In the final regular season conference matchup ever between the Stony Brook men’s basketball team and its rival Vermont Catamounts, the Seawolves looked promising early but could not withstand the Catamounts’ second-half offensive attack.

Once the 98-65 beatdown ended, Vermont had set a conference record by going 19-for-30 from 3-point range and handed the Stony Brook men’s basketball team its largest defeat since losing to Hofstra by 38 in December 2016.

Championships are not won in October, but the results of the America East preseason poll prove how high the expectations are in Suffolk County for a trophy to be hoisted in March.

The Stony Brook men’s basketball team stepped into the Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont having not beaten the Vermont Catamounts in nearly four years.