After falling behind by 19 early in the second half, a comeback attempt from the Stony Brook men’s basketball team fell short.

Before commencing Coastal Athletic Association play, the Seawolves (4-9) took on state rival the Albany Great Danes (8-7) on the road on Sunday. Slow starts to the first and second halves resulted in Stony Brook playing catch up, and eventually falling 77-70.

Albany jumped out to an early lead in the first period, scoring eight straight points, thanks in large part to two back-to-back three pointers from guard Byron Joshua. Momentum continued for the Great Danes, as they piled on with a 21-6 lead with 13:10 remaining in the first half. Albany guard Amir Lindsey capped off the run after picking off forward Andre Snoddy and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup.

Later in the period, forward Ben Wight sunk a crafty shot in the low post, sparking a 7-0 run for the Seawolves to cut into the Great Danes’ lead to single digits. Snoddy followed Wight’s lead, making a layup through a foul. Immediately afterward, guard C.J. Luster II hit the first Stony Brook three-pointer to cut into the deficit 25-19 with less than seven minutes remaining. 

Both sides traded baskets until the final minute of the first half, with Lindsey finishing at the rim to give Albany a 36-27 lead with a minute left to go. Guard Joe Octave made quick work with the remaining time, getting himself to the free throw line and knocking down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit down to seven points. 

With 27 seconds left, Octave continued his tenacious effort, charging to the rim for an attempted layup, following his miss with a tip-in, clawing the Seawolves into striking distance 36-31 as the first half came to a close. 

The start of the second period was a similar story to the first, as the Great Danes came out of the gates firing. Albany forward Sully Adewale ignited a 9-1 run after a tough finish in the paint. Guard Amar’e Marshall capped off the run with a right-wing three-pointer for a 45-32 lead just three minutes into the second half. 

From then on, the Great Danes’ offensive output was too much to handle for Stony Brook as Albany forward Justin Neely sliced through the defense during a fast break for a layup to increase the lead to 55-36, the largest of the game. 

The Seawolves put together their best and final comeback effort with less than six minutes remaining in the game, as guard Jared Frey’s hot hand opened the window of opportunity. Frey started off with putting in a baseline jumper along with a three-pointer from beyond the arc in consecutive possessions, diminishing the lead down to six points, 65-59. Wight followed Frey’s lead with a put-back layup off a missed layup from guard Collin O’Connor. 

Wight was later fouled and sent to the charity stripe, knocking down two free-throws to draw his team within three points with 3:28 remaining in the game. 

Neely’s three-point play put Albany back in the driver’s seat with time winding down in regulation. Frey responded with yet another three-pointer beyond the arc to keep Stony Brook in the thick of things, 71-67, with 1:39 remaining. The Seawolves could not muster another clutch shot, going scoreless for over a minute, putting the Great Danes on the line, who iced the game. 

“Give credit to Albany, they played very well,” head coach Geno Ford said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “We got off to a bad start in both halves and battled back. I am proud of our fight to get back into the game, but unfortunately we couldn’t get enough stops on the defensive end. We will learn from this and get back to work tomorrow as we prepare for the start of conference play.”

Stony Brook posted a .400/.316/.762 shooting line. Conversely, Albany registered a .529/.250/.850 triple slash.

Wight led the Seawolves in points and rebounds with 19 and seven, respectively. He shot eight-for-13 from the field. Octave scored 13 points but had a poor shooting night, as he went three-of-13 overall. Most of his points came from the charity stripe, where he shot seven-for-10 from.

Neely led the Great Danes in scoring with 16 points on five-of-seven shooting from the field alongside a team-leading nine rebounds.

Next, Stony Brook will begin CAA play on Thursday, when it takes on the Monmouth Hawks in New Jersey. The Hawks are 2-10 this season and will play Auburn before hosting the Seawolves. Opening tip-off for the conference affair is scheduled for 7 p.m.