STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Graduate forward
Frankie Policelli had a career day for the Stony Brook men's basketball team, helping the Seawolves come-from-behind to defeat the Army Black Knights, 66-59, on Sunday afternoon at Island Federal Arena.
With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, Policelli began to heat up. First, the New Hartford, New York, native drove down the lane and made a layup to bring the Seawolves within two points of Army.
After getting a stop defensively, the Seawolves came back down the floor on their next possession. Stony Brook went right back to Policelli in the post and he drained a hookshot from inside the paint to tie the game at 50-50.
Army failed to score on its next two possessions and once again Policelli got the ball on the offensive end and swished a turnaround jumper to give Stony Brook its first lead of the game, at 52-50, with 4:59 remaining.
Policelli then drained two free-throws on the next offensive possession, after another defensive stop. He scored eight-straight points and extended the Seawolves' lead to 54-50 with 4:24 remaining.
Policelli finished the game with 22 points, which tied his career-high, and he hauled in a career-high 19 rebounds. It was his second-straight game with a double-double and his third in the past four contests. It marked his fifth double-double of the season. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor, 2-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The Seawolves' defense helped the squad come-from-behind and hold on to win. Army went on several scoring droughts of at least two minutes in the second half, which opened the door up for Stony Brook.
Senior guard
Tyler Stephenson-Moore was also a huge factor in closing out the game with a win. He extended the team's run to 11-0 with two free-throws with 3:50 to go. Stephenson-Moore went on to score eight-straight points for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves finished the game with five-straight made shots from the floor and behind crucial free-throw shooting and stifling defense down the stretch, they were able to pull out the win and improve to 4-8 on the season and 4-1 at home.
STATS AND NOTES
- Policelli's 19 rebounds were the most in a game by a Seawolf since Hall of Famer Jameel Warney pulled down 23 boards against UMBC in the 2016 America East Championship game on March 2, 2016. Policelli's 19 boards were the most in a regular season game since Tommy Brenton pulled down 20 against Maine on February 24, 2013.
- Graduate center Keenan Fitzmorris tied his career-high with 14 points. It was the third time this season he has finished with 14 points. He also hauled in a career-high nine boards and tied his career-high with three blocks. It was his second-straight game with three blocks.
- Stephenson-Moore finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He scored all 10 of his points in the second half. He has now scored in double figures in seven consecutive games.
- Stephenson-Moore played all 40 minutes against Army. It was the third time this season that the guard has played a complete 40 minutes.
- Freshman point guard Toby Onyekonwu returned to the court on Sunday. The guard scored five points on 2-of-3 from the floor in nine minutes of play.
- Stony Brook shot 45 percent from the field (22-of-49). The Seawolves got to the free-throw line 29 times and made 19 attempts. Stony Brook has now gotten to the free-throw line a combined 59 times in the past two games.
- The Seawolves out-rebounded the Black Knights, 40-34.
- Sunday's game was Stony Brook's first afternoon game of the 2022-23 season.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook will travel to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers on Thursday, Dec. 22. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. It will be the first matchup all-time between the Seawolves and West Virginia.
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