NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Stony Brook University men's basketball team fell to Yale, 79-71, on Wednesday evening at John J. Lee Amphitheater. Four Seawolves registered double-digit points, led by 16 points apiece from
Dean Noll and
Tyler Stephenson-Moore, in a back-and-forth contest that featured eight lead changes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Noll opened up the scoring for Stony Brook, connecting on his first two attempts from the field, both of which were three pointers on back-to-back possessions. Baskets from Aaron Clarke and Keenan Fitzmorris triggered two of the contests' seven ties and another bucket by Noll would give the Seawolves their first lead of the evening with 14 minutes to play.
After surrendering the lead, Noll put Stony Brook back in front with a pair of free throws out of the under-12 media timeout at John J. Lee Amphitheater. Stephenson-Moore checked in for the Seawolves and was immediately involved, scoring five quick points. A triple from Clarke followed and Stony Brook's lead was 27-23 with seven minutes to play in the half.
The lead continued to change hands down the stretch; Yale built a five-point advantage before a triple from Noll and a free throw by Andre Snoddy made it a one-point contest entering the final two minutes of the half. The Bulldogs used a 7-2 run over the final two minutes of the first half to take a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
Stony Brook stayed within two possessions of Yale for the opening six minutes of the second half before the Bulldogs scored nine of the next 12 points to build a nine-point lead, largest of the evening on either side, with 12 minutes to play. The Seawolves pulled within six points once more, but Yale continued to answer back with points of its own and maintained a lead of seven points or more until Jared Frey's pull-up jumper made it a six-point game again with less than six minutes to play.
The Seawolves couldn't whittle the deficit any further however, ultimately being outlasted by Yale's relentlessness offensively. The Bulldogs continued to respond with points down the stretch and hold off Stony Brook's comeback attempt.
STATS AND NOTES
- Noll's 16-point effort was a season high and it is the third time this season that he has scored in double figures.
- Stephenson-Moore returned from a two-game absence, scoring a season-high 16 points. He has notched double-digit points in all four games this year and his scoring output has increased in each contest (10, 11, 14, 16).
- Fitzmorris put together an efficient game offensively, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 20 minutes of action. He was perfect from the charity stripe (2-2) and beyond the arc (1-1), adding a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks.
- Clarke chipped in with 10 points, contributing three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 33 minutes played.
- Yale doubled up Stony Brook on the offensive glass, 18-9, and won the overall rebounding battle, 42-34.
- The Bulldogs scored 32 points in the paint, 22 second-chance points forced Stony Brook into a season-worst 15 turnovers and converted those miscues into 22 points.
- The Seawolves moved to 1-4 all-time against the Bulldogs, with the program's only win coming in New Haven back during the 2021-22 season.
- Stony Brook is now 27-23 all-time against Ivy League foes. The Seawolves' most recent win over an Ivy League team was an 85-81 on the road at Yale on November 28, 2021. The Seawolves face Brown to close out the calendar year on December 29 at Island Federal Arena.
- The previous four meetings between Stony Brook and Yale have been decided by nine or less points.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"We did a ton of good things; we moved the ball better, shot the ball better and had better balance. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a defensive rebound and the game was lost with defensive rebounding," head coach Geno Ford noted postgame. "Give them credit, it's a good team that's going to win a lot of games. It's a quick turnaround and we need to find a way to beat Wagner on Saturday."
UP NEXT
Stony Brook returns home to host Wagner on Saturday, December 2. The Seawolves and Seahawks tip-off at 3:30 p.m. at Island Federal Arena following the conclusion of the women's basketball game. It also marks the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Seawolves to open the month of December.Â
For an inside look at the Seawolves men's basketball program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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