On Monday, Stony Brook’s Men’s Basketball team played Lafayette at home in an exciting overtime game. Unfortunately for the Seawolves, cold shooting and foul trouble sent the team to 0-2 for the season, after a 76-68 loss..

Three-point shooting was the Achilles Heel for Stony Brook, as the team collectively shot an abysmal 2-22 from behind the arc. Foul trouble also hurt the Seawolves. Although they only shot 68.3% from the Free Throw Line, the Leopards (1-1) had 41 chances from the line.

In the first half both teams started cold as the game got off to a slow start. Stubborn man-to-man defense by Stony Brook held Lafayette to zero points for the first six and a half minutes and with 7:57 left in the first half, the score was only 12-10 in Lafayette’s favor.

Up until that point, Stony Brook’s shooting troubles really held them back and their defense was the only reason why they were close. The Seawolves were 0-7 from three-point range, and they shot only 4-17 (23.5%) from the field.

After a timeout Stony Brook’s shooting caught fire. In the following five minutes the team went on a 19-3 run to bring the score to 29-15. During that stretch, the team shot 7-11 from the field, and 5-6 from the free throw line.

After the impressive run made by the Seawolves, the team held a comfortable 30-21 lead to finish the half. Although they had the lead, Stony Brook struggled mightily as far as shooting. Collectively the team shot 1-11 (9.1%) from three point range, and 11-28 (39.3%) from the field.

Stony Brook, however, made up for their poor shooting by severely out-rebounding the Leopards. The Seawolves collectively had 22 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds, opposed to Lafayette’s 11 total rebounds.

The second half was no different for the Seawolves. Poor shooting and dominance in the rebounding department continued, however foul trouble also became a problem for the Seawolves.

Stony Brook accumulated 10 fouls within the first eleven minutes, which allowed the Leopards to shoot two foul shots every time they were fouled, regardless if it as a shooting foul or not. Their foul trouble also led to three players fouling out of the game including stand-out Ricky Lucas.

To start the second half, Lafayette went on a 12-5 run and brought Stony Brook’s lead to 35-33. The game was close from then on. Stony Brook held the lead for most of the half; however Lafayette was always one shot away. With 1:37 left in the half, Lafayette finally took a 57-56 lead.

Following a turnover by Stony Brook due to Lafayette’s stingy press, Ricky Lucas stole the ball, took it down the court, and made a baby hook to give Stony Brook the lead again with 44 seconds remaining. Then, after a quick foul, Ted Detmer of Lafayette hit 1-2 free throw shots to tie the score at 57 with 39.3 seconds remaining.

Following the free throw shots by Detmer, after bringing the ball down the court for the Seawolves, Mitchell Beauford was fouled. He hit both free throw shots to give Stony Brook a 59-57 lead; however the game was far from over.

Andrew Brown managed to hit an improbable fade away and the game was then tied at 59, with 29 seconds remaining. Eddie Castellanos had an opportunity to win the game for the Seawolves, when he was forced to take a shot from several feet behind the three point arc. Both teams ended regulation tied at 59.

To start the overtime period, Lafayette came out hot and scored eight unanswered points. Momentum seemed to be on the Leopard’s side, but Stony Brook clawed back and scored six unanswered points of their own to bring them within two points.

After a shooting foul, Lafayette was headed back to the free throw line, but before the shots were taken an altercation occurred and a technical foul was called on Emanuel Neto. This gave Lafayette four free throw shots and automatic possession of the ball.

After the Leopards hit 3-4 from the line and another basket made, the score was 72-65. The game was over from there and the final score was 76-68.

Unfortunately for the Seawolves, the technical foul ruined their chances at completing the comeback in overtime.

The technical foul was called because the referee only saw Neto’s retaliation at one of Lafayette’s player, after the player spit on Neto’s face. However, the same referee didn’t call a technical foul earlier on Bilal Abdullah of Lafayette after he spiked the ball on the court, way after the whistle was blown and it was obviously done because at the time Abdullah was frustrated.

The referee gave Lafayette a warning, which wasn’t the case for the Seawolves, and the technical foul called on Neto in overtime was a major reason for Stony Brook’s home opening loss. Although he had the technical foul called on him, Neto had an amazing game for the Seawolves. He had eight points off a perfect 3-3 from the field, and 13 rebounds, including six from the offensive side.

Other stand-outs for the Seawolves were Ricky Lucas, who scored a team high 18 points, and Mitchell Beauford who scored 13 points. scored his 1,000 career point as a Seawolf during his two free shots late in regulation.

Even though the team lost, Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell had an optimistic attitude. After the game he had this to say about his team: ‘I have the pieces, I just need to figure out where to put them.’ Being that their match against Lafayette was a non-conference game, this game won’t hurt Stony Brook in the long run.

Looking forward, despite shooting 2-22 from three-point range and shooting 33.8% from the field the Seawolves nearly won the game. Neto’s technical was uncharacteristic and this event may be a learning experience. Taking everything into consideration, luck was just not on Stony Brook’s side, and coach Pikiell and the Seawolves should be optimistic about their prospects.