WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Stony Brook University men's basketball team defeated No. 2 Drexel, 91-88, in double overtime on Sunday evening in the quarterfinal round of the CAA Tournament at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
Aaron Clarke (27 points) and Chris Maidoh (25 points) led the charge for the Seawolves, who overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to outlast the second-seeded Dragons in double overtime.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In a back-and-forth first five minutes of action, Stony Brook led just once for just 29 seconds before Drexel regained control for the remainder of the first half.
- The Dragons used a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead with less than five minutes to play in the opening half. Drexel provided an answer for every Stony Brook basket down the stretch, taking a 36-28 lead into the halftime break.
- Drexel's lead ballooned to 13 points following an 8-0 run bookended by an Okros triple at the 14:49 mark of the second half.
- After the Seawolves whittled it back down to a single digits, Justin Moore took advantage of a Stony Brook turnover and flushed home a fastbreak dunk to push Drexel's lead back to 12 points with 7:32 remaining in regulation.Â
- Maidoh came up clutch for the Seawolves down the stretch, scoring 10 of Stony Brook's final 16 points in regulation to erase a 13-point deficit and send things to overtime. The graduate transfer and Maryland native scored Stony Brook's final six points, including a dunk over the three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Amari Williams, to tie the game with 13 seconds left.
- Maidoh's second act came in the first overtime, scoring six of the Seawolves' nine points in the first extra period.
- Clarke connected on the biggest shot to that point however, sinking a jumper with nine seconds left to send the game to a second overtime. He also came up with a steal on the other end and his ensuing three-quarter court heave came up inches short, grazing the front of the rim in front of the Seawolves' bench.
- Stony Brook grabbed its first lead since the 17:06 mark of the first half when Clarke sank a jumper to put the Seawolves ahead 82-80 at the start of the second overtime.
- Drexel evened the contest at 86-86 with 90 seconds to play, but the Seawolves went back in front after Dean Noll tracked down an offensive rebound and found Maidoh inside for the go-ahead score with 1:02 remaining.
- After the Dragons tied it at 88-88, Clarke put home a bank shot through contact and converted on his free throw to put Stony Brook ahead, 91-88, with 18 seconds to play. Drexel's last-second attempt to tie it missed everything, completing Stony Brook's improbable comeback.
STATS AND NOTES
- Clarke and Maidoh both posted career highs in points. Maidoh scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half and overtime periods and Clarkes' jumper plus the foul proved to be the game-winning shot.
- Keenan Fitzmorris chipped in 17 points, finishing an efficient 7-for-11 from the floor. His corner three-pointer late in the second half helped kickstart Stony Brook erasing a 12-point deficit over the final seven-plus minutes.
- Tyler Stephenson-Moore finished with 12 points, adding seven rebounds.
- Stony Brook led for 3:18 in the contest, while Drexel held an advantage in the scoring column for more than 40 minutes. The Seawolves led for just 29 seconds in regulation.
- As a team, Stony Brook shot 50 percent from the field (37-74). Stony Brook's 74 field goal attempts matched its second-most in a single game this season.
- Tonight's contest was the first double overtime game in the CAA Championship since the 2015 Semifinals when William & Mary topped Hofstra, 92-91.
- It was also Stony Brook's first double overtime contest since January 15, 2011, when the Seawolves topped New Hampshire, 64-60.
- The Seawolves advance to the CAA Semifinals for the first time in program history and are the lowest-seeded team to appear in the semifinal round since Elon advanced as the No. 8 seed in the 2021 tournament.Â
- Stony Brook is one of three schools to advance to the CAA Semifinals as a No. 7 seed or lower since 2003. Elon accomplished it twice (No. 8 in 2021, No. 7 in 2020) and UNCW appeared as a No. 7 seed in 2004.
- Stony Brook improved to 2-1 all-time against Drexel, avenging a regular season loss to the Dragons.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
UP NEXT
Stony Brook advances to the CAA Semifinals for the first time in program history and will face No. 3 Hofstra on Monday, March 11 at 8:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network from the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
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