Dec. 7, 2013

Final Stats

NEW YORK - The Stony Brook men's basketball team went cold in the second half, making just nine field goals in the final 20 minutes as La Salle used a 13-4 run to tie the game and then made 11 free throws in the final minutes to pull away with a 65-57 win over the #Seawolves at the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival.

Sophomore Jameel Warney (Plainfield, N.J.) led the #Seawolves with 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five assists. The loss moves Stony Brook to 6-4 on the season, and the Explorers improve to 5-4.

Head Coach Steve Pikiell's Reaction
"I thought we played a good 20 minutes, but to win college basketball games, you have to play well for all 40, and we fell short in the second half today. I didn't like our energy, and we gave up too many points in the second half."

Turning Point
The second half proved to be Stony Brook's downfall as the #Seawolves struggled to shoot the ball. Stony Brook made just nine field goals in the second half and just one in the final 4:50 of the game.

Meanwhile, La Salle used a 13-4, second-half opening run to tie the game at 35-35. The Explorers then finally grabbed a lead on Jerrell Wright's layup at 9:48 to make it 42-41, and they then extended the lead to six at 51-45 on Wright's jumper at 6:07.

The #Seawolves were within two, 52-50, as senior Eric McAlister (Hightstown, N.J.) drained a three-pointer and converted a layup. With under three minutes to go, Warney grabbed a Stony Brook miss for an offensive rebound, but his put-back was blocked by La Salle's Steve Zack, and the Explorers came right back down with a layup to spark an 8-0 run that finished Stony Brook.

Inside the Numbers

• Stony Brook shot 40.4 percent from the field and 25.0 percent (4-for-16) from the three-point line. The #Seawolves were 51.9 percent in the first half and only 30 percent in the second half.
• La Salle was 35.3 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from behind the arc.
• The free throw line helped decide the game as Stony Brook had only nine attempts to La Salle's 33.
• Warney had 15 points and eight rebounds and recorded a new career high with five assists.
• Redshirt freshman Ahmad Walker (Port Washington, N.Y.) had eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high three blocks. 
• Stony Brook as a team blocked a season-high eight shots.
• McAlister had 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting.
• Wright led La Salle with 21 points.

News & Notes

• This was Stony Brook's fifth appearance at Madison Square Garden. The #Seawolves previously appeared at the Garden as a Div. III program three times and as a Div. I program once before (Dec. 17, 2011).
• This was the first-ever meeting between Stony Brook and La Salle.
• This was Stony Brook's first loss of the year when leading at halftime.
• Stony Brook failed to score 60 points for the first time this season.

Up Next
Stony Brook will take a week off for final exams and get ready for conference play as the #Seawolves play at New Hampshire in their America East opener Sunday, Dec. 15 at Lundholm Gymnasium at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on AmericaEast.TV and can be heard on Champions Radio 96.9/107.1 FM, ChampionsRadio.com and the TuneIn Radio App.