COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the first time ever, the Stony Brook men's basketball team has defeated a Southeast Conference opponent. The Seawolves took down South Carolina 83-81 at the Colonial Life Arena on Friday night.

After going into the half up by one, South Carolina scored the first points of the second period before Stony Brook took the lead for good, powered by a 14-6 run. Redshirt junior F Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) scored nine of the points during the run en route to a 14-point second half.

The Seawolves kept South Carolina at bay in the final few minutes, making sure a 79-70 lead with 3:10 left stood. Sophomore transfer F Jeff Otchere (Bronx, N.Y.) blocked Justin Minaya's left-wing attempt as the horn sounded, securing Stony Brook's second road win in as many games.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Both offenses started the day cold, with each team combining for eight field goals in the first 10 minutes of the afternoon.
• A 10-2 Stony Brook run gave the Seawolves the lead with just over five to play in the first half, as
  sophomore G Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) scored four during the spurt.
• Nobody had a lead larger than three the rest of the half, with a Yeboah layup at the break putting the Seawolves ahead at the break.
• After the run made Stony Brook's lead seven with 16:50 to play in the half, South Carolina answered with back to back threes to cut the advantage to one.
• The Seawolves pulled the momentum back in their favor with senior G Jaron Cornish (Abaco, Bahamas) scoring six points in a 2:30 stretch to extend the lead to 66-57 with 7:29 left in the second half.
• Yeboah put Stony Brook back up nine with 5:51 to go before the Gamecocks made their run. A three-pointer at the end cut Stony Brook's lead to 83-81 but the Seawolves defense held them off.
   

NOTES

• Led by 14 in the second half, Yeboah finished the night with a game-high 24 points, hitting five threes. He also corralled 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the campaign.
• Olaniyi shot 8-for-10 at the free throw line en route to a 16-point, nine-rebound night.

• The Seawolves outrebounded South Carolina 49-33, grabbing 22 offensive boards in the process.
• A total of five Seawolves finished the night in double figures, with sophomore F Anthony Ochefu (West Chester, Pa.) adding 12 points and redshirt sophomore F Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) and freshman G Miles Latimer (Fairfax, Va.) each compiling 11 points.
• Cornish added eight points on the night, as well as eight assists and five rebounds.
• Stony Brook has won its first two games of the regular season for the first time since the 2013-14
  campaign, when the program won its first three.
• The Seawolves came alive from the field in the second half, shooting 18-for-36 (50.0 percent), including 6-for-10 (60 percent) from long range. For the game, Stony Brook shot 19-for-23 from the charity stripe.
• Stony Brook's defense held South Carolina to 9-for-23 from three-point land.
   

UP NEXT
Stony Brook rounds out its Naismath Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament next weekend at
Mohegan Sun Arena, facing Holy Cross on Nov. 16 and the winner of Siena and Norfolk State a day later.