Game 31: Stony Brook (23-7, 11-4 America East) at Hartford (17-13, 10-5 America East)
LOCATION	Chase Arena | West Hartford, Conn.
DATE | TIME	Tuesday, March 5 | 7 p.m.
TICKETS	Buy Now
COVERAGE	Live Stats  | Watch Live | Listen Live
GAME NOTES	Stony Brook | Hartford
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STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Heading into the regular season finale, there is an extra prospective home game to play for when the Stony Brook men's basketball team takes the court on Tuesday night against Hartford. If the Seawolves win, they will take the second seed in the upcoming 2019 America East Men's Basketball Playoffs, with a guaranteed semifinal home game with a quarterfinal win. A loss puts the Seawolves in the four slot, with just one guaranteed home game.
 
THE OPPONENT
Hartford rallied from a 22-point deficit on Saturday night to defeat Albany in overtime at the Chase Arena, 82-80 to keep a Top 2 seed alive for the second consecutive year. George Blagojevic played 40 of the 45 minutes, hitting 10 of his 20 shots and leading the Hawks with 22 points. J.R. Lynch chipped in 19 points to help the comeback.
 
Lynch leads four double-figure scorers for John Gallagher's club, scoring 16.1 per night for the Hawks on 45 percent shooting (41.3 percent from three). Blagojevic is the team's leading rebounder, hauling in 7.8 boards per contest.
 
The Hawks are the league's leading 3-point shooting team, hitting 38.8 percent from outside and making 9.9 per night from outside. Lynch has played the seventh-most minutes in the country, clocking in 1127 this season.
 
THE SERIES
Stony Brook leads the overall series 25-15 in a series that dates back to 2002. Stony Brook has won 21 of the last 23 editions of this matchup, including a 86-77 victory at Island Federal Arena on February 2. Sophomore Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) had a career-high 28 points, while Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England) and Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) charted double-doubles.
 
ROAD TOUGH
The Seawolves are tied with Belmont and UC Irvine for the most wins on the road this season, all accumulating 12 in true road contests. They are taking the home defensive toughness with them, allowing teams to score just 65 points and shoot 38 percent from the field. Stony Brook is also winning the battle on the glass when playing away from home, grabbing 40.6 rebounds per contest and outrebounding their welcoming hosts by 4.6 per night.
 
DEFENDING THE ISLAND
The Seawolves continued their stout defensive play in conference, holding UMBC to 63 points and 1-for-20 from outside the 3-point arc on Wednesday night at Island Federal Arena. This performance is a microcosm of what the Seawolves have been able to do defensively in conference play, limiting their opposition to 27.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line, which leads the conference. In all games this season, Stony Brook ranks 13th nationally, holding teams to 29.9 percent from downtown.
 
EVERYBODY GETS A BUCKET!
For the second time this season, the Seawolves finished with five players in double figures in the team's win against UMBC on Wednesday night. Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England), Miles Latimer (Fairfax, Va.), Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.), Jaron Cornish (Abaco, Bahamas) and Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) all chipped in 10 points or more to help Stony Brook defeat the defending champions. This has happened only four times since Jeff Boals took over during the 2016-17 season and all four occasions have turned into victories, including wins this season against South Carolina and UMBC.
 
DOING IT ALL
Sophomore Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.) has been on a roll on both ends of the floor in the last eight games, helping the Seawolves to a 6-2 record during this span. He is averaing 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2. assists and 1.1 steals per contest, a stretch that was started by a 28-point performance against Hartford on February 2.
 
BASKET MORE THAN HALF FULL
For the fourth time this season, the Seawolves reached the 50 percent mark from the field, making 27 of the team's 54 shots from the field en route to 78 points and a 15-point victory against the Retrievers. 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 higher than the season average, hitting 45.2 percent of shots from the field.
 
DOUBLE THE EXCELLENCE
It's been quite the February for redshirt-junior Akwasi Yeboah (Chigwell, England), as he has hauled in 11 or more rebounds in six of his last 11 games going back to January 23 against Albany. 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 15.3 per night and grabbing just under nine rebounds per game at 8.8.
 
UP NEXT
The Seawolves will host the America East Quarterfinals on Saturday night, playing either No. 7 Binghamton or No. 5 UMass Lowell at 7 p.m. at Island Federal Arena. For tickets, click here or call 631-632-WOLF.