Fresh off a road win Tuesday at UMBC, the Seawolves will look to extend their eight-game winning streak when they travel to Albany for a date with the Great Danes Friday night. It will be the third-to-last game of a season that has seen Stony Brook complete the turnaround from bottom dweller to league leader of the America East Conference.
Stony Brook’s well-oiled machine of offensive execution and defensive prowess is running as smooth as ever at the right time. The squad has kicked its play into high gear when it matters most: only a few games away from the conference tournament and an automatic invitation to the NCAA’s Big Dance.
The winning streak has seen the team win by an average of almost 13 points a game, even pummeling the tough Binghamton Bearcats 81-61 at Pritchard Gymnasium Saturday.
The 1,500-seat Seawolves’ gym, now regularly packed full of screaming, red hot fans, has been good to the Seawolves. The squad has won all of its seven conference contests at home, and holds an 11-1 home record for the season. Stony Brook has the chance to go undefeated in home league play for the first time in team history. Only Vermont stands in their way on Feb. 24.
But before that game is this one, against the struggling Albany Great Danes on Friday night. It will be aired on MSG Plus, the team’s sixth televised game this season.
Albany enters the game looking to build on their 75-62 win over UMBC, only their second win in their last ten games. The Great Danes average around 62 points per game, and are led in scoring by junior guard Tim Ambrose’s 13 points per game. They are currently seeded eighth in league rankings and will most likely be partaking in the play-in game of the AEC championship tournament. If Stony Brook closes out the season at first place, this could be a preview of a first-round matchup.
Last time these two teams met, Stony Brook edged Albany 67-61 at Pritchard Gymnasium, behind 17 points from freshman guard Marcus Rouse (Upper Malboro, Md.) and a solid double-double from sophomore center Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.). The game was knotted at 58 with a little more than two minutes to go, but clutch free throw shooting from sophomore guard Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) helped the home team seal the deal.
The Seawolves will try to take their high-flying, attacking show on the road and continue their winning ways when the ball tips off at 7 p.m.
The university is sponsoring a viewing party for students to watch the game on the big screen starting at 6:15 p.m. in SAC Ballroom A.
