Dec. 4, 2000
STONY BROOK MEN'S BASKETBALL REPORT
(3-2, 2-0 this week)
Balliro Leads SeawolvesTo Second Straight Victory, 79-66
Stony Brook, N.Y. -- Senior Chris Balliro (Swampscott, Mass.) led Stony Brook in scoring for the third straight time and registered his second straight double double as the Seawolves (3-2) dominated Army (2-3), 79-66, Saturday night. After falling behind 5-2 early, Stony Brook scored four straight to pull ahead 6-5. Kenny Doleac's lay-up gave Army a 9-8 advantage at the 13:20 mark, the last time the Seawolves would trail. After Jonte Harrell's jumper tied the score at 15-15, the Seawolves responded with a 7-0 run to take control. D.J. Munir (Providence, R.I.) and Jairus McCollum (Mt. Holly, N.J.) each notched two free throws and Balliro connected from three-point range to give Stony Brook the 22-15 edge. Stony Brook outscored the Black Knights 21-9 over the final 9:38 of the first half for a 36-24 halftime lead. Balliro had 10 first-half points to lead the Seawolves, while Leon Brisport (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with seven, despite playing only eight minutes due to foul trouble. Army pulled within seven on Charles Woodruff's jumper, closing the gap to 40-33 six minutes into the second half. But Josh Little (Rocky Hill, Conn.) ignited a 10-4 Stony Brook run with a jumper, and the Seawolves sank 6-of-6 free throws during the stretch to pull ahead 50-38. Stony Brook held a 52-42 lead with 8:45 remaining in the second half, but Army scored six straight points in only 40 seconds to close the gap to 52-48. That would be the closest the Black Knights would get as Stony Brook held a double-digit lead for the final three minutes, pulling ahead by as many as 19 on McCollum's free throw with 28 seconds left. Two Army three-pointers cut into the lead, but Stony Brook held on for the 79-66 victory, the Seawolves' second straight win. Stony Brook had four players in double figures, led by Balliro's 16 points and 10 boards. McCollum contributed 15 while Mike Konopka (Toms River, N.J.) had 12. Munir chipped in with 10. Charles Woodruff was the only Black Knight to register double figures with 13.
Men's Basketball Outlasts New Hampshire, 67-60
Durham, N.H. -- The Stony Brook men's basketball team used a 10-0 run in the second half to put away New Hampshire, 67-60, on Wednesday night. The win, the Seawolves' first over an American East opponent, improves Stony Brook's record to 2-2 on the season. Both teams suffered from poor shooting in the first half, as Stony Brook hit only 31 percent, 9-of-29, from the field and failed to hit from three-point range, going 0-of-9. However, the Seawolves held New Hampshire to just 28 percent shooting and the teams were tied at 27 at the half. D.J. Munir led the Seawolves with 10 first-half points. With the score tied again at 29 in the second stanza, Stony Brook went on a 10-4 run to take a six-point lead. Munir's lay-up with 15:39 remaining gave the Seawolves a 39-33 advantage. However, New Hampshire responded with a run of its own, outscoring USB 11-5 to knot the game at 44-44. New Hampshire took a short-lived lead at 47-45 with nine minutes left in the game, but then the Seawolves took control with a 10-0 run. Jairus McCollum's dunk spurred the run, followed by Leon Brisport's two free throws and block on the defensive end. Chris Balliro sank two free throws and two jumpers and McCollum added a lay-up as the Seawolves took a 59-49 lead. New Hampshire got as close as 64-60 with 1:37 left on the clock, but Josh Little went 2-of-2 from the stripe and Joakim Eriksson (Ostersund, Sweden) added another for the final 67-60 score. The Seawolves had five players in double figures, led by Brisport's and Balliro's double-doubles. Brisport had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, while Balliro had 13 points and 10 rebounds. McCollum contributed 12 points and seven rebounds, while Munir and Little also chipped in with 12 apiece. The Wildcats were led by Jeff Senulis' 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Austin Ganley had 18 points.
STONY BROOK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REPORT
(5-1, 3-0 this week)
Seawolves Hold Off Cajuns for HIE Crown
Stony Brook, N.Y. -- The Ragin Cajuns would not go away. Louisiana-Lafayette erased three double-digit deficits in the second half and got as close as one point but could not break the barrier. In the end, a Sherry Jordan (Stone Mountain, Ga.) jumper and clutch free throw shooting by the Seawolves were the difference. Stony Brook (5-1) walked away champions of the Holiday Inn Express Tournament title with a 62-58 victory over the Ragin Cajuns (4-2) in the championship game Saturday evening at the USB Sports Complex. It is the best start for the women's basketball program since the 1993-94 team started the year 6-1. Jordan earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors by torching the nets for 27 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Her most important basket came with Stony Brook holding onto a 56-55 lead with 1:17 to go. Jordan hit a 15-foot jumper from the left wing to give the Seawolves a three-point edge. Theresa LoParrino (Bronx, N.Y.) iced the game with four free throws in the final :32. All 14 of LoParrino's point on the night came from the charity stripe where she was perfect (14-14). The Seawolves led 22-13 at the half as both teams shot poorly from the field. ULL hit just three of its first 28 field goals (.107) and committed 13 turnovers. Stony Brook wasn't much better, going 8-of-33 (.242) from the field. Jordan's jumper with 19:04 left gave the Seawolves a 24-14 lead and its first double-digit advantage. A 7-0 Ragin Cajun run ensued as Dekita Williams cut the lead to 24-21. Stony Brook answered over the next 5:30 with a 16-7 run that gave it the biggest advantage of the night at 40-28 with 10:43 remaining. Breanna Evans buried a three-pointer and Kim Chance's layup with 7:00 left closed a 17-8 run and the Cajuns were within 48-45. Again the Seawolves countered with the game's next seven points to take a 55-45 lead with 5:16 left. Evans' three-pointer and pair of free throws coupled with Billie Popovska's three off glass at the top of the key once again gave the Cajuns life, down 55-53 with 3:10 remaining. Evans buried a 12-footer that closed the gap to 56-55 before Jordan and LoParrino closed things out for the Seawolves. Jordan and LoParrino were selected to the All-Tournament team. Popovska and Evans represented Louisiana-Lafayette on the six-member team. Popovska scored 13 points and had seven rebounds while Evans had 15 points. Jill George (Manchester, N.H.) led all rebounders with 10 on the night.
LoParrino's 34 Leads Seawolves Over NC A&T, 83-57
Stony Brook, N.Y. -- Freshman Theresa LoParrino scored 34 points in leading Stony Brook (4-1) to an 83-57 victory over North Carolina A&T (0-3) in the Holiday Inn Express Tournament Friday night at the USB Sports Complex. It is the most points the Seawolves have scored since 1995 when the Division III Patriots scored 98 points aginst John Jay. LoParrino's point total was the fourth highest in the history of the program and the most since Julie Szabo scored 35 against Marshall last season. With Stony Brook clinging to a 16-14 advantage at the 10:48 mark of the first half, the Seawolves went on a 22-2 run over the next 8:19 to take a 38-16 lead. The bench scored 20 points in the first half, bolstered by LoParrino's 14 points. The freshman buried a pair of three-pointers. Jill George had 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes, helping the Seawolves to a 22-17 advantage in that department. Erika Shipley's (Fort Wayne, Ind.) jumper capped the run and gave the Seawolves their largest advantage of the half at 38-16. Her three-pointer at the buzzer put the lead back to 20 at 42-22. The Seawolves built the lead to 25 points on LoParrino's jumper with 5:18 remaining at 72-47 and took its biggest lead at the final buzzer on Danielle DeGiorgio's (Shirley, N.Y.) jumper. North Carolina never got closer than 16 points in the second half. The Aggies committed 35 turnovers on the night and Stony Brook capitalized on them, scoring 31 points.
Sherry Jordan and Erika Shipley joined LoParrino in double figures. Jordan had 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals and Shipley scored 11 points and added three steals. Jill George led all rebounders with 11 and collected four block shots. Her outstanding defense kept the Aggies' top player - Malveata Johnson - in check with six points. Tiffany Norman and Nakesha Walton each had 11 points. Louisiana-Lafayette (4-1) got 12 points from Charlotte Green and 13 rebounds from Erin Dease and cruised to a 72-52 win over South Carolina State (2-1) Friday night at the USB Sports Complex in the opening round of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational.
Jordan Leads Stony Brook in Season Opener Over Delaware State, 50-37
Stony Brook, N.Y. -- Stony Brook head coach Trish Roberts dubbed her incoming class of freshmen the 'significant seven' in the preseason. As of Tuesday night, they have proved they are worthy of it. Sherry Jordan had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Theresa LoParrino had 17 to lead Stony Brook to a 59-53 win over Army at the USB Sports Complex. LoParrino's three-pointer opened a 7-3 run and gave Stony Brook its largest lead of the night at 55-47 with 2:40 remaining. Megan Dempsey and Halaevalu Halu answered with back-to-back scores to draw the Black Knights within 55-51 with 1:31 left. Halaevalu missed the back end of a three-point play that would've drawn Army within three. LoParrino sealed the win with four straight free throws in the last :24. It was the first loss of the season for Army while Stony Brook took a 2-1 edge in the series. Both teams stayed within three points of each other in the first half until LoParrino's jumper gave the Pack a 19-14 edge with 8:53 left. Army got within one point twice more - the first on Therese Kelley's free throw - one of a team-high 19 points on the night for the senior. Her jumper with 3:13 remaining in the half closed the gap to 23-22. However, Stony Brook answered. A jumper and a free throw by Jordan and a leaner in the lane by Kelli Cofield (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were the meat of a 5-0 run to end the half with Stony Brook leading, 28-22. Cofield was the third Stony Brook player in double figures with 11 points and she also had five rebounds.
STONY BROOK SWIMMING REPORT
(W: 2-3, 0-0 this week, M: 0-4, 0-0 this week)
Stony Brook Swimming falls in Delaware Invite
Newark, Del. -- The University of Delaware women and the Lehigh University men dominated the action at the University of Delaware Swimming and Diving Invitational Saturday. The Delaware women, led by freshman Meghan Petry and junior Kathryn Fryer who each won six first place finishes, earned 1,312 points to outdistance Lehigh (1,257) and Stony Brook in the three-team meet. In the men's section, Lehigh won all but three races and earned 1,379 points, downing host Delaware (994) and Stony Brook (555). Kristi Schubert (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Erin Byrnes (Great Neck, N.Y.) paced the Stony Brook women, as Schubert placed second in the 1-meter diving event and Byrnes was second in the 3-meter diving event. On the men's side, Igor Voloshin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) won the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.78.
Stony Brook Athlete Of the Week
Chris Balliro * Men's Basketball
Senior * Swampscott, Mass.
Balliro came off the bench against New Hampshire and Army to lead the Seawolves in scoring both nights. The senior recorded double-doubles over both teams, with 13 points and 10 rebounds against UNH and 16 points and 10 boards against the Black Knights.
