Stony Brook, N.Y. - Despite a gritty
effort by the visiting UMBC, first-place Stony Brook outscored the
Retrievers, 46-33, in the second half and prevailed, 80-68, at
Pritchard Gymnasium.
UMBC sophomore forward Chase
Plummer (Plainfield, N.J.) led all scorers with 18 points
and he added eight rebounds, despite battling foul trouble for most
of the second half. Junior guards Brian
Neller (Red Bank, N.J.) and Ryan
Cook (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) added 11 and 10 points,
respectively. Senior post Jake
Wasco (Philadelphia, Pa.) had a game-best 10 rebounds and
added 6 points while freshman guard Joey
Getz (Philadelphia, Pa.) came off the bench to score 9
points and record 3 steals.
Stony Brook reserve guard Anthony Jackson led the hosts with 17
points.
The Seawolves won their eighth consecutive game and improved to
17-7 overall and 12-1 in the America East Conference. UMBC fell for
the sixth straight time and slipped to 3-21, 2-10.
The Retrievers led for the majority of the first half, as they
hit 16 of 27 shots from the floor. The biggest lead was at 18-13
midway through the half, but the hosts kept it close by hitting 6
of 12 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes. For the second
time in the last three games, UMBC led at the break, holding a slim
35-34 advantage.
Back-to-back 3-point field goals by Cook and Plummer gave the
Retrievers a 41-36 lead with 16:05 to play and Neller had two
chances to extend the lead to eight, but misfired on a pair of
attempts from behind the arc.
Stony Brook would then make the crucial run of the game,
outscoring UMBC, 19-6 over the next eight minutes and the Seawolves
took a 55-47 advantage. UMBC turned ice cold from the floor,
missing on 12 of its first 16 attempts of the second half.
Neller converted a trey to get the visitors to within 64-60 with
2:50 remaining, but the Seawolves scored field goals on their next
two possessions and hit 16 second-half free throws to extend their
winning streak over UMBC to eight in a row.
Stony Brook had defeated UMBC, 89-49, at the RAC Arena on Jan.
11.
UMBC held slight advantages in shooting from the floor and on
the boards (37-35), but hit only 5-of-23 from behind the arc.
The Retrievers host New Hamphire on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1:00
p.m.
