STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook men's basketball team (3-7, 0-0 CAA) erased a 12-point deficit and came from behind to defeat Sacred Heart (5-7, 0-0 NEC), 71-64, in a thrilling contest that saw 12 lead changes on Monday night at Island Federal Arena. After being down 31-19 with 3:37 left to play in the first half, the Seawolves outscored the Pioneers 47-31 in the second half to ultimately secure the win.
On the Seawolves' first possession of the second half, graduate center
Keenan Fitzmorris dunked the ball with authority after a pick-and-roll play, sparking a 12-3 extended run for Stony Brook that cut its deficit to 38-36.
Stony Brook dominated throughout the rest of the second frame, outscoring the Pioneers by 16 in the half, en route to a 71-64 win at Island Federal Arena.
Fitzmorris followed the dunk with a jumper outside the paint that was assisted by junior guard
Tanahj Pettway, scoring four consecutive points. He finished the game with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor. On the Seawolves' ensuing possession, Pettway pulled down a defensive rebound off a jump shot that was missed by Sacred Heart's junior forward Nico Galette and drove down the lane for a layup that put Stony Brook on a 6-0 run.
After Sacred Heart guard Raheem Solomon drilled a three pointer off an assist from Galette with 17:37 left to play in the contest, the Seawolves went on another 6-0 run. Graduate forward
Frankie Policelli and sophomore guard
Kaine Roberts drained back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to just two, 38-36.
Stony Brook was able to cut the Pioneer's lead down to a one-point deficit when Pettway grabbed another defensive rebound off a missed three from senior guard Joey Reilly and drove down the lane again and finished a layup and drew a foul. He made the free throw to complete the three-point play and Stony Brook was trailing, 44-43, with 13:20 left to play.
With 12:46 remaining in the game, Pettway had a huge steal defensively and ran the fast break for the Seawolves. With good ball movement, senior guard
Tyler Stephenson-Moore found junior forward
Kenan Sarvan open in the corner. Sarvan sniped a three pointer, right in front of the Seawolves' bench, and gave Stony Brook a 46-43 lead. This lead marked Stony Brook's first lead in the game since it was 4-3, just over two minutes into the first half.
The Seawolves and Pioneers battled throughout the rest of the game and with under two minutes remaining, up 65-64, Fitzmorris got the ball in the post on the low block. With the 6-foot-3 Solomon defending him, the 7-foot center spun towards the baseline and slammed home the finishing touches of the game.
Stony Brook ended the game on an 8-0 scoring run over the final 2:43 and held Sacred Heart scoreless for the final 3:20. The Seawolves improved to 3-7 overall on the season.
STATS AND NOTES
- The win marked head coach Geno Ford's 50th career win at Stony Brook.
- Stony Brook outscored the Pioneers by 16 points (47-31) in the second half.
- The Seawolves' 47 points in the second half were their most scored in any half this season.
- Stony Brook allowed Sacred Heart to score 31 points in the second half. That is tied for the least amount of points that the Seawolves have allowed in any half this season.
- Sarvan paced the Seawolves in scoring with 16 points. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range, while pulling down six rebounds. Sarvan had a monstrous second half with 11 points, on 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range and three rebounds. It was his third time leading the team in scoring this season.
- Five Seawolves scored in double figures for the third time this season. Sarvan (16), Fitzmorris (13), Stephenson-Moore (13), Policelli (12) and Pettway (10) combined for 64 of the team's 71 points. Stony Brook is now 3-0 when five scorers reach double-digits.
- Fitzmorris tallied 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 1-of-1 from beyond the arc in 24 minutes of play.
- Stephenson-Moore totaled 13 points , pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists in 40 minutes of play. It is the second time this season the guard has played a complete 40 minutes (40 minutes vs. Yale on Dec. 3).
- The Seawolves shot their highest percentage from the free-throw line in a game this season (minimum eight attempts). Stony Brook shot 86 percent from the stripe (12-of-14).
- Stony Brook set a season-high in steals with 10.
- Monday's game consisted of 12 lead changes and four ties.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook will travel to Staten Island to take on the Wagner Seahawks on Thursday, Dec. 15. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and it will be the eighth matchup all-time between the Seawolves and Wagner.
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