On Dec. 30, the Seawolves traveled to South Bend, Indiana to face nationally ranked Notre Dame. In a losing effort, 95-66, Mike Popoko and Mitchell Beauford each scored 14 points, and were helped by 8 assists and 2 steals from Eddie Castellanos. Stony Brook ended their out-of-conference schedule 5-7, having faced tough opponents such as Villanova and Hofstra in the previous months, but still surpassing their win total from last season.
In their first game of 2007, the Seawolves began their conference schedule on the road against the Vermont Catamounts. Stony Brook fell 80-69, in a game where three players (Mike Popoko, Ricky Lucas and Mitchell Beauford) reached double figures. The Seawolves allowed Vermont to hit 60% of their shots in the second half, giving the Catamounts a comfortable lead that proved too much to overcome.
Playing at home, Men’s Basketball took on UMBC on Jan. 6, losing their second conference game 72-53. Despite getting 15 points and 3 rebounds from Mike Popoko and 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists from Mitchell Beauford, stealing one on the road proved a difficult task for the visiting Seawolves.
‘ Marques Cox came off the bench to record 3 steals in just 15 minutes. Three days later, on Jan. 9, the Seawolves came alive at Binghamton, winning decisively,’ with a’ score of 67-55. Leading all scorers, Ricky Lucas had 21 points along with 4 rebounds, and was assisted by Solomon Bamiro and Mike Popoko who had 14 and 11 points, respectively. The game raised their record to 6-9 overall and 1-2 in their conference at that point.
On Jan. 13, Stony Brook traveled to Hartford, coming up just short of another conference win, 50-47. Shooting 45.5% in the first half, the Seawolves could not find the basket and hit only 25% of their shots after the intermission. Ricky Lucas had 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds as the only player in double figures. Mike Popoko had 6 points and 8 rebounds, in addition to Kyle Wright’s 8 points and 6 rebounds.
Last week, on Jan. 15, the Seawolves visited Albany only to leave with another close loss 66-61. Despite getting strong production from Ricky Lucas (17 points, 3 rebounds) and Beauford (15 points, 5 rebounds) and forcing 20 turnovers as a team, the Seawolves allowed their opponent to make 50% of their shots and go to the foul line 30 times. Stony Brook only had 5 assists, while Albany tallied 13.
Finally back at home, on Jan. 18th, the Seawolves took care of business against Boston University, winning against BU for the first time in nearly 3 years, 69-62. Ricky Lucas sent the game into overtime, nailing the game tying jumper with the clock expiring. For the game Emanuel Neto netted 10 points, Solomon Bamiro scored 15 points and pulled down 4 rebounds, and Mitchell Beauford led all players with 18 points and 3 steals, to go with his 5 assists. The game brought their overall record to 7-11 and 2-4 in the America East Conference.
