
Despite a promising first half, the Stony Brook men’s basketball team let the rope go in the second half, falling again in conference play.
In a rematch of last year’s Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) championship game, the Seawolves (5-17, 1-8 CAA) took on the Charleston Cougars (17-5, 7-2 CAA) on Thursday night in South Carolina. Charleston was undefeated in seven matchups all-time against Stony Brook heading into the contest; thanks to highly efficient shooting in the second half, they prevailed yet again, handing the visitors an 81-74 loss.
The Seawolves shot 41.9% in the first half, including making half of their 14 shots from beyond the arc. They held a 16-point lead at one point in the period before the Cougars battled back to cut the advantage to single digits. Charleston collectively shot just 2-for-11 from the three-point line; they managed to keep it close by going 9-for-16 within the perimeter and shooting 8-for-14 from the free throw line. Although its advantage dwindled, Stony Brook led 36-32 at the half.
The teams traded buckets out of the halftime break, but the back-and-forth broke when the Cougars were able to turn the tide and take the lead. Out the gate, Charleston heated up from beyond the arc, sinking four three-pointers to open the half from deep. The last three-pointer was drilled by forward Ante Brzovic to put the Cougars up 60-53 with 9:46 left to play in regulation.
The tandem of guard C.J. Luster II and forward Ben Wight kept the Seawolves within striking distance, as they each scored six points in the four minutes that followed. With 5:04 left, forward Collin O’Connor tossed up a three-point shot to no avail, but forward Andre Snoddy tipped it in and gave his team the second-chance. The second chance basket brought Stony Brook to within two heading into the final stretch of the game.
However, this was the closest the Seawolves would get to erasing the deficit. Following Snoddy’s put-back make, Brzovic nailed midrange jumpers on back-to-back possessions. Sandwiched by misses from guard Sabry Philip and Luster II, Charelston’s lead grew to six with just over four minutes left.
Following a media timeout, the Cougars piled on their lead as guard Derrin Boyd found his way to the basket for a layup. Another miss from Luster II gave Charleston another chance to add on. This time they did so emphatically, as guard C.J. Fulton found forward Lazar Djokovic away from traffic. Djokovic got the ball under the rim and slammed down a powerful dunk to continue the Cougars’ run.
With 2:14 left, Stony Brook looked to make a comeback run. Its hopes were short-lived, however, as Wight was picked by Charleston guard A.J. Smith, who took the ball down to the opposite basket for a fastbreak score. On the way up, Smith was fouled by Philip, prompting an and-one attempt from the foul stripe. Smith nailed the free throw to cap off an 11-0 run for Charleston, who led 79-66 with 2:12 left.
It proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Seawolves, as the lead was insurmountable in the defeat.
“Our guys did a great job putting us in position to win the game on the free throw line down two with five minutes to go,” head coach Geno Ford said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “Charleston was able to get an offensive rebound and score and they spurted away from us late. I was happy with the aggressiveness and tenacity we showed for much of the night.”
Stony Brook posted a .400/.429/.667 shooting line and committed only eight turnovers. Although they started slow, the Cougars turned it around to end with a .526/.364/.684 triple slash with eight turnovers of their own.
Luster II was the Seawolves’ leading scorer, registering 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting which included going 7-for-12 from deep. Behind him, Snoddy had 13 points, followed by forward Leon Nahar who had 12 points which came from a career-high four threes. Wight and O’Connor both passed the double-digit point mark, putting up a round 10 each.
Snoddy led Stony Brook on the glass with eight rebounds and was the most prominent defender on the team with four blocks and a steal. O’Connor dished out the most meaningful passes, as he tallied seven assists.
Guard Joe Octave missed his second straight game due to a lower body injury.
Boyd and Smith accounted for over half of Charleston’s points, as they each scored 25 on 7-of-15 and 10-of-17 shooting, respectively. Brzovic made his presence felt as well, scoring 17 on 7-of-11 shooting.
Fulton created the most plays for the Cougars, as he dished out 11 assists and grabbed the same amount of rebounds.
The Seawolves will be back in action this Saturday as they take on the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks in Wilmington, N.C. The Seahawks are 17-5 on the season, including a 7-2 record in CAA play. They are coming off a dominant 83-59 victory over North Carolina A&T. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.