POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Despite a game-high 17 points from Diaka Berete, Stony Brook fell just short on the road at Marist, 55-51, on Wednesday evening. The Seawolves nearly erased an eight-point deficit with 1:19 to play, but turned the ball over on an inbounds play with six seconds remaining, ultimately falling to the Red Foxes.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The two sides traded baskets over the opening three-plus minutes of action before Marist settled in and built a nine-point lead in the first frame. The Red Foxes used a quick 6-0 spurt to go in front 10-4. Stony Brook managed just two field goals over the final six-plus minutes of the first quarter, falling behind 15-8 out of the gate.

Stony Brook then started off the second quarter by going on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a three from Berete, to take a 16-15 lead. The two sides began to go back and forth down the stretch as the contest approached halftime, with Marist taking a 26-25 lead heading into the intermission.

Stony Brook rallied to tie the contest 34-34, then used a 5-0 run that was punctuated by a basket from Johanna Potter, to grab a 39-34 lead with 1:51 to go in the third. The Red Foxes cut into their deficit slightly, but the Seawolves still entered the fourth quarter with a 39-36 edge. Stony Brook scored eight of its 14 points in the quarter inside the paint.

Both sides started cold in the final frame. Marist opened the scoring at the 7:17 mark, pulling within one point of Stony Brook before a Melissa Mwanza layup extended the lead back to three points. Back-to-back Marist trifectas gave the Red Foxes the lead back for 23 seconds before Caitlin Frost answered with a triple of her own to even things at 44-all as the game entered the final five minutes.

Marist proceeded to rattle off eight straight points over a three-minute span to take a 52-44 lead. Stony Brook went on a 6-0 run, finished off by another Frost three, shrinking the deficit to 52-50 with 59 seconds to go in the contest. Stony Brook had possession with the shot clock turned off, but turned the ball over on the ensuing inbound pass in front of its own bench.

Marist regained possession and iced the contest at the line, connecting on both free throws to build a four-point advantage with three seconds left. All out of timeouts, Stony Brook raced up the court and misfired as the buzzer sounded.

STATS AND NOTES

• Berete scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the first half. She shot 6-of-17 from the floor overall, matching a season-best mark with four three-pointers made.
• Overall, Berate stuffed the stat sheet. She added seven rebounds, three assists, four steals and a blocked shot. The four takeaways were a new career-best mark and the blocked shot was the sixth of her career and first as a Seawolf.
• Janay Brantley played a team-high 34 minutes before fouling out. She collected 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting, adding three rebounds, four assists and a steal.
• Frost chipped in with nine points. Mwanza nearly notched a double-double, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds.
• Stony Brook outrebounded Marist 39-34. The Seawolves also collected 16 offensive rebounds and scored 15 second chance points.
• The Seawolves forced Marist into 16 turnovers, converting those miscues into 20 points on the other end of the floor.