(Albany, NY) — When push comes to shove, the Stony Brook Seawolves are going to come out on top.
“They’re going to win most street fights in this league,” said Albany head coach Will Brown of Stony Brook.
In an incredibly hard fought and physical game, the Seawolves relied on clutch shooting, a deep bench, and a lot of contact, to emerged with a 76-69 win on the road against Albany, remaining alone atop the America East standings.
“They’re the best defensive team in the league, the best rebounding team in the league and the toughest team in the league,” said Brown. “They imposed their will on us.”
David Coley scored 17 points on 8-9 shooting, Bryan Dougher added 14, Al Rapier had a 10 point 12 rebound double-double, and Anthony Jackson scored 11 points in 10 minutes off the bench.
“A lot of guys stepped up and made big plays on the road, which isn’t easy to do in front of a sell-out crowd,” said Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell.
Stony Brook shot 53.1 percent from the floor (26-49) and 56.3 percent from behind the arc (9-16), and out-rebounded the Great Danes 34-32, the 13th straight game that the Seawolves have out-rebounded their opponents. Stony Brook held the Great Danes – The league’s best offensive back court – to just 5-22 from behind the arc.
Nine different players scored for Stony Brook, as the Seawolves bench outscored Albany’s 23-4.
“I like my bench, I trust them; they can really shoot the ball. They give us a different dimension coming off the bench,” said Pikiell.
Albany’s three-headed back court monster of Gerardo Suero, Mike Black and Logan Aronhalt combined for 51 points, but had to work for every single one of them.
“They out-physicaled us,” said Black.
“It was definitely the most physical game we’ve played all year,” added Aronhalt.
Playing before a sellout home crowd of 4,538, the game (Albany’s “Big Purple Growl” for winter homecoming), had a post season feel. 60 minutes before tip-off, bass blared from the overhead speakers. Both teams rocked the rims with high-flying dunks during lay-up lines, and the floorboards shook beneath the fans. The noise was deafening. (more…)
