
Without a win in nearly a month, the Stony Brook men’s basketball team fired on all cylinders offensively in its second double-digit point margin victory of the year.
The Seawolves (3-7) snapped their five-game losing streak on Saturday in Lawrence Township, N.J. against the Rider Broncs (4-7, 0-2 MAAC). Stony Brook used a season-best shooting performance en route to a 72-55 win.
The contest started off as a back-and-forth affair, as neither side could gain any separation. The Seawolves would be the first to string together a run, as a deep three-point make from guard Jared Frey and a layup from forward Andre Snoddy put the Seawolves ahead 18-12.
Rider responded, as forward Jay Alvarez scored on back-to-back possessions to reel the Broncs down just three with 7:08 left in the half. Momentum continued in Rider’s favor, as guard Flash Burton took a page out of Alavarez’s book. He scored on consecutive possessions, sinking a mid-range jumper before picking off guard C.J. Luster II for the coast-to-coast layup, putting his team up one.
Unfortunately for the Broncs, that would be their final lead of the game, as Stony Brook’s three-point barrage overwhelmed the Rider’s defense. Guard Joe Octave got the offense clicking again, sinking a contested jumper of his own. Luster II followed suit, as forward Nick Woodard found him on the fastbreak for a three-pointer.
The Seawolves began to let it fly from three, as key offensive rebounds from Snoddy set up three-point makes from Luster II and Woodard. While the lead ballooned to as much as 12, Burton converted two shots at the charity stripe to make the score 34-24 going into halftime.
Reeling from the end of the first half, the Brocs mustered up their best comeback effort. Stony Brook gave Rider various opportunities to make up ground as forward Zion Cruz and Burton punished the Seawolves inside, drawing the Broncs to down just four points.
However, that was as close as the Brocs would get. The Seawolves found their footing and within two minutes built the lead back to double-digits following a three from Frey. Stony Brook continued to dominate the rest of the half, leading by as much as 19 late in the half.
“Great win for the guys,” head coach Geno Ford said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “We have been getting better in practice, but we needed a solid game performance from a confidence perspective. I also thought that was the best game of [Snoddy]’s career, he was terrific.”
Stony Brook posted a .519/.520/.833 shooting line. Conversely, Rider registered a .404/.167/.579 slashline.
The Seawolves had 11 offensive rebounds leading to 19 second-chance points compared to Broncs’ nine second-chance points.
Luster II shot six-for-nine from beyond the arc to contribute 20 points to the team’s victory. Octave added 14 of his own, including three rebounds and two assists. Wight and Snoddy chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as Snoddy notched a double-double with 12 rebounds.
Rider was led by Alvarez and Burton with 13 points each, who shot five-for-11 and four-for-nine from the field, respectively.
Stony Brook will look to add another win to the column when it returns home to Stony Brook Arena on Tuesday to face the Marist Red Foxes. The Foxes are 6-2 this season after they defeated the Manhattan Jaspers 82-75. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.