Maybe you haven’t made it out to Stony Brook this season — a good chance since anyone west of Nassau County thinks the town is only a few exits before Ireland. Maybe you haven’t caught them on TV — a likelihood because most America East games don’t make it to cable.
But everything you need to know about the Seawolves happened with just over eight minutes left in Tuesday night’s game against Maryland- Baltimore County.
Guard Dave Coley was playing tight defense, deflected a ball and dove on the hardwood, despite having roughly a 12 percent chance of grabbing it. He didn’t get it and the disappointment was evident on his face.
At the time, Stony Brook led by 38.
“You got to play all 40 minutes,” Ron Bracey said. “We’re trying to be the best.”
In the America East, that is hardly debatable. With an up-tempo attack and relentless defensive pressure, the Seawolves turned an early nine-point deficit into an 18-point halftime lead, ending the first half on a 33-6 run, on their way to an 83-39 romp at a sold-out Pritchard Gymnasium.
Stony Brook (20-6, 11-2) took another step toward securing its second straight America East regular season championship, increasing its lead over Vermont to two games with three games left in the regular season, while earning its third 20-win season in the past four years, after failing to surpass 17 wins in its first 10 seasons in Division I.
Five players scored in double-figures, led by Anthony Jackson’s 14 points. The Seawolves also held a 42-10 advantage in bench points and a 31-4 margin in points off turnovers, winning their third straight game and seventh in the past eight games.
“The guys coming off the bench can score,” coach Steve Pikiell said. “We got a lot of weapons and I like to use them all.”
Though the second half was a formality, the stage was set early for a letdown game and the Seawolves looked ready to play the part. Coming off an emotional, long-awaited 65-48 win over Vermont on Friday night, Stony Brook looked lethargic, lacking urgency in the game’s first 11 minutes, and Jackson conceded that coming down from that high was “a little tough to overcome.”
The Retrievers (6-20, 4-9), led by Ryan Cook, who finished with 15 points, took a 23-14 lead midway through the half, but the Seawolves defense soon created plenty of offense, leading to a 23-4 advantage in fast break points, and a 47-29 halftime lead.
The defensive pressure only intensified in the second half, even as the lead swelled past 40, with UMBC shooting 3-of-28 in the second half.
“It’s a dangerous team with nothing to lose, making shots and we got off to a little flat start, but then we played Stony Brook basketball for the last 30 minutes,” Pikiell said. “Our bench really helped us today and did a great job of giving us energy.”
Bracey helped spark the turnaround with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench, first entering with the team down nine and exiting seven minutes later after a 21-point swing.
With such sporadic playing time, Bracey, a senior forward, said he doesn’t know what to expect from game to game. What keeps him ready is what has his teammates willing to dive on the floor with games out of hand and fight for rebounds when it appears there’s nothing left to fight for — except their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
“The NCAA Tournament keeps me having a good attitude,” Bracey said. “That’s what we’re all trying to get to. We talk about it pretty often. Last year we got to the [conference] championship game and we couldn’t pull it out. It’s a bitter taste in our mouth.”