Feb. 4, 2012

Final Stats

Albany, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's basketball team shot a blistering 59.1 percent in the second half and had four players score in double figures to come back and beat Albany 76-69 to remain in sole possession of first place in America East Saturday night at SEFCU Arena.

The Seawolves are now 10-1 in America East for the first time ever and hold a one-game lead over Vermont in the standings. Stony Brook has won six straight games and 12 of its last 13. Stony Brook's win snapped Albany's 12-game home winning streak, and the Seawolves are the first team to win at SEFCU Arena this season. The Great Danes fall to 7-4 in America East.

Sophomore Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Seawolves with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, which is tied for the second-best shooting effort in program history. Senior Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) added 14 points, senior Al Rapier (Chicago, Ill.) produced a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds and sophomore Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) chipped in 11 points by going 3-for-3 from downtown and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

Stony Brook shot 53.1 percent from the field and 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the three-point line. Albany shot 43.3 percent from the field and only 22.7 (5-for-22) percent from behind the arc. The Seawolves outrebounded Albany 34-32.

The Great Danes were led by Gerardo Suero's 21 points. Logan Aronhalt and Mike Black each chipped in 15.

"I liked our offense, but I didn't like our defense tonight," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "But a lot of guys stepped up and made big plays on the road, which isn't easy to do in front of a sell-out crowd. Albany is a very talented team. We're happy to get a win and we now have to prepare for a tough game at New Hampshire."

Stony Brook started the game in control, taking a 16-9 lead after a 9-0 run that was punctuated by a Jackson three-pointer in the corner.

A Dougher three-pointer at 9:47 gave the Seawolves their largest lead of the half, eight points, at 19-11, but Albany quickly found its stroke and came right back. Aronhalt knocked down a three that was answered by a Joyner jumper. Then Albany went on a 9-0 run, led by Suero, who had seven of the nine points, including a three-point play at 6:52 to put the Great Danes back on top, 23-21.

Albany had a lead as large as five in the first half, but the Seawolves slightly closed the gap. A Rouse layup on SBU's last possession sent the Seawolves into halftime trailing by only three, 33-30.

In the second half, Coley helped quickly erase the deficit. He hit a jumper at 19:04, assisted on a Joyner layup at 17:55, made another jumper at 17:25 and then stripped Black and went to the basket for a fastbreak layup at 16:58 to give the Seawolves a 38-37 lead.

Stony Brook never relinquished the lead after that, but the game remained close. Coley's layup started a 16-5 run that included a pair of three-pointers by junior Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.) and Jackson each. Hayes' last three-pointer, which came on a Jackson assist, gave the Seawolves their largest lead, 10 points, at 52-42 with 11:28 to play in the game.

Albany fought back and got as close as two points, but the Seawolves made big shots to get back into good position. After Suero hit one free throw to make it 56-53, Dougher knocked down a big three-pointer, and Rapier followed with a steal off Black and a fastbreak layup. Dougher's free throws at 4:50 made it a 10-point game again, 65-55.

Stony Brook led by as many as 11 with 2:24 to go in the game, but the Seawolves struggled with free throws (15-for-24 in the game) to allow Albany to come as close as six. The Great Danes missed too many shots at the end, and the Seawolves made enough free throws to win.

Stony Brook will have a short turnaround as it heads to New Hampshire for a Monday night tilt against the Wildcats. Tip-off for the game is at 7 p.m., and it will be streamed online at ESPN3.