SBU Sports: Men’s Hoops closes non-conference play with wire-to-wire win

SBU Sports: Men’s Hoops closes non-conference play with wire-to-wire win

#4 Tykei Greene. Photo by Victor Yu/Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook men’s basketball team treated its fans to a holiday win on Dec. 29, knocking off Farmingdale State 87-57 in front of 1,824 fans at Island Federal Arena to round out the non-conference schedule.

Tykei Greene recorded his second double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for the Seawolves. Jahlil Jenkins (15 points) and Jaden Sayles (13 points) joined the Queens native in double figures.

Stony Brook used a hot start to pull ahead, shooting 61.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. They were able to hold a Farmingdale State team that shot 36.3 percent as a team from deep to 20 percent from 3-point land in the first half.

Geno Ford‘s club now sits 8-5 as it heads into America East play on Sunday in West Hartford, Conn., against the defending league champions Hartford.

STATS AND NOTES

  • The 30-Point win was Stony Brook’s first since the win against Point Park (12/15/20). 
  • The 25-point lead at halftime was the largest for the Seawolves this season.
  • Sayles finished in double-digits in the first half for the first time this season, scoring 13 points. He is the sixth different player to score in double figures in the opening 20 minutes this season.
  • Jenkins recorded a new career-high in steals, swiping six, the most steals in a single game since Roland Nyama at Maine (1/17/15).
  • Omar Habwe dished out seven assists and set a new career-high, surpassing his previous record of five.
  • Greene raked in 20 points and pulled in 12 rebounds to record his seventh career double-double. He now sits tied for seventh in the record book with Elijah Olaniyi and Demetrius Young (2007-09). Greene’s 20 points are also a new season-high. 
  • Alex Christie finished the night with eight points, setting a new career high.

“I think there’s always room for improvement, in every win. I think this was a very well-played game for all 40 minutes … We came in with a different type of focus coming off Christmas break and the loss to Florida. We just had a more, locked-in focus for this game and we knew we had to be more prepared when getting ready to play this team,” said graduate forward Omar Habwe.

“We had a great game offensively tonight. A lot of the baskets we had were assisted, which is always good. We were moving it around and that was really a focus for us going into conference play. Coach always harps on us getting paint touches, whether it’s feeding the post or driving and kicking it. Once you get in the paint, it gets the defense to suck in and we can kick the ball out and move it.,” said graduate center Jaden Sayles.

“Pleased with the way we played, especially in the first half. That’s a team that has a lot of 3-point shooting and we knew they were capable of doing what they did in the second half, making nine threes … you need to play some games where you can get everybody in the game. I’m really pleased with the way we got through the non-league 8-5, especially with who we played. We played Hofstra, Yale and Bryant who were all picked to win their leagues, as well as Kansas who could win a national title. When you start going through and looking at who we’ve played, to get through that schedule 8-5 is awesome,” said head coach Geno Ford.

Up next, the Seawolves open league play against Hartford on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 2, taking on the Hawks at 2 p.m., in West Hartford, Conn.


The America East Conference has announced that the Stony Brook men’s basketball game versus UMBC, scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 6, has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the UMBC program.

Per America East policy, every effort will be made to reschedule postponed games. Rescheduled dates will be announced at a later time.

All single-game tickets for Jan. 6 will be accepted for the rescheduled date or can be exchanged for any 2021-22 regular season home game. If you wish to exchange your tickets, call 631-632-9753 or email [email protected].