In what might be the biggest game in its history, Stony Brook’s men’s basketball team will take on the Vermont Catamounts at home on Wednesday to solidify first place in the America East Conference.
Stony Brook is 20-7 overall and 12-2 in the conference, a full game ahead of second-place Vermont.
The Seawolves have been red-hot lately, running over the rest of the conference on their way to a nine-game win streak, with six of those wins by double-digits. Their latest victory came on the road against Albany. Led by senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) who scored a game-high 19 points, including the game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds left, the Seawolves squeezed out the tough win and remained atop conference standings.
The Catamounts are also on a hot streak, winning seven straight games for the second time this season. They defeated Fairfield University on Saturday for their second double-digit win in a row.
The last time these two teams faced each other, the Seawolves were able to defeat the then first-place Catamounts on their home court with 20 points from sophomore Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.). It was Vermont’s first conference loss of the season, and it began their second three-game losing streak.
Noticeably absent from that game was sophomore Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.), who scored four points to go along with only 4 rebounds, well below his conference-leading average of 9.6 rpg. The Seawolves will need him to step up in this game if they want to duplicate the results of the last meeting.
Stony Brook will need to play superb defense to stop the offensive juggernaut that is Vermont, who ranks second in the conference with 70.0 ppg and first with a .433 field goal percentage.
In order to win this game, the Seawolves must contain Catamount’s superstar, Marqus Blakley.
The senior forward ranks second in the conference with 17.6 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game, and is tied for first in the conference with a field goal percentage of .532. Blakley is also one of the top defenders in the conference, ranking first in steals (2.6 spg) and blocks (2.0 bpg).
This 6-foot-5 225 pound beast is the reigning America East Player of the Year and America East Defensive Player of the Year, winning both awards in back-to-back seasons.
In the first meeting, Blakley was able to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds. Look for him to be matched up with El-Amin or Brenton for most of the game.
This is the first time Stony Brook has won 20 games since joining Division I 11 years ago. They hold victories over every team in the America East, something they haven’t done since they joined the conference in the 2001-02 season. A win on Wednesday would clinch the conference for the Seawolves, giving them a first-round bye in the America East tournament. Winning the tournament will give them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in March, something the program has never been able to achieve.
Wednesday’s game will be televised on MSG Plus. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Seawolves will honor their four seniors—El-Amin, Andrew Goba (Durban, South Africa), Eddie Castellanos (Jersey City, N.J.) and Desmond Adedeji (Landover, Md.)—prior to the game.
