Jan. 19, 2012
• 2011-12 Virtual Guide
2011-12 Stony Brook Men's Basketball
Game #18: Stony Brook Seawolves (10-7) at Maine Black Bears (8-9)
Sat., Jan. 21 • Memorial Gymnasium • Orono, Maine • 1 p.m.
On the Radio
WUSB 90.1 FM & GoSeawolves.org with Curt Hylton
LIVE: STATS | AUDIO | VIDEO | TWITTER
INFO: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Stony Brook Seawolves (10-7, 5-1 America East)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell, seventh season
Overall Record: 88-133
Record at SBU: 83-115
Maine Black Bears (8-9, 2-4 America East)
Head Coach: Ted Woodward, eighth season
Overall Record: 96-128
Record at Maine: same
About the Game: Stony Brook, winners of seven of its last eight games, look to maintain its first-place position and gain an important road victory when it takes on Maine Saturday. This is the 26th all-time meeting between the two teams, and Maine leads the series 16-9, but the Seawolves have won six of the last nine matchups, including victories in Orono in 2008 and 2009. This is Stony Brook’s first-ever appearance at Memorial Gym.
Scouting Maine: The Black Bears are one of the conference’s most explosive offensive teams and perhaps an underrated defensive team. Maine leads America East in scoring offense (73.4 PPG), field goal percentage offense (.467), field goal percentage defense (.424), three-point field goal offense (.368) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3). The team has scored at least 60 points in every game this season. Leading the way are dynamic guards Gerald McLemore (18.6 PPG) and Justin Edwards (15.3 PPG). Edwards is a freshman, playing much better than a typical one. He is shooting 47% from the field, averages 6.1 rebounds per game and has a 1.56 assist/turnover ratio. Also a force on the inside is Alasdair Fraser, who is the team’s leading shooter and rebounder.
Last Time Out: Stony Brook, behind 14 points from Al Rapier and 13 points from Tommy Brenton, grinded out a 61-52 win over a tough New Hampshire team Monday night to extend the team’s home winning streak to nine games. Rapier and Brenton accounted for the majority of the team’s points in the paint, an area SBU dominated UNH in by a 34-18 margin. The Seawolves took advantage of their size to outrebound UNH 32- 21 and grab 14 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second chance points.
A Stony Brook win...
- Gives the Seawolves their fourth all-time win in Orono.
- Will be Stony Brook’s seventh win in its last 10 meetings vs. Maine.
- Will mark the team’s best seven-game start in America East play all-time.
Maine Attraction: Stony Brook’s active leading scorer against Maine is Leonard Hayes, who is averaging 10.8 points in four games against the Black Bears. The bulk of those points came last season, when he dropped 21 on Maine in Orono and 17 at Stony Brook Arena. Last season, Hayes was 14-for-21 from the field and 7-for-10 from three-point range vs. Maine.
Going Inside: The Seawolves have won seven of eight games and have done it with strong play in the paint. The Seawolves are averaging 31.0 points per game inside the paint over the last eight games. The team has also significantly decreased its three-point attempts while increasing its three-point percentage during the streak. In the team’s first nine games, SBU was averaging 23.1 3-point attempts while shooting 31% there. In the last eight games, SBU is averaging 16.5 attempts while shooting 36%.
Dallis = Big D: Dallis Joyner has been a force in the paint for the Seawolves, both on offense and defense. The box scores may not show it, but he has been one of stronger defenders in the conference. His primary America East defensive assignments are averaging only 6.0 PPG against him, and he held double-digit scorers Ben Dickinson (Binghamton) and Chase Plummer (UMBC) to zero and one point, respectively.
Coley's Emergence: Perhaps no one in America East has shown more improvement from last year to this year than sophomore Dave Coley, who is averaging 3.6 PPG more than last season (6.5 to 10.5) while shooting over one-tenth of a point better (.317 to .429). He scored a career-high 21 points at BU on Saturday and has eclipsed 15 points or more in five games this season.
League Leaders: It’s no wonder the Seawolves are at the top of America East. In conference games only, the Seawolves are leading the league in field goal percentage offense (.483) and field goal percentage defense (.400), as well as scoring defense (57.2 PPG). They also have the best scoring margin (+11.3) and rebounding margin (+9.7). Among individuals, Tommy Brenton (.690) and Dallis Joyner (.613) are at the top of the league in field goal percentage.
Home Cooking: Stony Brook is unbeaten at home, and the stats have shown how important home games are for the Seawolves. SBU is averaging 73.0 points and 46% shooting at home while averaging only 63.2 points and 39% shooting on the road.
Home Streaks: Stony Brook has won nine consecutive home games, dating back to last season. The program’s Div. I record is 12 straight home wins, which occurred between Nov. 29, 2000 and Dec. 4, 2001.
Balanced Team Efforts: Stony Brook has outstanding depth on its team, evidenced by the fact that eight different Seawolves have led the team in scoring on a particular night. Last season in 32 games, SBU had six different leading scorers.
Rebounding Machines: Stony Brook has done a nice job on the glass so far this season, outrebounding opponents by a 7.0 margin (37.4 to 30.4), which leads America East and is 32nd in the nation. What’s more impressive is the work on the offensive end, grabbing a league- best average of 14.6 offensive rebounds per game. That is leading to an average of 14.5 second chance points per game.
Camera Ready: Stony Brook appeared on television a school-record 11 times in 2010-11, including four broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks. This season, the Seawolves will appear on television at least 18 times, which will shatter the school record. The full schedule, released Nov. 30, includes three national television broadcasts. Stony Brook will host Boston University on Jan. 27 on ESPNU, and will host Maine on Feb. 26 on CBS Sports Network. The Seawolves will also be on CBS Sports Network Feb. 12 at Vermont.
Up Next: Stony Brook begins a three-game homestand Wednesday against Hartford at Pritchard Gymnasium at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Optimum Local Channel 118.
