Despite holding an 11-point lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game, Stony Brook’s men’s basketball team lost to Manhattan College in overtime, 64-63.
“I’m not even upset,” Seawolves head coach Steve Pikiell said. “I thought we played well enough to win the game. Our game plan was to outrebound them, and we did. We have to move on.”
Marcus Rouse (Upper Marlboro, Md.) led the Seawolves with 15 points off the bench. Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) added 11 points.
Stony Brook went into halftime with a 31-25 lead. Both teams shot just 33 percent from the field, but the Seawolves shot 10-for-14 from the free throw line while the Jaspers only got to the line six times and made five of them. The Seawolves also put together a dominating performance on the boards, holding a 26-11 rebounding advantage.
Stony Brook started the second half with a 14-9 run, capped by a three-point play from Anthony Mayo (Philadelphia, Pa.), to take their largest lead of the game at 45-34. But Kidani Brutus willed the Jaspers back into the game, hitting a deep three-pointer to cut the lead to 48-45 with 6:19 left.
Leonard Hayes (Voorhees, N.J.) answered with a three-pointer of his own to push the lead back to six. After two free throws from Michael Alvarado, George Beamon sank a long three-pointer to make it a one-point game.
After a floater from Brutus tied the game at 55, Dougher cut through two defenders to hit a floater of his own to give Stony Brook the lead with 44 seconds left. However, Beamon would hit a runner off the glass to tie the game. The Seawolves had a chance to win at the buzzer, but the alley-oop layup attempt from Preye Preboye (Springfield, Mass.) rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.
Stony Brook jumped out to a four-point lead to start the extra period on a tip-in from Danny Carter (Windsor, England) and a layup from Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.). But the Jaspers were able to come back and tie the game at 61 with a little over a minute left.
After an offensive foul by Rouse gave Manhattan the ball, Brutus spotted up and sank his seventh three-pointer of the game to give the Jaspers a 64-61 lead. On the ensuing possession, Rouse was able to draw a foul while shooting a three-pointer, but missed the second of three free throws.
Trailing 64-63 with 45 seconds left, the Seawolves played great defense, forcing a missed jumper from Alvarado. With five seconds on the clock, Dougher took the in-bounds pass, split the defenders to get into the lane for a layup, but the ball rimmed out as time expired.
Brutus led Manhattan with 25 points and Beamon added 23 points, representing 75 percent of the Jaspers’ scoring.
The Seawolves outrebounded the Jaspers 43-32, including 18 offensive boards. They shot only 28 percent from beyond the arc. Despite the good showing from the line in the first half, they made only three of their ten attempts in the second half. Manhattan was able to take advantage of Stony Brook’s 13 turnovers to get 20 points.
Carter and Joyner led Stony Brook with eight rebounds each. Al Rapier (Chicago, Ill.) put together a good game, dishing out five assists and grabbing six rebounds to go with four points.
The Seawolves were shorthanded for this game as Dave Coley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sat out with a knee injury and Eric McAlister (Hightstown, N.J.) was not active after suffering a sprained ankle in practice on Friday. Senior Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) played but was limited to three minutes as he is still nursing a knee injury.
The Seawolves resume America East play on Wednesday, traveling to face Hartford in a game that will help determine their seed in the upcoming America East Tournament. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
