STONY BROOK, N.Y. — With leading scorer Elijah Olaniyi briefly sidelined due to injury, Stony Brook men's basketball coach Geno Ford has needed other student-athletes to step up.

Among those who have answered the call has been freshman guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore.

Stephenson-Moore has produced back-to-back 19-point performances as the Seawolves head into an ESPNU-televised showdown with first-place Vermont on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Island Federal Arena.

The 6-foot-3 Stephenson-Moore, a Port Washington native and Long Island Lutheran product, made his first career start on Feb. 1 against UMBC. He has now started four straight games.

"Tyler has really played well, and he's given us a nice lift," Ford said. "He was playing well in the preseason, and he had injured his ankle and was shut down for two or three weeks. It took him a while to get back to how he was playing early because he missed a lot of time."

A year ago at LuHi, Stephenson-Moore won the Class AA New York Federation Championship. He earned All-Long Island first-team honors from Newsday.

With the Seawolves, Stephenson-Moore came within one rebound of his first career double-double at New Hampshire on Feb. 8.

"I'm just taking the right shots and hitting the right shots, and playing the right way," Stephenson-Moore said. "If the shots aren't going in, I'm helping on the rebound side. But when they're both working, it's hard to stop."

Said Ford: "I just think he's in a really good groove right now. I've coached a long time, and I haven't had too many games where I've had a two-guard go snatch nine rebounds — several on the offensive end. He's a quick jumper. He's a tough kid. He's just getting better and better right now. And we're going to need him to continue on that trend here as we finish up the year."

Stony Brook enters Thursday's game against Vermont in second place in the America East at 8-3, trailing only the 11-1 Catamounts. The Seawolves handed Vermont its lone league loss on Jan. 8 in Burlington, 81-77.

Overall, Stony Brook has five games remaining in the regular season as it aims to secure a top seed in the America East Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal play on March 7.

DON'T FORGET TO RED OUT THE STANDS THURSDAY AGAINST VERMONT! TICKETS ARE SELLING OUT FAST FOR THIS ESPNU GAME. GET YOURS NOW HERE OR CALL 631-632-WOLF.