TOWSON, Md. – The Stony Brook men's basketball team rallied in the second half to earn its first win of the season, topping Hampton 76-66 at SECU Arena Saturday evening. The victory is the first for first-time head coach
Jeff Boals and moves the Seawolves to 1-4 on the year, while Hampton drops to 1-5.
Boals' Reaction
"It feels really good," said head coach
Jeff Boals about the win. "We knew we needed to change things up on defense and that gave us a great momentum swing. In the second half we did a great job of keeping them on the perimeter more. They were only 2-for-10 from three in the second half, so that zone was effective. I think the biggest thing was at halftime. I really challenged Lucas [Woodhouse] and Kam [Mitchell], our seniors and captains, and I said I want to see what they're made of. I wanted to see 20 minutes of effort and fight and competitiveness, and those two definitely made it happen."
Highlights
- Stony Brook played catch-up for much of the first half, but kept it within two possessions until the midway point. Hampton put together a 10-0 run with just over 10 minutes until halftime and held a double-digit lead at the break.
- A dunk from junior Roland Nyama (Frankfurt, Germany) and a three-pointer less than a minute later got the Seawolves back within four early in the second half.
- Stony Brook hovered around a one-possession differential until a pair of free throws from redshirt freshman Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) with 6:38 remaining gave the Seawolves their first lead of the game.
- Senior Lucas Woodhouse (Greenlawn, N.Y.) came up with a big steal as Stony Brook pressed following the foul shots, and he laid it in to extend the lead.
- Woodhouse hit back-to-back threes the next two times down the court to help continue what would be a 12-2 run for Stony Brook, securing the momentum late.
- The Seawolves led by as many as 12 in the closing minutes as Hampton was forced to foul.
Notes
- Stony Brook outscored Hampton 50-30 in the second half.
- Woodhouse's 17 points, all scored in the second half, match his Stony Brook career high.
- This is the fourth straight game Yeboah has scored in double figures.
- Nyama made the 37th start of his career, but just second through the past two seasons.
- This is the first time this season the Seawolves have had four different players score in double figures.
- Stony Brook forced an opponent season-high 17 turnovers and was able to score 14 points off the Hampton mishaps.
Next Up
The Seawolves return home after a three-game road trip to host Loyola (Md.) on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
