STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook men's basketball team battled back after being down 21 points late in the second half to knock off the Albany Great Danes, 72-70, in the final second at Island Federal Credit Union Arena Sunday afternoon. Junior Tyrell Sturdivant (Chester, Pa.) hit the game-winner with 0.6 on the clock to move the Seawolves to 7-8 on the year and 2-0 in America East. Albany now sits at 9-8 on the season and 0-2 in league play.
 
Boals' Reaction
"What a welcome to the rivalry," said head coach Jeff Boals after the victory. "I think the fact that this was the ninth time this season a game has come down to the final shot paid dividends for us. Guys didn't panic when we got down, they kept fighting and we kept chipping away. I'm really proud of the way we played in the last eight minutes, the fight and the grit that they had."
 
Highlights

• The Seawolves trailed until the very last play of the game, stringing together a 21-0 run in the final 5:55 of play to come out on top.
• A three from junior Bryan Sekunda (State College, Pa.) helped start the run for the Seawolves, who continued to press against Albany and it paid off when senior Lucas Woodhouse (Greenlawn, N.Y.) got a steal off the full court pressure and was immediately fouled, making both free throws.
• The free throws sparked 10 straight points for Woodhouse, which included another trip to the line and a pair of threes, to get Stony Brook back within four with 2:30 to play.
• Sturdivant, who scored his first field goal of the day with just over six minutes remaining in the game, put back a missed three by Sekunda to make it a two-point game with 1:38 to play.
• On the other end, junior Roland Nyama (Frankfurt, Germany) came up with a steal and was fouled on the play. He made both free throws to tie things up at 70 as the clock headed under a minute.
• A late turnover by Woodhouse on the ensuing possession threatened to be costly with 43 seconds left in the game, but Albany's Joe Cremo mishandled the ball on the other end and Stony Brook got another chance to win it.
• Woodhouse drove the left side and fed Sturdivant, who appeared wide open in the lane and made the uncontested layup, leaving less than a second on the clock.

 
Notes

• This is the ninth time this season that a Stony Brook game has been decided in the final minute of play. The Seawolves are 5-4 in this situation.
• The Seawolves overcame a 21-point deficit, the largest in program history. They now hold the third largest turnaround in NCAA history in the final 10 minutes of a game, trailing by 21 with 7:51 remaining.
• Stony Brook limited itself to 10 turnovers in the win, marking the ninth time this season the total has been 10-or-fewer.
• The Seawolves are out to a 2-0 start in conference play for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
• This is the fifth 20-plus point game of Woodhouse's career, and second of the season.
• Nyama helped lead the way, notching the sixth double-figure scoring game of the season for the junior.
• Sturdivant finished with double-double figure rebounds for the third time this season.

 
Up Next
The Seawolves have nearly a week off before traveling to Maine on Saturday, Jan. 14 for a 2 p.m. game against the Black Bears.