It seemed like a movie we have all seen before. Albany was leading by eleven points in the first half and had buried five three-pointers prior to the five minute mark of the first half. Stony Brook was starved for offense, unable to crack the code of its opponent’s 2-3 zone.
Trailing 29-18 with 3:55 remaining in the first half, kenpom.com simulations estimated that Stony Brook’s probability of winning the game Tuesday night was just 8.3 percent.
Late in the first half, Stony Brook Head Coach Steve Pikiell substituted Scott King, perhaps the unlikeliest of heroes, into the game for the Seawolves.
King reigned the floor for the last four minutes of the half, providing the spark that the offense so desperately needed. The junior stretch forward scored eight points to carry the Seawolves on a 11-2 run to cut the Great Danes lead to just 31-29 entering the intermission, much more manageable than the daunting deficit they faced just moments prior.
In the second half, the Seawolves’ energy was too much for the Great Danes to handle. As a team, the Seawolves snagged nine offensive rebounds and forced seven turnovers in the half. Carson Puriefoy was a blur in transition and King threw down a scintillating alley-oop to cap off his best performance of the season.
Stony Brook went on a 14-4 run to give the Seawolves a 55-49 lead with 3:51 left. The Seawolves held on for a much needed morale-boosting victory, winning the matchup by the score of 59-56.
Evan Singletary had a chance to tie the game for the Great Danes in the final seconds when he took a shot from 25-feet out, but Puriefoy was there with a hand in his face, forcing a miss and giving Albany its first loss the America East conference season.
Albany had entered the game on a 13-game winning streak and was one of only five teams in the nation undefeated in conference play. The Seawolves’ win avenged home losses to Albany suffered earlier this season and in last year’s America East playoffs.
Jameel Warney had another stellar performance. The junior center had 20 points and 11 rebounds in the game, securing his NCAA-leading 18th double-double of the year.
Warney also played a crucial role on the defensive end of the floor. He had five blocks in the game, helping the Seawolves hold Albany to just 34.5 percent shooting from the field.
Puriefoy added 15 points and four assists for the Seawolves. Puriefoy pushed the tempo several times in the second half, scoring fast-break lay-ups with both hands, a vital reason why Stony Brook was able to come back.
Rayshaun McGrew was the game’s leader in rebounds, grabbing 14 on the night.
Although Warney, Puriefoy and McGrew all had a say in the victory, Tuesday will be remembered by many as the “The Scott King Game.”
King had not played even ten minutes in a game since Nov. 21 against Hofstra. Most of the little time he had played since then had been in garbage time. But when Pikiell called upon King to play 17 minutes on the road against the defending conference champions and Stony Brook’s arch-rival, King did not miss his chance to leave a mark.
King’s 12 points and four rebounds were the difference in a highly-contested game against one of the hottest teams in the country. Without his clutch shooting off the bench, the Seawolves would not have been able to capture their biggest America East win of the year.
