Stony Brook secured its first ever National Invitation Tournament victory on Wednesday night against the No. 2 seed University of Massachusetts Minutemen, taking the game by a score of 71-58.
The Seawolves now have a 25-7 record on the season and lead the nation in true road victories with 13.
Featuring well in Wednesday night’s game were junior guards Anthony Jackson and Dave Coley, who each scored 20 points. For Jackson, 12 of those points came off of three-pointers. On defense, the squad held the Minutemen to 36.7 percent shooting, while the Seawolves shot 51.8 percent from the floor. Freshman Jameel Warney also added 16 points.
Stony Brook had a slight edge in the early going but nothing that put the game out of reach. UMass tied the score more than once and held a 25-21 lead late in the half. However, the Seawolves went on a 17-point run to conclude the half and went into the break with a 38-25 lead.
It was a lead that seventh-seeded Stony Brook would not surrender for the entirety of the second half. UMass was able to remain within 10 points but could not muster enough of a run to take the lead back. The Seawolves kept up the pace to win their first game of the tournament.
Massachusetts’ Chaz Williams, the team’s leading scorer and play-maker, was slowed by foul trouble in the first half and a shoulder injury suffered midway through the second half. He finished the game with two points and six assists.
Stony Brook will next play third-seeded Iowa at 9:30 on Friday night in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes are coming off of a 68-52 win over Indiana State.
