Stony Brook rolls to victory over Binghamton, 72-49, in America East quarterfinal
Sunday, March 10th, 2013(Albany, New York) — If one sequence encapsulates the experience of both teams in Saturday’s quarterfinal between No. 1 Stony Brook and No. 8 Binghamton, it would be from a play that occurred just after the under-12 minute media timeout in the first half. Stony Brook reset its offense after a Jameel Warney offensive rebound of a missed Tommy Brenton free throw. Brenton, upon receiving the ball in the high post, immediately throws a bounce pass to Warney, whose zone defender had stepped up toward Brenton.
At the last second, Binghamton freshman Jordan Reed begins to scramble across the lane toward Warney, but from the moment Warney begins to elevate off the ground it is clear that any attempt to contest the upcoming dunk will only serve to enhance a poster. With Reed far underneath him, Warney throws down a powerful slam with both hands, holding tight to the rim, his feet swinging out toward the far low block as momentum continues to carry his lower body across the lane. The score capped an early 9-0 run for the Seawolves, one of several runs that quickly rendered the 1 vs. 8 quarterfinal non-competitive.
The crowd’s focus immediately before and after the dunk was on Warney, a physical specimen blessed with size, athleticism, and the ability to make even the most difficult plays look simple and straightforward. But no analysis of this play, or of the game that lends it context, would be complete without an equal focus on Reed, exerting maximum effort on help defense to contest a play whose outcome was already written in stone before Reed took his first step. (more…)
