BOSTON, Mass. - The Stony Brook University men's basketball team topped Northeastern, 62-53, on Thursday evening at Matthews Arena. The Seawolves shot better than 50 percent in the second half, and limited the Huskies to a sub 35-percent mark in both halves, to pull out a road victory in the CAA opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start offensively for both sides; Northeastern grabbed an early nine-point advantage, though the two sides combined for just 21 points across the opening nine minutes of action. Stony Brook stepped up defensively, limiting the opposition to just two points over the next five minutes to make it a one-possession game.
Masai Troutman was responsible for three of the next four baskets, pushing the Huskies' lead back to seven points as the clock waned in the first half. Head coach Geno Ford used his second timeout of the half with just under two-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening half. His squad responded, holding Northeastern without a field goal and going on a 10-2 run over the final two-plus minutes to close the half with a one-point lead.
The Seawolves run continued into the second half, with an early and emphatic jam by Keenan Fitzmorris sparking the offense.
All in all, the run that began at the 2:25 mark of the first half spanned more than 14 minutes and saw the Seawolves turn a seven-point deficit into a 14-point advantage. Stony Brook led by double-digits for a majority of the final 10 minutes of action, and no less than eight points over the final 11 minutes of play in Boston to secure a road victory in the first game of league play.
STATS AND NOTES
- With tonight's victory, Stony Brook has now won six of its last seven contests dating back to Dec. 6. It also marks the second straight season that the Seawolves opened CAA play with a road win over the Huskies.
- As a team, the Seawolves shot 53.8% (14-26) in the second half, outscoring the Huskies 38-30 in the period.
- Ford burned his second timeout with 2:25 remaining in the first half and his team trailing by seven. His unit responded by going on a 34-16 run that spanned 14 minutes. The Seawolves turned a seven-point deficit into the largest lead of the night for either side, 14 points, with less than nine minutes to play.
- Stephenson-Moore scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half. He was 7-10 from the floor in the second stanza after connecting on just one-of-four attempts in the first half. He is now up to 993 points for his career, looking to become the 28th athlete in Stony Brook men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points.
- Aaron Clarke and Fitzmorris also finished in double figures, contributing 14 and 13 points, respectively. The trio of Clarke, Fitzmorris and Stephenson-Moore combined to score 48 of Stony Brook's 62 points (77% of the team's scoring output) in the win.
- Andre Snoddy put together another gritty performance, scoring five points and securing a game-high 10 rebounds. Individually, Snoddy is responsible for two of the Seawolves' four double-digit rebounding efforts this season.
- Thursday night marked the 16th overall meeting between Stony Brook and Northeastern and the third as part of league play. The Seawolves have now won five of the last six meetings and three of the last four in Boston, dating back to 2011-12.
- The victory was Stony Brook's first on January 4 since becoming a Division I program in 1999. The Seawolves were previously 0-3 on January 4, dropping contests to Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2000), Maine (2004) and Vermont (2011).
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Northeastern had won 10 straight CAA openers prior to last season when we won up here, so we had to try and beat them a second straight year. We knew it would be a tough game. They are extremely physical and they did a good job of defending us, especially in the first half," head coach Geno Ford noted postgame. "It's a great start to the conference season. We will be home at 3 a.m. and have to be ready to tip in 36 hours. I'm anxious to see our level of toughness with the situation we find ourselves in."
AROUND THE CAA
- UNCW fell to Drexel, 78-63.
- Charleston defeated Hofstra, 73-61, on Long Island.
- Elon was downed by William & Mary, 77-70.
- Campbell lost to N.C. A&T, 76-62.
- Hampton was outlsated by Delaware, 80-53.
- Towson was topped by Monmouth, 51-43.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook hosts the reigning league champions, Charleston, on Saturday, January 6 in the CAA home opener. Tip-off between the Seawolves and Cougars is scheduled for 6:31 p.m. at Island Federal Arena with the contest streaming live on SNY and FloHoops.
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