolves with 13 points while senior Emanuel Neto (Luanda, Angola) added 12 points and seven rebounds. Zeglinski was named America East Co-Player of the Game for Hartford, scoring a game-high 18 points.

SBU trailed 13-6 early but scored five straight points on a Neto jumper and a Tyree three to cut its deficit to two with 6:51 to go in the first half. The Hawks answered with 7-0 run, highlighted by five points from Sabia, to take a 20-11 advantage. The Seawolves climbed within four on jumper from senior Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y.) with 55 seconds left but a Zeglinksi three just before the half gave the Hawks a seven-point lead heading to the locker room.

Tyree scored a team-high six points in the opening half for the Seawolves who shot just 29.6 percent. Sabia tallied a game-high 13 in the opening stanza for the Hawks including three three-pointers.

A jumper from sophomore Rio Pitt (Amityville, N.Y.) pulled the Seawolves within five early in the second half but the Hawks responded with a quick 7-2 spurt to take their largest lead of game at 46-36 on a three by Brian Glowiak with 9:38 left in the game

The Seawolves will wrap up their two-game homestand on Sunday afternoon, hosting Vermont at 2 p.m.