A dominating second half and stellar play from Sophomore Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) and Junior Desmond Adedeji (Landover Hills, Md.) propelled the Stony Brook Seawolves to victory over the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks at Pritchard Gymnasium Friday night. Stingy defense and timely scoring flurries led to the Seawolves win, the third in as many games.
“It was a great home win for us,” said Stony Brook Head Coach Steve Pikiell, “Our guys did a good job on D all night and were focused on the game plan.”
Martin tallied a career-high 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half, and won America East Player of the Game Honors.
In his first home game as a member of the Seawolves, Adedeji nearly missed a double-double, contributing 11 points and nine rebounds. “I never got a chance to fight and go to war with them,” said Adedeji of his team after his home debut, “It felt great to be out there, especially in a game like this.”
But the game was a tale of two halves for the Seawolves.
In the first half, the home team looked sluggish and unsure on offense, shooting only 22 percent (7-32) from the field. Lehigh guard Marquis Hall scored ten quick points, including 2 three-pointers, giving the Mountain Hawks an early nine point lead at 16-7. But the Seawolves played tenacious defense, forcing turnovers and holding the Hawks to only 39 percent (11-28) shooting. Seven different Seawolves scored in the opening period, with Martin leading the pack with six points. Through hustle plays and free-throws, the home team managed to cut the lead to five at 22-27 going into halftime.
The second half saw the Mountain Hawks extend their lead to 32-22, after a three-point bucket by Hall and midrange jumper by Rob Keefer. But a three-point basket from Freshman Brian Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and back to back layups from Martin and Adedeji trimmed the Hawk lead to seven with 14 minutes left in the game. A monstrous dunk by Adedeji got the Seawolves within six at 32-38, bringing the crowd of over a thousand screaming fans to its feet and leading to a Lehigh timeout.
The Seawolves’ defense was relentless, seemingly feeding off of their offensive success to force the Hawks into difficult shots and costly turnovers. A three-pointer by John Moore (Cleveland, Ohio) brought the Seawolves within one, followed by another layup by Adedeji that finally put the Seawolves on top at 41-40 with nine minutes left. The home team would never look back, playing stifling defense and capitalizing on offense.
Over a nine minute stretch, the Hawks were held to two field goals, en route to shooting a mere 30 percent (9-30) in the last 20 minutes, while the Seawolves hit 53 percent (16-30) of their shots. The Hawks were held to 50 points and committed 23 turnovers, after averaging 74 points and only 11 turnovers in their previous seven games.
A 19-2 Seawolves run, in which Martin contributed seven points, sealed the deal and gave the home team a 62-44 cushion with 2:30 minutes to go.
The Seawolves will look to extend their winning streak on Sunday afternoon, when they tip-off against Mount Ida College at 2 p.m.
