Game 29: Stony Brook (22-5, 10-3 America East) vs. UMBC (18-11, 10-4 America East)
LOCATION	Island Federal Arena | Stony Brook, N.Y.
DATE | TIME	Wednesday, February 26 | 7 p.m.
TICKETS	Buy Now
COVERAGE	Live Stats  | Watch Live | Listen Live
SOCIAL MEDIA	Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #SeawolvesUnited | #AEHoops

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook men's basketball team plays for crucial America East Playoffs seeding on Wednesday night, as the second-place Seawolves welcome third-place UMBC for a 7 p.m. tip at Island Federal Arena.
 
Stony Brook is a half-game ahead of the Retrievers entering Wednesday's contest, and coming off a victory over Maine in which redshirt junior Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) had a season-high 27 points and senior Jaron Cornish (Abaco, Bahamas) had 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.
 
THE OPPONENT
UMBC had its four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night, falling to UAlbany 84-75 in the Capital District. The Retrievers now have four losses in conference play, sitting a half-game back of Stony Brook for third in the league. KJ Jackson had 16 points to lead the Retrievers in scoring, while Jose Placer had 14 off the bench on 6-of-7 shooting. Joe Sherburne added 13 points and six rebounds.
 
On the year, Sherburne and Jackson are the only two Retrievers scoring in double figures, with the former averaging 14.2 points per game and the latter chipping in 12.4 per night. UMBC is 17th in the country in scoring defense, allowing 63.5 points per contest. They are also inside the top 25 in total steals, with 225 on the season. KJ Jackson ranks 16th in the country in that department, with 65 swipes on the year.
 
THE SERIES
Stony Brook leads the overall series 24-11, winning 19 of the last 22 meetings between the two schools. UMBC won the Baltimore version of the series this season, holding Stony Brook to 49 points in a 57-49 victory. Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) had a double double for the Seawolves, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 boards.

BASKET MORE THAN HALF FULL
For the third time this season, the Seawolves eclipsed the 50 percent mark from the field, making 25 of the team's 47 shots from the field en route to 81 points and a 28-point victory against the Black Bears. The Seawolves' most efficient shooting night came in Norfolk, when the team made 55 percent of its shots from the field against Norfolk State. Over the last five games, they are over three points high than the season average, hitting 44.8 percent of shots from the field.
 
FINDING HIS STRIDE
Redshirt junior Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) earned America East Player of the Week honors for his performances against UAlbany and Maine, mainly on the offensive end. Yeboah hit 57.1 percent of his shots (16/27) and eight of his 14 threes en route to a 49-point week against the two teams. This is tied for his highest two-game combination this season, as he had 24 and 25 against LIU Brooklyn and Delaware, respectively.
 
A DIME A DOZEN
Senior Jaron Cornish (Abaco, Bahamas) was honored as the team's only senior on Saturday night and will also etch himself into the Stony Brook record books when takes his jersey off for the final time. Cornish is currently fifth in Stony Brook's Division I era, dishing 3.2 assists per game over his 54-game career. This season he is averaging 3.5 per night, which is also good for eighth in the Seawolves' 20-year D1 history. Along with his three assists against UMass Lowell, he became the ninth Stony Brook player in the last 20 years to score 30 points, making 11 of his 18 shots in the process.
 
DOUBLE THE EXCELLENCE
It's been quite the fortnight for redshirt junior Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England), as he has hauled in 12 or more rebounds in two of his last four games going back to February 9 against UMass Lowell. He partnered those efforts with 13 points against the River Hawks, 22 against UAlbany and, most recently, 27 against Maine. The England native is close to averaging a double double in league play, scoring 15.7 per night and grabbing just under nine rebounds per game at 8.6.
 
KARDIAC KIDS
The Seawolves have been able to win the close ones this season en route to the team's winningest season under Jeff Boals. After Saturday's two-point victory against New Hampshire, Stony Brook has now won seven games by four points or less, going 7-2 in those contests. Stony Brook is 11-3 in games that they have been decided by seven points or less and have only had four games decided by 15 points or more this season, with three of those coming against Division I competition.
 
HOME COURT IS KEY
With a win, Stony Brook will clinch a home game in the 2019 America East playoffs. The Seawolves have hosted six home games since the format changed in the 2014-15 season, going 5-1 in home playoff games. Clinching home games has been key in the America East, as conference teams have gone 23-5 at home since the format changed.
 
BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore Jeff Otchere (Bronx, N.Y.) is first in the country in Kenpom Block %, swatting 17.1 percent of team's 2-point attempts, according to KenPom. He is averaging 3.1 blocks per contest in league play, which is double the second-place inhabitant on the conference's leaderboard. Overall, the team is averaging 4.3 swats per night.

UP NEXT
League-leading Vermont is next on the schedule for the Seawolves, as they head to Burlington for a Saturday-night clash that will have playoff positioning on the line. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Patrick Gym.