STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook men's basketball team (9-17, 5-8 CAA) secured a 69-59 come from behind victory over North Carolina A&T (12-15, 7-7 CAA) on Saturday afternoon in front of the faithful at Island Federal Arena.
Stony Brook's offense was paced by four student-athletes who tallied double figures for the team. Leading the way for the Seawolves were graduate center
Keenan Fitzmorris and senior guard
Tyler Stephenson-Moore scoring 14 points each. Graduate forward
Frankie Policelli scored 12 points and hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds. He tallied his team-leading tenth double-double of the season. Junior
Tanahj Pettway contributed 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in the victory for Stony Brook.
After falling behind, 23-10, with just over nine minutes left in the first half, the Seawolves stormed back on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to cut the deficit to just two points. The Stony Brook big men led the charge for the team, as Fitzmorris and freshman
Leon Nahar combined for eight of the 13 points.
Following an Aggie three pointer that gave North Carolina A&T a five point lead with 5:15 left in the half, the Seawolves went on an 11-3 run to end the half and give the squad a 34-31 lead. Pettway provided the energy for the squad after a block on the defensive end that led to a Fitzmorris dunk which tied the contest at 28-28 with 2:52 left. Freshman guard
Toby Onyekonwu and sophomore guard
Kaine Roberts drilled back-to-back three pointers, giving Stony Brook the three point lead heading into the break.
The Aggies brought the pressure to the Seawolves out of the half, as the team from North Carolina scored the first four points of the half. But, Fitzmorris, Stephenson-Moore and Policelli settled the storm by leading the squad on a 12-0 run and giving them their biggest lead at 46-35. Fitzmorris made back-to-back shots in the paint, Stephenson-Moore captured two free-throws, and Policelli knocked down back-to-back shots from beyond the arc.
Stony Brook was held quiet from the floor over the next five minutes but Roberts broke the scoring drought with a long three-point shot to give the squad a 57-48 lead with 5:09 remaining in the game. Just over three minutes later, Pettway sealed the victory for the squad after dropping back-to-back three pointers to extend Stony Brook's lead to their largest of the game at 14 points and ultimately the 69-59 victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Fitzmorris tied a team-high with 14 points and tied a career-best with nine rebounds. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and also dished out two assists.
- Stephenson Moore scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half. It was the seventh time this season that the senior scored double-digits in the first half and leads the Seawolves with 14.8 points per game.
- Policelli scored 12 points and hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds. He tallied his team-leading tenth double-double of the season. Policelli is now fifth all-time in double-doubles in a single season in program history, breaking Rayshaun McGrew mark.
- Pettway poured in 12 points in his season-high 37 minutes on the court this afternoon. The junior also tallied six rebounds, two assists, and a block in the victory.
- Freshman Leon Nahar dropped four points, going 2-of-2 from the field, and grabbed a career-best five rebounds.
- Freshman Toby Onyekonwu scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in his 16 minutes off the bench.
- Freshman Rocco Muratori recorded his first career start.
- The bench for Stony Brook (Fitzmorris, Onyekonwu, and Nahar) outscored North Carolina A&T, 25-13.
- The Seawolves were dominant on the glass as they won the battle of the boards, 49-34. The 49 rebounds by Stony Brook marked a new season-best.
- Stony Brook is now 1-1 all-time against North Carolina A&T, as they were defeated, 61-59, on January 14, 2023.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook will travel to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens, on Monday, Feb. 13. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on FloHoops.
