The 13th seeded Stony Brook men’s basketball team erased a 16-point, second-half deficit but could not overcome No. 12 Delaware in the first round of the 2025 CAA Championship in Washington, D.C. on March 7. CJ Luster II scored a game-high 31 points, while Collin O’Connor contributed 18 points and four assists.

Delaware started strong, seeing four scorers contribute to the construction of an early 16-11 lead.

A basket inside by Andre Snoddy, followed by a trifecta from Leon Nahar evened the contest at 16-all.

Stony Brook could not grab hold of the lead however. The Blue Hens continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc, opening up a double-digit lead with less than five minutes to play in the first half.

The Seawolves’ deficit grew as large as 16 points, a disadvantage they carried into the intermission.

Stony Brook came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half, making its first seven shots of the second half to trim the deficit to eight points, 59-51, with more than 15 minutes to play.

The Seawolves began outworking the Blue Hens, imposing their will inside, drawing fouls and creating second-chance opportunities. A free throw by Luster and a basket inside by O’Connor made it a one-possession game, 65-62, a little more than halfway through the second stanza.

Stony Brook continued to stay within a possession of Delaware down the stretch, trailing 69-68 coming out of the final media timeout with 3:51 to play.

Snoddy free throws made it all even for the first time since the 11:40 mark of the first half.

Five free throws by the Blue Hens made it 75-70, but Luster brought it back to a one-possession game again as the clock ticked under a minute to play.

Trailing 79-76 with 19 seconds left, Luster fouled John Camden, who sank one of two free throws. Stony Brook’s final possession came up empty, sealing the Seawolves fate despite a valiant come-from-behind effort.

Quotes from Coach Geno Ford here.

Stony Brook men’s basketball closed out the regular season with a victory on senior night, March 1, defeating Elon, 71-66, on national television. Andre Snoddy eclipsed 1,000 career points in the win, which was sealed by Collin O’Connor’s block in the final seconds.

Stony Brook started the contest with five straight points, building a six-point lead early on after back-to-back Nick Woodard baskets. The Seawolves extended their first-half lead to double-digits, 24-14, on a CJ Luster II jumper at the 9:43 mark. Stony Brook’s lead grew to 11 points, the largest of the first half, on a Snoddy basket with 6:21 to play in the first half. Earlier in the half, Snoddy drove to the hoop and finished, eclipsing 1,000 career collegiate points.

The Seawolves took a 38-29 into the half and built onto it, pushing the advantage to 15 points less than three minutes into the second half. Stony Brook led by as many as 18 points, but Elon began slowly chipping away and clawing back into the contest.

The Phoenix rose late, turning a 14-point deficit into a one-possession game in the final minute of play after a 14-2 run that spanned more than five minutes. Elon had one final chance at a game-tying shot, but O’Connor came up clutch defensively, blocking Simpkins’ three-point attempt in the final seconds and hitting two free throws on the other end to ice the game.

“It was great to go out and earn a win on senior night in front of a great crowd. I thought Dre was awesome and I’m happy he got his 1,000th point with his family there watching,” head coach Geno Ford said postgame. “Ben had a great night too and it’s unfortunate that our other seniors couldn’t suit up, but I’m happy we were able to get the win for that group.”

Up next, the team enters the CAA Championship as the No. 13 seed and will face No. 12 Delaware on March 7 at 2 p.m. from CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., with the contest streaming live on FloCollege.

Stony Brook men’s basketball dropped an afternoon contest on Feb. 24 at Hampton University in V.A., 81-49. CJ Luster II scored a game-high 18 points in the setback.

After Luster started the scoring with a three-point play, Hampton scored 15 straight points and held Stony Brook without a point for almost six minutes.

Hampton managed to push the lead and maintain a 13-point advantage through the opening 10 minutes.

The Seawolves used a six-point scoring run to bring themselves back within seven points of the Pirates.

Hampton’s lead expanded to 15 points, the largest of the opening stanza, and the Pirates carried a 14-point cushion into the half.

Stony Brook fell behind by 24 points early in the second half and never closed the gap further. Hampton closed out a 32-point victory on Monday afternoon.

“Hampton dominated for 40 minutes. We struggled with the short turnaround and were unable to take care of the ball against their pressure,” head coach Geno Ford said postgame.

The team heads home, hosting Hofstra on February 27. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm in the Battle of Long Island from Stony Brook Arena. The contest will be broadcast on SNY and FloCollege.

Stony Brook men’s basketball fell in the final seconds at North Carolina A&T, 73-72, on Feb. 22 at the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro, N.C.

After jumping out to an early 26-25 advantage, Stony Brook went on a 7-0 run with 4:44 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Leon Nahar, to increase its lead to 33-25.

The Seawolves lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 38-33 advantage.

Stony Brook relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 38 first-half points.

The Aggies rallied to start the second half, erasing their deficit and building an 11-point lead with 12 minutes to play.

The Seawolves, led by CJ Luster II, fought hard to battle back and make it a one-point game with six minutes to play.

N.C. A&T proceeded to take a 72-65 lead before Stony Brook went on a 7-0 run, capped off by Andre Snoddy’s three, to even the score at 72 all with 52 seconds to go in the contest.

The Seawolves then had what could have been the final possession, but after an O’Connor miss from three, A&T’s Cam Shell fired a pass down the court that led to a shooting foul with 0.6 seconds remaining.

Ogletree made the first free throw and missed the second, running the clock out on a 73-72 victory for the Aggies.

Up next, the team hits the road again, heading to Hampton to face off with the Pirates on February 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 pm in Virginia and the contest will stream live on FloCollege.

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.