While the Seawolves season may have come to a disappointing end, their season was anything but a disappointment. Even opposing coaches were singing praise for the program.

“Stony Brook deserves an awful lot of credit,” said Bill Herrion, head coach of UNH. “The job Steve Pikiell did with that basketball team, the people from Stony Brook should be so proud.”

And Stony Brook should be proud, as they improved in almost every facet of the game, and have tons to look forward to.

First off Stony Brook won 16 games, including eight conference wins-one less than their last three years combined. They ranked first in the America East Conference and 27th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 60.4 ppg and to 42 percent shooting.

The Seawolves won nine games away from Pritchard gymnasium, setting a Stony Brook D-I record. At home they received great fan support averaging nearly 1,300 fans a game, and selling out numerous games.

“It’s nice playing at home,” said Head Coach Steve Pikiell. “The environment is great. The fans are there. The band is there. It really makes a big difference.”

As for individual awards, the Seawolves had four players make All-America East teams; Tommy Brenton and Bryan Dougher on the All-Rookie Team, Muhammad El-Amin on the All-Conference 2nd team, and Marques Cox on the All-Defensive team. The future looks bright for the team, as of these four, Cox is the only graduating player.

After the game Dougher knew the program is on its way forward, but knows that victories won’t just be handed to them. “It’s a big step for the program. We just got to work really hard in the offseason and just keep getting better.”

Coach Pikiell is also ready for the future, “We had a lot of good stuff happen this year for our program,” he said. “Were going to use this year as a stepping stone, and hopefully we start new traditions here at Stony Brook.”

If this year is any indication, it looks like the tradition they might be starting is winning. And that’s a good sign.