Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

Orono, Maine - Senior Mitchell Beauford (Queens, N.Y.) hit the go-ahead free throw with 2:19 left as the Stony Brook men's basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final minutes on its way to a 56-51 victory at Alfond Arena on Saturday afternoon.

"That was a great, great effort from our guys," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said. "They never gave up and they came through down the stretch for a big victory."

Maine (7-20, 3-11 AE) pushed its lead to eight at 47-39 on a technical free throw but senior Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va.) answered with five straight to make it 47-44. Freshman Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) added a hoop to cut the deficit to a pair before Stony Brook (6-21, 3-12 AE) grabbed the lead back on the ensuing possession on an old-fashioned three-point play from Beauford.

Two free throws from Martin pushed the lead to three but the Black Bears still had a chance to tie with 32.6 seconds remaining after a Stony Brook turnover. The Black Bears cut the lead to one on a put-back from Brian Andere but were then assessed a technical foul after calling a timeout with none remaining. Lucas hit both freebies and Martin then hit one of two on the ensuing possession to make the lead four, sealing the game,

The Seawolves got off to a quick start, scoring six of the first seven points while holding the Black Bears without a field goal for the first seven and a half minutes. A three-pointer from junior Demetrius Young (Sacramento, Calif.) gave SBU a 9-4 advantage, but the Black Bears then went on an 18-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 22-11 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the half.

Beauford broke the drought with two free throws but the Black Bears scored the next five to take their largest lead of the game at 27-13. A driving lay-up from Beauford and two free throws from junior Michael Tyree Somerset, N.J.) sent the Seawolves into the locker room trailing by 10.

Stony Brook held the Black Bears to just 32.3 percent shooting in the opening half and was led in scoring by Beauford's six points. Maine was led in scoring with six points each from Kaimondre Owes and Robby Hanzlik.

Sparked by Lucas, the Seawolves came out of the break hot. Lucas scored five of the Seawolves first seven points as SBU went on a 9-2 run to cut the Maine lead to three at 29-26 with 17:54 remaining. Stony Brook sliced its deficit down to two at 36-34 on a Beauford pull-up jumper but an Owes free throw pushed the Maine lead back to three with just over nine minutes remaining.

The Seawolves took their first lead since early in the game with 7:10 left when freshman Jermol Paul (Palm Beach, Fla.) hit a shot but the Black Bears answered with eight straight points to go up 45-38 with just under six minutes to go, setting the stage for Stony Brook's comeback victory.

Lucas led Stony Brook with 14 points, with Martin and Beauford adding 13 apiece for the Seawolves. Senior Emanuel Neto (Luanda, Angola) topped the Seawolves with six rebounds and four blocked shots. Mark Socoby led Maine with 14 points.

The Seawolves conclude their regular season next Saturday, hosting Binghamton at 2 p.m. The contest will be televised by the Madison Square Garden Network (MSG).