Despite outscoring Big East team St. John’s in the second half, the Stony Brook men’s basketball team was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to the Red Storm, 63-55.
The loss was just the second of the year for Stony Brook, who drops to 5-2.
The Seawolves benefitted from some late, long-range 3-pointers from senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, MI.) and sophomore Brian Dougher (Scotch Plains, NJ.), who led the team with 13 points to draw within eight of the Red Storm, after trailing by 10 at the half.
Stony Brook got off to a rough start, falling behind 12-1 in the first five minutes. Leading scorer El-Amin, returning to the starting lineup after being suspended by Head Coach Steve Pikiell in the team’s last game, was ice cold in the first half, missing on his first six attempts from the field and finishing the half with three points.
Stony Brook failed to hit a single 3-pointer in the first half after hitting NJIT for six of them in the game before. Dougher, who had five of those six threes against NJIT, was 0-for-4 from behind the arc in the first period.
Contributing to the sputtering offense was poor rebounding, with St. John’s recording twice as many boards as the Seawolves.
Strong defense forced St. John’s into nine first-half turnovers, allowing Stony Brook to keep the game close. The visiting Seawolves trailed by ten at the half, 30-20.
Stony Brook kept it close in the second half. Despite lacking consistent offensive rhythm, the Seawolves kept the game close by working hard. Dougher led the team with three steals.
The turnovers that plagued St. John’s in the first half became Stony Brook’s problem, as a number of good scoring chances were erased by poor passes. The Seawolves turned over the basketball 10 times in the second half, often failing to connect on fast breaks.
Still, Stony Brook found a way to put points on the board. Sophomore forward Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, VA.) was even with El-Amin with 11 points in the game. Eight of El-Amin’s points came in the final minute of the game.
The Seawolves return home to take on Columbia at 2 p.m. on December 5 at Pritchard Gymnasium. The game will be televised on MSG Plus.
