SBU Sports: Men’s basketball loses back and forth battle with Towson 66-59

Stony Brook men’s basketball battled back and forth with Towson, ultimately falling to the CAA preseason favorites, 66-59, on Feb. 6 at Stony Brook Arena.

Andre Snoddy posted an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double and led a trio of double-digit scoring Seawolves in the setback.

Towson jumped out to an early 17-8 lead, using a 9-0 scoring run to create a cushion in the opening eight minutes of play. Sabry Philip cut through the lane and threw down a dunk through contact to end the run and flip the momentum in the favor of the Seawolves. After a Hicks triple, Stony Brook erased a 10-point deficit and fought back to even the contest at 24 with less than six minutes to play in the first half.

A CJ Luster II trifecta put the Seawolves ahead, 29-27, in the final four minutes of the opening stanza. It was Stony Brook’s first lead of the contest. Towson regained the lead momentarily, but Stony Brook carried an advantage in the scoring column into the intermission after a late bucket by Snoddy. Dylan Williamson scored eight of Towson’s first 10 second-half points in the first five minutes, putting the Tigers back in front, 42-37.

Stony Brook answered with a 10-0 scoring run, featuring a pair of and-one conversions inside by Ben Wight, to take hold of a five-point lead.

A 9-0 scoring run by Towson followed, seeing the lead change hands once again. The Tigers scored 14 of the next 16 points after the Seawolves took a five-point lead, turning Stony Brook’s five-point lead into a seven-point deficit.

The Seawolves eventually found themselves down 10 points, 63-53, with just over two minutes to play. Stony Brook closed the gap to five points on two occasions down the stretch, but could not complete the comeback.

STATS AND NOTES

• Snoddy secured his fourth double-double of the season, and his second straight at home. He tallied 18 points (9-11 FG), his second best scoring output of the season. Snoddy added 10 rebounds, his sixth double-digit rebounding performance of his senior season.
• Wight tallied 16 points, adding eight rebounds and a blocked shot. He finished 7-of-10 from the floor and half of his rebounds came on the offensive glass.
• Luster rounded out Stony Brook’s double-digit scorers with 14 points. He pulled down five rebounds and handed out a season-high four assists.
• Collin O’Connor logged all 40 minutes for the third straight contest, finishing with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
• The Seawolves limited Towson to a 35 percent mark from the floor (22-62) and out-rebounded the Tigers 45-32. Stony Brook’s 45 rebounds and plus-13 margin on the glass were season-best marks against a Division I opponent.
• Stony Brook connected on just three shots from beyond the arc, matching its second-worst effort of the season. The Seawolves shot 14.3% (3-21) from three, their worst mark against a conference foe this year.
• The Seawolves moved to 0-5 all-time against Towson and 0-2 at home against the Tigers.

Up next, the team heads across the Island to Nassau County to face Hofstra on Saturday, February 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the 36th iteration of the Battle of Long Island. The contest will air locally on MSG Networks and stream live on FloCollege.