West Hartford, Conn. - Chris Martin had 16 of his season-high 18 points in the second half in leading Stony Brook to a 67-61 victory over UAlbany in the quarterfinal round of the America East Conference Tournament on Saturday, March 5 at the University of Hartford's Chase Family Arena.
     Stony Brook (14-16) led throughout most the second half and built a 56-48 advantage with 6:14 remaining. Martin, a senior who did not play in both regular-season matchups with the Great Danes due to a knee injury, scored in transition for a five-point lead. Leonard Hayes, who had 11 points, canned a three-pointer, before Preye Preboye and Dallis Joyner each made a free throw.
     UAlbany (16-16) would slice the deficit to a single basket on four occasions over the final four minutes. Tim Ambrose, who led all scorers with 24 points despite being plagued by foul trouble in the second half, made two free throws to get his team within 63-61 with 47.3 seconds to play. But the Seawolves, the tournament's fifth seed, turned away the comeback bid at the foul line. Hayes and Martin each sank a pair in the final 16 seconds.
     "We had plenty of opportunities, but Stony Brook did all the little things when it mattered most," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team tied for third in the conference standing and received the tournament's No. 4 seed. "Logan (Aronhalt) and Tim (Ambrose) sat for five to six minutes (in the second half) and we didn't have enough offense and couldn't go on a run."
     Stony Brook's Bryan Dougher, who had 12 points, came out firing in first half as he made four 3-pointers en route to a 14-6 lead. UAlbany later reversed a five-point deficit with 10 unanswered. Ambrose, a 6-foot who added four rebounds and four assists, had seven straight points, including an offensive rebound basket for a 27-20 lead.
     The Seawolves would rally as Eric McAlister came off the bench to draw his team even with a jumper in the lane. He eventually put his team ahead, 30-29, with a three-pointer. UAlbany's Luke Devlin, a freshman who totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds, tied the contest at 34 apiece right before the break by scoring on the left baseline.
     "We didn't get enough stops at the end," explained Ambrose, a first-team all-conference player. "Chris Martin stepped up and made plays. Stony Brook was the better team today."
     UAlbany's Logan Aronhalt and Mike Black had 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Seawolves, who advanced to the America East semifinals for the third time in the program's history, shot 47.8 percent from the field, including 9-of-18 in the final period.

Paw Prints: UAlbany (16-16) finished the season with its highest win total since 2006-07 ... the Great Danes' nine-win improvement was the second-best in the program's 97 seasons ... UAlbany went from 15 to 25 wins in the 1993-94 campaign ... Tim Ambrose ended his career as the fourth-leading scorer in school history with 1,582 points ... Ambrose scored 20-plus for the 23rd time as a collegian ... the Great Danes have lost five in a row at Chase Family Arena, including last year's America East quarterfinal ...UAlbany had defeated Stony Brook in both regular-season meetings by scores of 52-50 and 58-43 ... the Seawolves hold a 14-13 edge in the series since both programs moved to the Division I level in 1999-2000 ... UAlbany has reached the 15-win mark in five of the last six seasons.

Stony Brook 67, UAlbany 61 (03/05/11 at West Hartford, Conn., Chase Family Arena)

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Stony Brook 67

Albany 61