BANGOR, Maine – For the third time this season, the Stony Brook men's basketball team rallied from a double-digit second half deficit, defeating Maine 64-61 at the Cross Insurance Center on Saturday afternoon to improve to 4-0 in America East play and 16-3 overall.
 
The Seawolves scored 47 points in the second half, shooting 7-for-15 from three and 16-for-30 in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Black Bears by 19 in the period to pull away. Sophomore Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) led four double-figure scorers for the Seawolves, putting 14 up in the point column, while senior Jaron Cornish (Abaco, Bahamas) had a career-high 10 assists to go along with six points and eight rebounds.
 
BOALS' REACTION
"We just wanted to improve our effort in the second half. Maine was dictating play on both ends and we were able to come back. Give our guys a lot of credit. We picked up our ball pressure in the second half and I think that was the difference. To start the game, we shot a lot of threes. In the second half, we did a much better job of moving without the basketball and getting to the middle of their zone."

HIGHLIGHTS

• Both teams struggled getting off the floor offensively, scoring six combined points in the first 6:45 of the first half and going into the under-12 media timeout knotted at six apiece.
• Maine grabbed its first lead thanks to a pair of free throws and propelled that into an 8-2 run, going up 14-8 with 9:27 left in the half. 
• Sophomore Jeff Otchere (Bronx, N.Y.) cut the lead to three with a bucket plus the foul and freshman Miles Latimer (Fairfax, Va.) was able to get it to two, but that is when Maine made its run.
• The Black Bears held the Seawolves to just four points over the final 8:33 of the period, scoring 18 of their own to take a 33-17 lead into the locker room.
• Maine's lead grew as big as 18 with 18:47 to play in the game, but Stony Brook began to chip away.
• Latimer hit a three to start a 14-0 run over a span of 5:16. Two floaters from freshman Jules Moor (Houston, Texas) capped the stretch that ended with Maine up 38-34.
• Back to back threes from the Black Bears extended the advantage back to double digits, but again the Seawolves rallied, this time on a 10-2 run to bridge the gap to two points after a three from redshirt sophomore Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) that made it 46-44 with 10:15 left.
• Olaniyi tied the game with a three from the right with 8:38 to go in the half and Garcia put the Seawolves up for good, making 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 7:45 left, giving Stony Brook a 48-47 lead.
• After a Yeboah three put Stony Brook up by its largest margin, nine, Maine rallied but was only able to get it as close as three, hitting a half-court three as time expired.

NOTES

• This is the third time the Seawolves have rallied from a double-digit second half deficit this season and the ninth time the team has come back from 10 down or more under Jeff Boals.
• The Seawolves won their ninth road game of the season in 10 tries and have won 10 of their 12 games away from Island Federal Arena, including neutral site games.
• Cornish's 10 assists best his previous career high when he dished out nine against Shawnee State. He had eight dimes earlier this season at South Carolina.His eight boards match a season high.
• Along with finishing one off his career high with 11 points, Otchere blocked five Maine shots. He's averaging 3.8 blocks per game in conference play.
• After scoring all 12 of his points in the final 20 minutes today, Yeboah has now scored double digits in the second half in seven games this season.Olaniyi is up to three such outings.
• Maine's 16-point halftime lead is the largest for any Seawolves opposition this season and the widest gap between Stony Brook and any Division I opponent this season.
• Stony Brook is now 10-0 when they have four double digit scorers or more in a game.
• Latimer joined Otchere, Olaniyi and Yeboah in double figures this afternoon, scoring 10 while hitting a pair of threes.
• Garcia led the 11 Seawolves bench points with seven of his own, as well as seven boards.
• The Seawolves made 16 of their 30 shots in the second half, including 7-of-15 from outside the arc.

UP NEXT
The Seawolves head up to Albany on Wednesday night to renew their rivalry with the Great Danes at SEFCU Arena. First tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Capital District.