Hit the front end of a one-and-one.
That was all senior guard Bryan Dougher needed to do on Sunday in the America East semifinals in order to tie the Stony Brook Division-I program scoring record.
“I didn’t know it was on the line there, my mom and my girlfriend told me afterwards,” Dougher said on Wednesday. “I honestly put the record in the back of my mind and I wasn’t even thinking about it.”
Good thing, too, because the free throw rimmed out, and Dougher did not score again all game. The Seawolves went on to win, however, giving Dougher another chance.
There is no avoiding it now. He stands at 1,589 career points for Stony Brook, just one shy of the 1,590 scored by D.J. Munir during his career for Stony Brook from 2000-04, and the Seawolves’ win in the semifinals means that Dougher, who leads the Seawolves with 13.3 points per game, is a lock to break the record in the America East championship game against Vermont on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN2, WUSB 90.1 FM).
For Dougher, who said he does not think about the record at all during games, the scoring record represents everything he set out to do as an individual at Stony Brook.
“It was the first goal I set when I got here, was to not only win but my first personal goal was to beat the division-I scoring record, and I’m almost there,” Dougher said.
Dougher already holds a piece of history in the all-time Stony Brook record for three-pointers made, with 331 – more than a hundred more than the former record holder. To Seawolves head coach Steve Pikiell, for Dougher to set the scoring record would only be fitting.
“It’s just a tribute to him to get the scoring championship in school history,” Pikiell said. “He’s been unbelievable on and off the court. From day one he hasn’t missed a day of practice, he hasn’t missed a game.”
Just as important as his toughness – Dougher has started every game since his freshman year – was his willingness to take a chance on Stony Brook at a time when the program was nothing.
“We were the ninth-place team in the league, and probably out of nine teams we were probably closer to the 15th place than close to the eight,” Pikiell said. “He believed in us when nobody believed in us in basketball, and he’s just been a rock for our program.”
Four years later, Dougher has two regular season championships under his belt. But Pikiell has bigger plans for his point guard.
“I’m real happy for him and proud but I want him to wrap up his senior year with a trip to the dance,” Pikiell said. “He’ll break it quickly in this game. So hopefully we’ll get done with that and we’ll be moving on to other goals for him.”
Other goals like bringing March Madness to Stony Brook for the first time in school history, an achievement not lost on Dougher.
“This will be the biggest game of my career ever,” Dougher said. “I don’t think (a win would) sink in right away, but that was the goal four years ago when I stepped onto campus.”
Amy Streifer contributed reporting.
