STONY BROOK, N.Y. — The Stony Brook men's basketball team looked like it had avoided a scare on Wednesday, overcoming a nine-point deficit to take the lead during the second half.
However, the Seawolves ultimately stumbled, falling to visiting Binghamton, 83-79, at Island Federal Arena.
Stony Brook dropped to 13-8 overall and 4-2 in America East play.
With the Seawolves trailing by three points,
Miles Latimer's bid for a game-tying three-pointer from the right corner bounced out with 13 seconds remaining. Pierre Sarr then connected on the second of two free throws at the other end to secure the win.
It marked the first meeting since Binghamton ousted Stony Brook in the conference quarterfinals last March.
"You want to win a championship, you have to find a way to win at home," coach
Geno Ford said. "... We're disappointed because I don't feel like we played anywhere near the level we're capable of."
Earlier,
Makale Foreman's three-point attempt hit the front of the rim and then bounced through the cylinder for a 75-73 lead for Stony Brook with 3:25 remaining.
Elijah Olaniyi's layup less than a minute later gave the Seawolves a four-point cushion — their first double-digit advantage of the game.
However, Binghamton retook the lead, 79-77, with 1:32 to go on a three-point play from Sam Sessoms. And after Foreman was blocked, Sessoms answered with a three-pointer at the other end for a five-point lead, prompting a timeout from the Seawolves with 51.2 seconds to go.
"I thought we got outplayed for 40 minutes," Ford said. "We were up four and had the game won and couldn't get a stop in the last three minutes. We did some things we talked about not doing."
Olaniyi finished with 20 points — all in the second half — but came up shy of his fifth straight double-double. Olaniyi, who had been 0-for-7 from the field before intermission, ultimately tallied six rebounds.
Ford lamented the team's defensive performance, noting things like Binghamton having three back cuts for baskets and the Bearcats shooting 21-for-32 from inside the arc. The Seawolves had entered the game as the America East's top-ranked defensive team.
Stony Brook also was an uncharacteristic 9-for-29 from three-point range (31.0 percent).
"I just didn't think we played as hard defensively as hard as we have played in other games," Ford said.
Stony Brook now has a bye on Saturday to regroup. The Seawolves return to action next Wednesday at UMass Lowell.
