Tyrece Gibbs and the New Hampshire Wildcats rode a 23-5 run in the second half to defeat the Seawolves for another America East Conference loss. After an impressive win earlier in the week against BU, Stony Brook fell on the road 69-56, on Sunday, losing their chance to build some momentum going into the second half of the season. With 12:10 remaining in the game, Stony Brook led 37-36 off of a dunk by Solomon Bamiro.

Without warning, New Hampshire began a run with Jermaine Anderson’s downtown triple to start a 23-5 run over the next 8:00 minutes. The Wildcats would sink 3 out of 6 shots from behind the arc along with several layups and trips to the foul line. Stony Brook’s loss came despite having only 13 turnovers to the Wildcats’ 16 and out-rebounding the home team 40-34.

What cost the team, as shown by the run, was allowing their opponent to hit 63.2% in the second half and 50% from 3 point range. The Seawolves did show some bright spots, however, with Emanuel Neto’s surprising play (10 rebounds, 6 points and 2 blocks) and the increasingly productive Solomon Bamiro (8 points, 5 rebounds), coupled with Ricky Lucas’ 18 points and 5 rebounds. Also, despite their opponent’s extraordinary shooting in the second half, Stony Brook’s defense held strong, only allowing them to hit 33.3% in the first period while controlling the boards.

To start the game, the Emanuel Neto hit back-to-back jumpers and blocked a shot to help pick the Seawolves up where they left off a few nights before. After exchanging baskets over the entire period, the half would end with both teams tied. Each team would have the lead and lose it in a grind-it-out first half where each team only scored 23 points a piece.

Stony Brook continued its solid play into the early part of the second half. After getting the game started again with a 3 pointer by Marcus Robinson, the game would continue to be played neck and neck until the dramatic run when the Wildcats took control. The loss brings Stony Brook’s record to 7-12 overall and 2-5 in their conference, while Vermont moves forward with an 8-12 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

Men’s Basketball next plays a Sunday matinee against Vermont, where they will try to avenge their loss from earlier this month. The game is at 2:00pm in the Sports Complex.