WASHINGTON, D.C. – The No. 10 Stony Brook men's basketball team (11-21, 6-12 CAA) made history on Saturday night, defeating No. 7 North Carolina A&T, 76-61, in the second round of the 2023 Jersey Mike's CAA Men's Basketball Championship at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The upset marked the first-ever CAA Tournament appearance and win in program history.
Graduate forward
Frankie Policelli made his presence known on the court, exploding for a game-high 30 points and 16 rebounds. The New Hartford, N.Y. native became the first player to record 30 points and 15 rebounds in the CAA Championship since Navy's David Robinson in 1986.
Senior guard
Tyler Stephenson-Moore followed behind his co-captain, raking in 14 points. Stephenson-Moore also grabbed six rebounds and added five assists. Freshman guard
Toby Onyekonwu helped lead the Seawolves' offense, dishing out a career-high tying six assists.
Stony Brook started off slow, finding itself scoreless for the first six minutes of the contest while the Aggies got off to a 14-0 lead. The squad finally found themselves on the scoreboard courtesy of a three pointer from Policelli off an assist from Stephenson-Moore with 13:44 left to play in the first.
Policelli's three sparked a 17-3 run for the Seawolves which cut the 14-0 deficit to a 17-17 tie. The squad battled for the remainder of the first half and found themselves trailing 31-28 going into halftime.
Stony Brook came out of the half time break with vengeance. Within the first 15 seconds of the half, Policelli knocked down a three off a helper from junior forward
Kenan Sarvan to knot game up. 30 seconds later, junior guard
Tanahj Pettway drove down the court and converted a layup to secure the Seawolves' first lead of the contest, 33-31.
Once the squad took a hold of the lead, they never looked back. Stony Brook went on to outscore North Carolina A&T 48-30 in the second half on 16-of-26 (61.54 percent) shooting from the field, 7-of-11 (63.64 percent) from beyond the arc, and 9-of-10 (90 percent) from the line. The second half scoring surge ultimately secured the 76-61 victory for the Seawolves.
STATS AND NOTES
- Policelli registered his 13th double-double of the season, totaling 30 points and 16 rebounds. The graduate's 13 double-doubles ranks tied for third-most in program history (Leon Brisport recorded 13 during the 2000-01 season).
- Policelli also became the first player to record 30 points and 15 rebounds in the CAA Championship since Navy's David Robinson in 1986.
- Stephenson-Moore raked in 14 points, grabbed six rebounds, and added five assists. The senior has totaled double figures in 24 games this season.
- Onyekonwu dished out a career-high tying six assists and added seven points and seven rebounds.
- Pettway recorded nine points on 3-of-5 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
- Sarvan knocked down eight points and added a career-high tying four assists in 18 minutes of play.
- Stony Brook recorded 17 points off the bench while North Carolina A&T only recorded 12 points.
- The Seawolves' defense held the Aggies to just 9-of-31 field goals and 2-of-14 from three-point range in the second half.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
UP NEXT
Stony Brook will go head-to-head with Charleston in the Quarterfinals tomorrow, March 5, at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on FloHoops.
