Stony Brook Men’s Basketball let loose its version of the “Splash Brothers” in a 76-51 win over Binghamton on Wednesday night. Junior guard Lucas Woodhouse and sophomore guard Bryan Sekunda each hit four 3-pointers to give the Seawolves their nation-leading 14th consecutive victory.
“I told our guys it was going to be a 40-minute grind,” Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. “I was never worried about the looks we were getting… We shared the ball, 20 assists again, which is a great number for us.”
The Seawolves (18-4, 9-0 AE) trailed by one at halftime and made just three 3-pointers in the first half before matching that total seven minutes into the second. They would pile on with a 16-0 run midway through the second half, finishing 11-for-19 from behind the arc against the Bearcats’ (6-16, 2-7) 2-3 zone.
“I don’t ever want to take 19 threes, but a lot of them were wide open and what we had,” Pikiell said. “That’s not the identity I want to have but we have good enough 3-point shooters to shoot the ball. A lot of these guys, Bryan [Sekunda] was here last year but he wasn’t shooting the way he’s shooting this year. I think our passing has improved which has really helped our shooting. [Senior guard Carson Puriefoy’s] playing off-the-ball too now and he’s a good shooter now. When you bring that ball up every time, you’re tired and it affects your shooting ability. Lucas [Woodhouse] has kind of taken that away from him and now he’s able to really concentrate on scoring.”
Woodhouse led the way with 14 points, while Sekunda added 12. Five players finished in double figures for Stony Brook, including 13 from senior forward Jameel Warney, who recorded another double-double. Puriefoy hit two 3-pointers in a 12-point, four-rebound and five-assist performance.
The Seawolves turned around a rough first-half effort with increased ball movement and constant motion, which broke down the Bearcats’ zone. After turning the ball over seven times in the first half, Stony Brook committed just one in the second.
“I think it was just people driving and kicking, getting in the paint instead of just swinging it around with no dribble in the paint,” Woodhouse said. “People were just kicking, I was open and I was looking for my shot.”
Leading the way for Binghamton was sophomore forward Willie Rodriguez, with 16 points and nine rebounds, and junior guard Marlon Beck II with 12 points.
Senior forward Rayshaun McGrew set the tone early for Stony Brook, scoring seven of its first nine points. Binghamton went to its zone early, and McGrew found creases in the defense on the baseline. He also held Rodriguez, who leads Binghamton in scoring, to 1-for-5 shooting out of the gates.
A 10-0 Seawolves run put them ahead by nine, but the Bearcats did not fold like many of Stony Brook’s past opponents. They responded with a 16-4 run of their own, behind sizzling shooting from Beck II. He went 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the first half, leading his squad with nine points at the break.
Stony Brook struggled to score on Binghamton’s zone late in the first half, shooting 1-for-8 and committing three turnovers in a six-minute stretch. Warney went 2-for-5 from the field in the opening 20 minutes as he was denied any clean touches in the paint and turned the ball over three times.
“I had to find a balance between being aggressive and passing the ball,” Warney said. “They played great defense.”
The Seawolves head to Massachusetts to take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks next, with tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m..
