For just the third time in program history, Stony Brook men’s basketball faced off against an SEC opponent.
Unfortunately for the Seawolves, they were unable to pick up their first win against the conference. The team lost 80-70 to the Georgia Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum in the NIT Season Tipoff.
Although they flirted with the notion at times, Stony Brook was unable to pull off a major road upset.
The game was close for much of the first half. Stony Brook led for much of the game’s first eight minutes, and trailed by just seven at the half.
Seawolves guard Carson Puriefoy’s offensive output was the primary reason for the close halftime score. He was 8-11 from the field, with 21 of the team’s 41 points in the first half.
However, any hope for a Stony Brook upset would quickly evaporate a few minutes into the second half. The Bulldogs went on a 26-8 run over a span of ten minutes in the middle of the half to essentially put the game on ice for Georgia.
Coming off the bench, Georgia guard Kenny Gaines sparked the team with a key dunk and three pointer during this run. Guard Charles Mann also scored five of his team leading 16 points in this span.
By the end of the run, Georgia had established a commanding 75-52 lead.
With the remaining time left in the game, the Seawolves did mount somewhat of a rally. They outscored the Bulldogs 18-5 in the final minutes, but it would not be enough to erase many of the misdoings of the second half.
Georgia was much more efficient from the field throughout the game. The Bulldogs shot 44.7 percent from the field while the Seawolves made just 31.8 percent of their attempts.
Another issue for Stony Brook was that eight of their shots were blocked. Successfully blocking shots was crucial to Georgia’s defensive success.
Another key on defense for Georgia was successfully containing Puriefoy late in the game. He missed all four of his second half field goal attempts and scored just five total points in the half. Puriefoy finished the night with 26 total points, a career high for the junior.
This was the Seawolves’ first of four games against power six conference (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12) opponents this season. Later in the season, Stony Brook will face off against Cincinnati, Providence and Washington.
