WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Stony Brook University men's basketball team topped Army, 78-74, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. Aaron Clarke returned to the lineup, pacing a group of four double-digit scorers with 21 points to lead the Seawolves past the Black Knights.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Seawolves started fast on both ends of the floor, racing out to a 12-1 lead. Army was held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes to open the contest and managed just two points on a pair of trips to the charity stripe before Josh Scovens' basket at the 12:09 mark of the first half.

Stony Brook extended its lead to 14 points, 23-9, more than halfway through the first half of action, but the Black Knights offense came to life in the final nine minutes of the half. Army ripped off 17 unanswered points in less than five minutes to turn a 14-point deficit into a three-point lead. When the dust settled after the first half, the contest was tied at 36-36 heading into the intermission. The Black Knights ultimately ended the half on a 27-13 run, shooting 10-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range over the final nine-plus minutes of the opening stanza.

In a back-and-forth second half, Stony Brook led by seven points with 3:29 to play before another surge from Army's offense that saw the Seawolves squander another lead. The Black Knights used a 9-0 run to grab a 61-59 lead with less than a minute to play, but a pair of late free throws from Clarke and a defensive stand sent the contest into overtime, despite Stony Brook being held without a field goal for the final seven-plus minutes of regulation.

Tyler Stephenson-Moore did not register a field goal made in regulation, notching his only three points at the charity stripe over a 10-second span in the final four minutes of the second half. He made the most of the extra period however, connecting on a pair of trifectas on the opening two possessions and added another basket on Stony Brook's fourth possession of overtime, putting his squad on top, 69-66. The Seawolves never trailed in overtime, converting on 7-of-8 from the free throw line to earn its first road victory of the season.

STATS AND NOTES

• Clarke returned to action for the first time since Nov. 29 at Yale, pacing the offense with 21 points on 50% (5-10) shooting. It was Clarke's second 20-point performance of the season and his fourth double-digit scoring effort of the year.
• Despite seeing his streak of 21 consecutive free throws snapped, Keenan Fitzmorris finished with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He has scored in double figures in four straight games and six of the last seven contests.
• Stephenson-Moore and Chris Maidoh were Stony Brook's other two double-digit scorers. TSM has scored at least 10 points in all nine of his appearances this season, while Maidoh has now posted back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts.
• As a team, the Seawolves shot 50% (9-18) from three-point range and converted on 77% (17-22) of its free throws.
• Defensively, Stony Brook registered a season-high 13 steals. The Seawolves forced the Black Knights into 20 turnovers, the most by an opponent this season, converting those miscues into 15 points. The 13 steals were Stony Brook's most since amassing 15 on Jan. 5, 2020 against Maine.
• Army connected on 15 of its 27 tries from beyond the arc, a season-high for a Stony Brook opponent. It marked the most three-pointers by an opponent since Bryant made 17 in last season's meeting (Dec. 9, 2022).
• Today's victory was Stony Brook's fourth consecutive and its first on the road. The Seawolves' four-game winning streak is their longest since winning four in a row from Dec. 8-18 during the 2021-22 season.
• The Seawolves had scored 80 or more points in three straight games, falling two points shy of the mark in today's victory. It was the program's longest such streak since registering 80 points or more in four consecutive games from Feb. 9-19 during the 2021-22 campaign.
• Stony Brook improved to 7-2 all-time against Army and 2-2 at West Point. The Seawolves earned their fifth consecutive victory over the Black Knights and second straight at Christl Arena.