In just his second collegiate contest, guard Collin O’Connor delivered a moment to remember for a long time.
After a season-opening beatdown at the hands of Marquette, the Seawolves (1-1) continued their midwest adventure by taking on the Central Michigan Chippewas (1-1) in Mount Pleasant, Mich. After trailing by six at halftime, Stony Brook staged a comeback that was capped off with a game-winning shot with three seconds left for a 73-72 victory.
Despite their best efforts to get even in the second half, the Seawolves were unsuccessful in doing so for most of the period. Adding to the hill Stony Brook had to climb, Central Michigan guard Jakobi Heady connected on a short jumper to give his team a 67-62 advantage with 3:45 remaining in the game.
However, that is when the tide fully turned in the Seawolves’ favor. Following Heady’s basket, they scored seven unanswered points — a run that commenced on a tip-in from forward Ben Wight following a missed layup by guard Joe Octave.
After Wight’s putback, each side misfired on a three-point attempt in their next possessions. With the Chippewas holding possession up 67-64, Heady turned the ball over; on the other end, forward Andre Snoddy was sent to the line by Central Michigan forward Ugnius Jarusevicius. At the charity stripe, Snoddy delivered a pair of clutch makes for Stony Brook before its defense stepped up to the plate once again.
Guard CJ Luster II stripped Central Michigan guard Cayden Vasko of the ball, drove up the court and layed it in having been fouled by Vasko, giving the Seawolves their first lead of the half with 2:09 left in the contest. However, after Luster II completed his and-one opportunity, the Chippewas immediately struck back.
Central Michigan guard Anthony Pritchard penetrated the paint; but, with Stony Brook defenders surrounding him, he swung the ball to the corner where Heady stood with space. The Seawolves’ closeout did not come quick enough, allowing Heady to down a catch-and-shoot three-pointer to give the Chippewas the advantage once again at 70-69.
Following a Stony Brook timeout, O’Connor began his heroics. After receiving the inbound pass from Luster II, he aggressively drove to the basket and connected on a reverse layup to put the team back in front.
Now protecting a one-point lead, Luster II inadvertently fouled Pritchard to send him to the line with under a minute left. Pritchard made one of two at the line, and after Octave missed a jumper with 34 seconds left, the same scenario transpired — with Luster II sending Pritchard to the charity stripe.
Once again, Pritchard made one and missed one, but this time, he misfired on his second attempt, giving Central Michigan an opportunity to grab an offensive rebound. Forward Bryan Ndjonga did exactly that, and with the game clock running under the shot clock, the Seawolves were forced to foul down 71-70.
However, Ndjonga missed both of his free-throws, Snoddy secured the defensive rebound and head coach Geno Ford called a timeout.
With 19 seconds remaining, Ford put the ball in O’Connor’s rookie hands once again, and he delivered. Luster II inbounded the ball to him, and after briefly letting the clock run, O’Connor went to work. Using a screen from Wight, he cut into the paint but with Ndjonga hot on his heels, he was forced to go for a reverse layup — a shot he sank to give Stony Brook the lead and, ultimately, the victory, as the Chippewas missed a buzzer-beating attempt on the other side of the court.
“We showed unbelievable resilience down the stretch today,” Ford said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “That is a very good team playing their home opener. We had a ton of big plays down the stretch at both ends. Hopefully we can build off a great road win and continue moving forward.”
Stony Brook posted a .448/.389/.560 shooting line — a much improved slashline to its season opener’s. Conversely, Central Michigan registered a .483/.292/.500 triple slash.
Out of the two teams, the Seawolves played a cleaner game, turning the ball over 10 times compared to the Chippewas’s 14. However, Stony Brook scored four fewer points in the paint than the visitors, 38-34.
O’Connor finished his breakout performance with 16 points on seven-for-10 shooting from the field. He also brought down six rebounds, dished out three assists and registered three steals.
Luster II chipped in with 15 points and drained three shots from beyond the arch — the most on the Seawolves. Octave and Snoddy each contributed 11 points and seven boards. Wight provided nine points and seven rebounds.
For Central Michigan, Heady led the way with 15 points on six-for-13 shooting from the field.
Before its home opener, Stony Brook will wrap up its road trip to begin its 2024-25 campaign in Fairfax, Va. on Monday against the George Mason Patriots, who are 1-0 and will do battle with Marquette before hosting the Seawolves. Opening tip-off for Monday’s affair is set for 7 p.m.
