The Stony Brook Seawolves led throughout as they dispatched the Boston University Terriers, 71-55, to move into first place in the America East in front of more than 1,500 people at Pritchard Gymnasium on Saturday.
Senior guard Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) led all scorers with 19 points for the Seawolves (15-7, 7-2).
Stony Brook Head Coach Steve Pikiell was pleased with the Seawolves’ effort.
‘We came out with some good energy,’ Pikiell said in the post game press conference. ‘It was a good win against a very good basketball team.’
Stony Brook began the game with a 13-0 run in the first 4:25. El-Amin scored six and junior Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) scored five of his 16 points before the Terriers (11-11, 6-4) could get the ball through the hoop.
Joining Martin and El-Amin in double-digit scoring was forward Danny Carter (Windsor, England) with 10 and freshman guard Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) with 14.
Notably absent in the Seawolves offense was sophomore guard Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.). Dougher has averaged in the double-digits for Stony Brook but was held to just four points against Boston. Dougher’s only field goal of the game came with 8:06 to play in the second half, as he added two free throws with less than two minutes to go.
Coach Pikiell was unconcerned with Dougher’s lack of points.
‘We always score plenty of points,’ Pikiell said. ‘We didn’t need Dougher’s points as much. It’s the sign of a good team when other guys step up.’
‘I’m not worried,’ he added. ‘In the next game he’ll make shots.’
Stony Brook outhustled Boston all night, grabbing 22 more rebounds than the Terriers. Sophomores Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) and Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) had 14 and 11 boards respectively for the Seawolves.
The Seawolves defense also stepped up, holding the conference’s best scorers to 14 points less than their average and keeping the America East’s leading scorer, John Holland of Boston, to six points. Jake O’Brien led the Terriers with 17 points.
Stony Brook is 9-1 at home this season, a program best since 2000-01.
The Seawolves now take to the road, heading to Hartford on Wednesday. Tip-off with the Hawks is set for 7 p.m.
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