SBU Sports: Men’s basketball takes down UNC Wilmington in overtime thriller
The Stony Brook university men’s basketball team took down UNC Wilmington in overtime, 86-78, on Jan. 27 at Island Federal Arena. Tyler Stephenson-Moore (22 points) and Aaron Clarke (21 points) paced the offense in a statement victory for the Seawolves.
Four players scored in double figures in total for the Seawolves to end the Seahawks’ five-game winning streak. Keenan Fitzmorris contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks off the bench and Dean Noll scored 10 points, knocking down a key three down the stretch.
Stony Brook used a 10-0 run with midway through the first half, culminating in a deep three from Jared Frey to grab a 23-19 lead.
The Seawolves then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 39-37 advantage. Stony Brook got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted
UNC Wilmington proceeded to take the lead back, using a 19-2 run that stretched between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. Stony Brook then scored six straight points, finished off by Stephenson-Moore’s three, to shrink the deficit to 54-53 with 8:43 to go in the contest.
The Seawolves rally continued as they outscored UNC Wilmington 13-12 the rest of the way to tie it at 66-66 and send the game to overtime. Noll connected on a game-tying trifecta, evening the score at 64-64, with 41 seconds to play, before Trazarien White scored on the other end. Stephenson-Moore was then fouled with one second and change, sinking a pair of free throws to send the contest to an extra period.
Stony Brook started overtime with a bang, going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Clarke’s three, to seize a 74-66 lead with 2:50 to go in the period. The lead moved to 79-71 after another Clarke trifecta, this time a stepback in front of the Stony Brook bench.
The triple all but sealed the win, as the Seawolves held onto that lead for the rest of the game to come away with the 86-78 win in overtime.
Up next, the team stays on Long Island, heading to Nassau County on Thursday, February 1 to face Hofstra. Tip-off between the Seawolves and Pride is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the second iteration of the Battle of Long Island. The contest will stream live on FloHoops and locally on MSG Sports Network.
