STONY BROOK, N.Y. — On the final day of the regular season, the Stony Brook men's basketball team locked up the No. 2 seed in the America East Tournament courtesy of Hartford's loss to Maine.
As a result, Tuesday's 7 p.m. America East semifinal matchup between the Seawolves and Hartford will be held at Island Federal Arena rather than in Connecticut.
And that figures to provide a big boost to Stony Brook, especially if the electricity generated by the crowd during a quarterfinal win against Albany is duplicated.
"Without the atmosphere, we don't win," coach
Geno Ford said regarding the 76-73 win against the Great Danes on Saturday night. "Does the crowd make a one-possession difference? You bet they do. When you're on the other side of that and you go to Burlington, Vt., and you lose a close game like we did a year ago for the regular-season championship, the crowd was a significant factor."
Of course, Ford noted, the Seawolves have to bring their 'A' game. Third-seeded Hartford swept the regular-season series from Stony Brook, winning 68-65 in West Hartford on Jan. 15 and 65-54 at Island Federal Arena on Feb. 26.
In the latter game, albeit with the Seawolves missing first-team All-America East selection and leading scorer
Elijah Olaniyi, Stony Brook committed 19 turnovers. Hartford tallied 18 points off turnovers.
"We're going to have to remember that we're wearing white jerseys on Tuesday night, because the last time they were here, we threw them the ball 16 times," Ford quipped. "Some of them were them making great steals. And other times we were really loose and sloppy."
Ford is particularly cognizant of the impact of Hartford's leading scorer, Malik Ellison, who is averaging nearly a double-double: 19.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
"Ellison twice has, down the stretch, kind of had our number," Ford said. "The game up there we were in position to win. The last two minutes he made every big play. He scored six points. He blocked a shot. He had a steal. And we, all of a sudden, went from a three- or four-point lead to a four-point loss. In the game here, he was outstanding for the whole night.
"Someone has got to take that challenge and keep him somewhat under control. He's a terrific player. We're not going to shut him out. But we definitely can't have live-ball turnovers. It was like a fast-break drill a week or so ago."
Of course, Olaniyi is now back after missing five games due to an ankle injury. During that span, the Seawolves averaged only 57.8 points per game. With Olaniyi back in the starting lineup for the quarterfinal game against Albany, the Seawolves posted 76.
"Having E back will certainly help that," Ford said. "I know we'll be excited to play."
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