STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- The Seawolves return home after a pair of road games looking to extend their streak as they Host the Hartford Hawks Thursday evening. Stony Brook moved to 4-0 in league play over the weekend with wins at Maine and UMass Lowell. Hartford arrives on Long Island after snapping a five-game skid with a win over the Black Bears.
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the third time in program history the Seawolves have opened America East play with a 4-0 record, all coming over the last four seasons.
- Stony Brook has limited itself to single-digit turnovers eight times this season, committing 10 or fewer on 11 occasions, ranking 18th in the nation in turnover margin.
- After starting the season 0-4, the Seawolves have turned it around to go 9-4 since, claiming five straight victories.
- Stony Brook has seen nine of its 17 games so far this season be decided in the final minute of play.
- Tyrell Sturdivant had a clutch opening week of conference play and is averaging 18 points and seven boards in league play after a 28-point performance at UMass Lowell.
- Lucas Woodhouse ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage and 17th in assist-turnover ratio. He has scored 20-plus points in three of the last five games and has not missed a foul shot in conference play.
- Akwasi Yeboah earned his second America East Rookie of the Week award after putting adding 13 points and six rebounds in the team's lone game at Maine.
- The Seawolves overcame the largest deficit in program history as they trailed Albany by 21 with under just over seven minutes remaining and went on to claim a 72-70 win at the buzzer.
THE OPPONENT
The Hawks enter the game at 6-13 on the season, 1-3 in league play. They recently snapped a five-game skid when they topped Maine at home on Monday, 54-44. Leading scorer Jalen Ross leads the America East in scoring and sits at 25th in the nation, averaging 20.8 points per game and is currently putting up 18.0 ppg in league play. The Hawks are just 2-9 on the year on the road. Their last win away from home came when they topped Boston College, 65-63 on Dec. 9.
THE SERIES
Stony Brook leads the all-time series with the Hawks 21-14. The first meeting was Jan. 26, 2002, when Hartford took a 76-70 win at home. After dropping the first six games in the series, the Seawolves have recently taken 17 of the last 18 matchups, and are in the midst of an eight-game streak against Hartford. Stony Brook boasts an 11-5 record in the series at home. The two teams have met five times in the post season and the Seawolves sit at 4-1 against Hartford in the America East Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
Stony Brook picked up its third road win in four league game as it knocked off UMass Lowell, 86-75 Monday afternoon. The Seawolves dominated the first half as junior Tyrell Sturdivant got off to a hot start, scoring the team's first seven points and hitting double figures in the first 4:10 of play.
Sturdivant didn't miss a shot in the first half, going 7-for-7 from the field, to score 16 points by the break. The Seawolves held UMass Lowell's leading scorer Jahad Thomas to just three points, all from the foul time, in the first half after he picked up a pair of fouls early on.
UMass Lowell opened the second half on a 10-4 run to get back within three, 52-49, forcing the Seawolves to call an early timeout. Stony Brook used an 11-2 run to get the difference back to double figures, but the River Hawks wouldn't back down. They got it back within two with 5:57 remaining.
Sturdivant responded with seven straight points as the Seawolves remained with the lead they had all game outside of the opening possessions. Senior Lucas Woodhouse scored nine of Stony Brook's last 11 points in the game to keep the difference in double figures.
SCORING IN THE FIRST
Junior Tyrell Sturdivant had back-to-back games of huge first-half play. He kept the Seawolves in the mix at Maine, putting up 12 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes. He followed that up with a career-best 28-point performance at UMass Lowell, scoring 16 points and going 7-for-7 from the field in the first half.
CLEAN PLAY
Stony Brook has limited itself in turnovers all season, keeping the number in single digits on eight occasions. The Seawolves currently rank 18th in the nation in turnover margin (3.9). They have committed more turnovers than their opponent just once this year. Stony Brook most recently matched its season low with six turnovers at UMass Lowell.
FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Woodhouse leads the team and the America East from the free throw line, shooting 95-percent from the line on the year. He currently ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage. Woodhouse has not missed a free throw in league play and earlier in the year 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.
LEAGUE PLAY
The Seawolves are in their 16th season of America East play, sitting at 132-116 in regular season league action and are coming off of a regular season and tournament title in 2015-16. The team is out to its third 4-0 start to America East play in program history. The win at New Hampshire marked the ninth straight season Stony Brook has opened conference play with a victory.
