STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Senior Tyrell Sturdivant sealed the come-from-behind win for the Seawolves with a lay-up in the final five seconds of regulation to lift Stony Brook past St. Francis (PA), 85-83, at Island Federal Credit Union Arena Saturday night. Redshirt sophomore Akwasi Yeboah used a big second half to lead the Seawolves with 19 points. Stony Brooks moves to 3-5 on the year, while St. Francis sits at 3-4.
Boals' Reaction
"We were very fortunate to win the game," said head coach Jeff Boals. "Hats off to St. Francis, we knew coming in that they were a high-powered offensive team. At halftime we talked about coming out and playing with a lot more effort. I thought in the first half we let them do whatever they wanted to do. At halftime I was looking for guys that would bring energy and I thought we got out to a pretty good start and we just found a way at the end."
Highlights
- Down by 18 at the break, the Seawolves got the difference within single digits with under five minutes to play.
- A layup by redshirt sophomore Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) followed by another bucket in the paint from freshman Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) made it a two-possession game with 2:13 to play.
- The Seawolves fouled with 1:35 on the clock and St. Francis' Keith Braxton hit one of two from the line.
- It was Yeboah that tied it at 83-all with 1:25 to play after he was fouled down low and converted the three-point play.
- The Red Flash broke Stony Brook's late press with ease as the clock went under a minute, but senior Tyrell Sturdivant (Chester, Pa.) was able to get stop in transition as he drew a charge with 35 seconds remaining.
- Sturdivant came up big for the Seawolves on the final possession as he battled through his defender and laid one in with seven seconds left in regulation to put Stony Brook on top. St. Francis was unable to land its last-second attempt.
Notes
- Olaniyi notched his fifth straight double-figure scoring game with 13 in the win.
- This is the first double-digit scoring game for junior Jaron Cornish (Abaco, Bahamas) as he also added five assists.
- The Seawolves dominated the paint in the game, outscoring St. Francis 50-18 down low.
- St. Francis shot over 55-percent from everywhere on the floor, including 63-percent from beyond the arc. The Red Flash made their first five threes of the night.
Up Next
Stony Brook has a quick turnaround as it hits the road to face LIU Brooklyn on Monday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
