WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 13th seeded Stony Brook men's basketball team erased a 16-point, second-half deficit but could not overcome No. 12 Delaware in the first round of the 2025 CAA Championship.
CJ Luster II scored a game-high 31 points, while
Collin O'Connor contributed 18 points and four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Delaware started strong, seeing four scorers contribute to the construction of an early 16-11 lead.
- A basket inside by Andre Snoddy, followed by a trifecta from Leon Nahar evened the contest at 16-all.
- Stony Brook could not grab hold of the lead however. The Blue Hens continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc, opening up a double-digit lead with less than five minutes to play in the first half.
- The Seawolves' deficit grew as large as 16 points, a disadvantage they carried into the intermission.
- Stony Brook came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half, making its first seven shots of the second half to trim the deficit to eight points, 59-51, with more than 15 minutes to play.
- The Seawolves began outworking the Blue Hens, imposing their will inside, drawing fouls and creating second-chance opportunities. A free throw by Luster and a basket inside by O'Connor made it a one-possession game, 65-62, a little more than halfway through the second stanza.
- Stony Brook continued to stay within a possession of Delaware down the stretch, trailing 69-68 coming out of the final media timeout with 3:51 to play.
- Snoddy free throws made it all even for the first time since the 11:40 mark of the first half.
- Five free throws by the Blue Hens made it 75-70, but Luster brought it back to a one-possession game again as the clock ticked under a minute to play.
- Trailing 79-76 with 19 seconds left, Luster fouled John Camden, who sank one of two free throws. Stony Brook's final possession came up empty, sealing the Seawolves fate despite a valiant come-from-behind effort.
STATS AND NOTES
- Luster's 31 points were the most by a Seawolf in a conference tournament game since Jameel Warney's program-record 43 points in Stony Brook's America East Championship Game victory over Vermont on March 12, 2016.
- Luster's 31 points equaled a season-best, matching his scoring output in Stony Brook's win over North Carolina A&T on January 25. It was his third 30-point performance of the season, his 14th time scoring more than 20 points and his 24th double-digit point game of the season.
- Luster connected on 102 three pointers during the season, becoming the second player in program history to make at least 100 threes. He finished two three-point makes shy of Makale Foreman's program record of 104 three pointers made in a single season, set in 2019-20.
- O'Connor finished with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding four assists.
- Luster, O'Connor and Snoddy played all 40 minutes in the contest.
- Ben Wight contributed nine points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, nearly missing out on his first double-double of the season.
- Snoddy tallied nine points and pulled down six rebounds, adding an assist.
- Sabry Philip, after missing the last two games of the regular season, played 22 minutes and finished with a team-best +9 plus-minus.
- Delaware's eight first-half three pointers helped them build a 16-point lead at the break, which Stony Brook erased during a strong second half. The Seawolves limited the Blue Hens to an 0-7 mark from beyond the arc in the second half.
- Despite the second-half struggles from three-point range, Delaware shot 56 percent from the field in the contest. Stony Brook shot 51 percent from the floor and finished with a 45 percent mark from beyond the arc.
- The Seawolves moved to 2-5 all-time against Delaware. Friday marked the first neutral-site meeting between the two programs.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
For an inside look at the Seawolves men's basketball program, be sure to follow them on Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram.
