WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Elijah Olaniyi moved oh-so-close to a major milestone. However, a dramatic comeback bid came up just short on Wednesday night in a battle of America East unbeatens.
Hartford snapped the Stony Brook men's basketball team's five-game winning streak with a 68-65 victory.
"We had a really tough night shooting the ball," head coach
Geno Ford said. "Down the stretch, they made all the winning plays. Ellison made some tough shots and we had several empty possessions down the stretch."
The Seawolves had turned an 11-point halftime deficit into a 53-47 lead midway through the second half. However, Hartford retook the lead late and held off the Seawolves.
With the Hawks leading 67-64, Hartford elected to foul Olaniyi and put him at the free-throw line with 6.7 seconds remaining rather than risk the Seawolves having an opportunity for a game-tying three-point attempt. Olaniyi made the first free throw and missed the second, but Hartford grabbed the rebound and held on.
Stony Brook played the final minutes without
Andrew Garcia and
Jeff Otchere, both of whom fouled out.
The Seawolves dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-1 in America East play, while Hartford improved to 10-8 and 3-0.
Olaniyi finished with a game-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double He now sits at 996 career points. He will look to become the 10th member of the program's 1,000-point club on Saturday against Albany at Island Federal Arena.
Stony Brook had used a 15-0 run to grab a six-point second-half lead. Hartford went scoreless for 6 minutes, 24 seconds during that second-half spurt.
Makale Foreman had 18 points and Garcia had 12.
After the game, Hartford coach John Gallagher suggested the Hawks having a bye during conference play this past weekend proved beneficial because it allowed his team six days to prepare for the Seawolves, whom Gallagher labeled one of the elite teams in the America East.
WATCH ELIJAH OLANIYI TRY TO JOIN THE 1,000-POINT CLUB ON SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS.
