Men's Basketball Hands Stony Brook its First League Loss in America East Semifinal Rematch, 77-67
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ALBANY, N.Y. – Stony Brook's 2013 America East Tournament nightmares came rushing back on Wednesday night, as UAlbany (11-10, 5-3 AE) downed the Seawolves (15-7, 7-1 AE) for the second straight time at SEFCU Arena, 77-67. The Great Danes won the rematch of the 2013 America East semifinal when they upset the No. 1 seeded Seawolves 61-59 last March. Sam Rowley had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Gary Johnson scored 19 points.
“We made the changes that needed to be made this week,” said Rowley. “We didn't feel like we were playing our best basketball and we needed to get back to the drawing board. So it feels to get the win after having a tough week of practice carry over.”
UAlbany started off slow, going 0-for-3 from the field and committing four turnovers. The Seawolves took an early 6-0 lead in the process.
The Great Danes responded by going 3-for-6 from the field over the next four minutes. With 11 minutes left in the first half, Dallas Ennema hit the first of a series of 3-pointers to close the Stony Brook lead. Johnson and Peter Hooley hit one three apiece soon after, giving UAlbany its first lead, 19-18 with 8:27 left in the first half.
Stony Brook went 3-for-3 on its next several possessions to build back a four-point lead.
Sam Rowley went to the line and made two free throws, allowing UAlbany to set up its zone press and force a 10-second violation on the Seawolves.
The good team defensive effort propelled the Great Danes into a 10-0 run, taking a six-point lead, 31-25 with 3:36 left in the first half. After Johnson and Rowley combined to hit four free throws to close the half, UAlbany handed Stony Brook its first league deficit at the break, 38-33.
Johnson opened the second half with a statement dunk in traffic to set the tone for the rest of the game.
“We came out angry tonight,” said Johnson. “Getting everyone back and healthy shows in our game, and we really got on the same page. We knew they would come here and play hard. We wanted to match their intensity and be more aggressive than them.”
John Puk scored four points early in the second half to help the Purple & Gold open the half 3-for-4 from the field.
The Great Danes extended their lead to 15 thanks to a 12-0 run, including back-to-back threes from Ennema and DJ Evans. Will Brown's squad led by as many as 18 points with seven minutes left in regulation.
Four UAlbany turnovers and a four-minute field goal drought brought Stony Brook back within 12, 72-60 with 1:37 remaining; but a 5-for-6 clip from the free throw line for the Purple & Gold put the game out of reach.
“I think we were a focused team tonight that really woke up,” said head coach Will Brown. “We grinded them down, we needed to compete and fight, so I'm proud of our effort.”
UAlbany went 26-32 (.813) from the free throw line, making nearly three times as many free throws as Stony Brook attempted (7-9, .778). The Great Danes are now 7-0 when scoring 70 points or more.
The Purple & Gold returns to action on Saturday against league rival Vermont (13-9, 7-1 AE) for its annual Big Purple Growl. The game will tip-off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game against the Catamounts.
