SBU Sports: Men’s Basketball edged by UNCW at home

The Stony Brook men’s basketball team fell in a battle against the UNCW Seahawks on Jan. 21 at Island Federal Arena. The Seawolves battled throughout a tough back-and-forth first half, in which they found themselves down 22-21 at the break.

The Seawolves battled throughout a tough back-and-forth first half, in which they found themselves down 22-21 at the break. Stony Brook had three players score in the first half. Senior guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore finished the first frame with eight points, graduate center Keenan Fitzmorris had seven, and freshman guard Toby Onyekonwu scored six points.

In the early stages of the game, graduate forward Frankie Policelli passed the ball across the court to Fitzmorris, who drained his fifth three pointer of the season.

Stephenson-Moore led the way through the first 20 minutes. With just over eight minutes left in the first half, he used a screen from Fitzmorris and lost his defender before pulling up for a three pointer from straightaway.

Policelli started the second half with his first bucket of the game, but UNCW shifted the momentum the rest of the way. Senior guard Maleeck Harden-Hayes nailed four straight three pointers to go on a 12-0 run on his own and put the Seahawks up 34-23. Harden-Hayes finished the game with a career-high 31 points.

Onyekonwu provided the spark as the first man off the bench. After scoring six points in the first half, he started off the second frame strong. The freshman dribbled off a screen from Fitzmorris and pulled up for a long two pointer, with just under 16 minutes to go.

Despite falling behind by 11 points in the second half, Stony Brook was able to cut it back to a five-point deficit late in the game. UNCW outlasted the Seawolves’ comeback.