The Stony Brook men’s basketball team made the most of its last game before the beginning of conference play, defeating the Rider University Broncs 79 to 62 on Friday evening in at the Seawolves’ friendly confines of Pritchard Gymnasium.

Though Stony Brook maintained the lead for most of the game, the outcome was not always known as the Broncs made up for a unremarkable first half performance by trying to shoot past the Seawolves with a barrage of long-range shots. However, the home team made sure that they and their fans concluded 2011 with a win.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said head coach Steve Pikiell after the game. “We’re getting better. We weathered the storm.”

This win is the Seawolves’ fifth in a row on their home court, where they have not yet suffered defeat. It also concludes the first part of the season with a two-game winning streak.

Stony Brook grabbed the advantage early on in the game. After senior guard Bryan Dougher broke an early 3-3 tie with a jump shot, the team never surrendered the lead. The Seawolves would proceed to score six more points in a row to push their lead to eight. Rider made a few shots to stay within fighting distance, but Stony Brook began to push ahead, at some times having twice the score as its opponent. It would remain consistantly at least 10 points ahead of the Broncs, who committed 10 turnovers in the half, leading to increased opportunities for the home team.

“They get you to speed up a bit,” Pikiell said about the increased pace of the game. “I thought we played at a good pace.”

However, the Broncs would come out of halftime with a great deal more fire than they showed during the first half. They reduced the deficit to within 10 points and began to cause a stir within the home crowd. Rider would nail eight three-pointers during the second half, double the number that it made during the first.

“You can’t wait for the clock to run out,” Pikiell stated. “Rider’s talented.”

Many Seawolves answered the call when the outcome of the game came into question. Sophomore guard Dave Coley would lead Stony Brook with 16 points for the evening, 2.6 more than his season average. Dougher and senior forward Al Rapier would score 14 and 12 points, respectively, and junior Tommy Brenton nearly tallied a double double as he had one point short of having at least 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Also making a strong showing was senior forward Dallis Joyner, who scored 15 points and created persistant problems for the Broncs around the basket.

“I knew I had to stay positive,” Joyner said after the game. “Points will come. Shots will come.”

Joyner would bring down five of Stony Brook’s total 35 rebounds, 13 of which would be on offense and create second opportunities for the Seawolves.

“We all play off each other,” Joyner said. “Rebounding is one of our biggest keys.”

After a few rough patches, Stony Brook would coast to a comfortable victory. The team would begin to prepare themselves for the inception of conference play, which for it will begin on Monday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. on its home court.

“We want to send a message out to the league,” Coley said after the game. “We’re winning this.”

The ensuing hope of the Stony Brook campus is that Coley will prove to be a prophet.