Maybe the third time will be the charm. In the two years since winning their first round game in 2005 against Hartford, the Stony Brook Seawolves men’s basketball team has failed to win a game in the America East Conference Championships. On Friday, Mar. 7, ninth-placed Stony Brook will play eighth-placed Maine in the play-in-game of the Conference Championships.

The Seawolves, who finished the season 2-0 against Maine, hope to make it 3-0. History, however, is not on their side. In 2006 they lost to UMBC, 88-70 and last year they lost against Hartford 49-47, after holding a 34-17 halftime lead.

After finishing the season 6-22, and showing their inability to come from behind, as evidenced by their 2-19 record when trailing at the half, the Seawolves are going to have to depend on their strong defense. The Seawolves finished second in the conference in team defense, allowing only 66.3 points a game.

However, their inability to score negated their strong defense, as they finished dead last in the conference in scoring, with a meager 60.9 points a game and tied for last in field-goal percentage.

The Seawolves finished their season strongly, at 2-2, including a come from behind overtime win against fourth-placed Vermont and a victory against Maine.

The winner of the game will play top seed UMBC on Saturday, Mar. 8.