STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- The Stony Brook men's basketball team travels to take on St. Francis, looking to bounce back on the road Saturday afternoon. This is the first meeting between the two teams, and the final game before the holiday break for the Seawolves.
NOTEWORTHY
- Stony Brook has limited itself to single-digit turnovers in three of the last four games, committing just six at Hofstra.
- Freshman Michael Almonacy put up the best numbers of his debut season, scoring 15 points in the game at Hofstra, adding three rebounds and three assists.
- Redshirt freshman Akwasi Yeboah returned to double figures, scoring 16 points in the win over Lehigh, and followed it up with a season-best 18 points against Rutgers. He earned America East Rookie of the Week honors for his play.
- Senior Lucas Woodhouse matched his Stony Brook career best for the second time in three games when he scored 17 points in the win over Northeastern. He set a new career high, going 12-for-12 from the free throw line in the win over Lehigh.
- Junior Bryan Sekunda gave Stony Brook a big lift off the bench against Northeastern as he went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc en-route to a 12-point night.
- The Seawolves have had the same or fewer turnovers than their opponent in nine of the ten games this season.
THE OPPONENT
The Red Flash enter the weekend at 3-5 on the season, looking to end a three-game skid. Most recently St. Francis fell at Lehigh Monday night, 100-67. Isaiah Blackmon made his first start of the season and led the way with 13 points in the game. Prior to the losing streak, the Red Flash strung together three straight victories, two of which came at home.
THE SERIES
This is the first meeting in program history with St. Francis. The Seawolves are 10-11 all-time against teams currently in the Northeast Conference and do not face any other teams from that league this season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Seawolves had a tough return to the road after a four-game homestand, falling at Hofstra 96-58. Freshman Michael Almonacy led the way for the Seawolves, putting up a season-best 15 points in his first game in double figures.
A steady push from Hofstra out of the gate helped the Pride establish a comfortable lead early and never looked back, leading by as many as 43 points in the game. Almonacy saw nine of his points come in the first half, but Hofstra had an answer for everything the Seawolves did.
After leading Stony Brook in scoring in each of the last two games, the Seawolves were without redshirt freshman Akwasi Yeboah for the final 8:10 of the game as he quickly picked up his final two fouls and finished with nine points.
Junior Jakub Petras led Stony Brook on the boards with a career-high seven in the game.
YEBOAH NAMED AE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman Akwasi Yeboah had a big week of play last week, earning the first America East Rookie of the Week honors of his young career. He averaged 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds through the 1-1 week for the Seawolves. After scoring a season-best 16 points, also adding six rebounds, in the win over Lehigh, Yeboah upped his number as he put up 18 in a nail-biter against Rutgers.
ALMONACY BREAKS OUT AT HOFSTRA
Freshman Michael Almonacy had a breakout game at Hofstra, going off for 15 points while also adding three assists and three rebounds. This was the first time this season the Long Island native has scored in double figures.
FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Senior Lucas Woodhouse leads the team and is second in the America East from the free throw line, shooting 93-percent from the line on the year. Woodhouse made 28 consecutive free throws through a seven-game span. He went 8-for-8 in the final 1:38 of the win over Northeastern, before setting a new career best the next game with 12 makes on 12 attempts against Lehigh.
CLEAN PLAY
The Seawolves have limited their turnovers all season, keeping the number in single digits in three of the last four games and on four total occasions this season. They have committed more turnovers than their opponent just once this year.
