WASHINGTON, D.C. – It wasn't the start the Stony Brook men's basketball team wanted in the 2018-19 season-opener when they trailed host George Washington 22-0, but the Seawolves chipped away to eventually tie the game at the end of regulation and then outscore the Colonels 14-11 in overtime and claim a 77-74 victory on Tuesday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.
The Seawolves (1-0) trailed the game for 39 minutes and 59 seconds before junior F
Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) tipped in the miss of his own shot with 0:01 on the clock that tied the score at 63 and force the overtime.
Stony Brook's first lead of the game came when sophomore F
Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer from the left elbow with 3:55 remaining in OT. Stony Brook never relinquished the lead back to George Washington (0-1).
BOALS REACTION
"I could not be more proud of our guys. We were down 22-0 and just kept chipping away and battling back. We found a way to win and that is what championship teams do."
"We knew they (George Washington) was going to make a run. We didn't know it would be 22-0, but we got good looks early and once we settled down we cut it to 10 at halftime we came back out an found a way."
HIGHLIGHTS
- After George Washington opened the game with 22 straight points, but Stony Brook was able to outscore the Colonials 24-12 over the final 10:04 of the first half that included the final 10 points of the half.
- Sophomore G Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) knocked down a pair of free throws with 0:05 left in regulation that helped aid the comeback effort.
- Junior F Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) tipped in the miss of his own shot with 0:01 left in regulation to tie the score at 63 and force overtime.
- Stony Brook's first lead of the game came when sophomore F Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer from the left elbow with 3:55 remaining in OT.
- Akwasi Yeboah hit a three-pointer of his own in OT with 3:12 remaining that gave the Seawolves a 69-66 lead.
- Andrew Garcia's lay-up with 1:43 left in OT made it 73-68 for Stony Brook's largest lead of the game.
- The 22-point come-from-behind win is the best in school history, besting the 21-point come-from-behind win over UAlbany in January of 2017.
NOTES
- Freshman G Miles Latimer (Fairfax, Va.) made his first collegiate start on Tuesday.
- Sophomore transfer F Jeff Otchere (Bronx, N.Y.) made his first start as a Seawolf on Tuesday.
- Freshmen C Alex Christie (Oakville, Ont.) and G Jules Moor (Houston, Texas) saw their first minutes as collegiate players.
- Sophomore G Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) posted a career-high 18 points in the win with 15 of his points coming in the second half and overtime. His 18 points marks his 14th double digit scoring game of his career and his fifth straight that include the final four games of the 2017-18 season. Olaniyi also pulled down 10 rebounds.
- Freshman G Miles Latimer (Fairfax, Va.) poured in 15 points in his collegiate debut.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook will remain on the road and travel to Columbia, S.C., to face the South Carolina Gamecocks of the SEC. The game will tip at 7 p.m. from the Colonial Life Arena.
