When the pre-season rankings for America East Basketball were released in late October, Boston University was chosen as the number one team. The Seawolves were picked to finish dead last.
But four months later Stony Brook has done its best to wipe away those preconceived notions.
Celebrating senior night, the Seawolves came away with their most impressive victory of the season, a 66-54 defeat of Boston University.
Senior guard Michael Tyree, who appeared in 30 games last season but only played 55 minutes coming in the BU game, lit up Pritchard Gymnasium to the tune of 25 points, including 14 points in the games opening five minutes.
Tyree shot 10/13 from the field, including 5/7 from beyond the arc.
“It’s about time something like that happened to Stony Brook basketball,” Head Coach Steve Pikiell said after the game. “I started him because he’s had a great attitude in practice. It’s been a tough year for him, he started last year and this year he had to fill a different roll.”
Tyree’s role has been limited because of the emergence of several other players, but on this night it was all about the seniors.
Forward Demetrius Young finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.
“We needed to start a new tradition here that we win on senior night,” Pikiell said. “Hopefully this gets us going in that direction.”
Pikiell also spoke about the things that have helped send his program in the right direction.
“Jim Fiore got us a new locker room, huge,” he said. “We got a new film room, we do much more film work. We break down film and were not looking at the TV with our heads turned around the corner. We have a great facility now, it’s louder and tougher to play. It’s not just the players and the coaches, it’s everybody, everyone here at Stony Brook.
“Most importantly, we improved our toughness,” he said. “If you ask other coaches, we’re a tough out now. I like the fact that teams don’t enjoy playing us anymore.”
After the Seawolves saw their 12 point halftime lead dwindle down to one with 13:18 remaining, that toughness showed.
Tyree came away with a steal, and eventually fed Young for an alley-oop that got the crowd going. On the next Seawolves possession Tommy Brenton came away with a big offensive rebound that led to another made jumper by Tyree.
No one was more excited to see Tyree get an opportunity than his teammates. After they saw what kind of zone he was in, the entire bench would rise in unison as Tyree rose up for another jump shot.
“Our guys hang out, they’ll watch basketball, NBA games in the locker room,” Pikiell said. “We never did that last year. As soon as the game ended we ran right out. Those things are really big, and they won’t go down in the media, but they’re big to a basketball team. Cohesiveness, liking each other, watching more tapes, talking more basketball being around each other more.”
Even with all the progress the program has seen this season, Pikiell realizes his job is not nearly done.
“Recruiting, I got some time off, I’m going on the road,” he said when asked what he needed to do before the America East Tournament in two weeks. “I have to get some more players.”
