Seawolves Top Mount Ida 80-43 in Home Opener

Stony Brook started off rusty, but found its shooting touch in the second half to blow out Mount Ida 80-43 in the men's basketball home opener Sunday.

The home team looked like they would dominate the Division III school from the opening tip, serving up an alley-oop to Dallis Joyner that drove the already energized crowd into a frenzy. However, Mount Ida showed it was no pushover by hitting two straight three pointers to cap an 8-0 run.

Mount Ida would continue to use the deep shot to put points on the scoreboard, hitting six in the first half. Stony Brook would continue to struggle for the rest of the first half, shooting below 29 percent from the field, but taking 20 free throws to keep them in the game.

Heroes: Bryan Dougher missed all six of the shots he took in the first half (five from three point range). Then he put it all together in the second half, hitting all six of his three pointers and scoring 21 of his 24 points. Mount Ida was held to only 14 points in the half, so Dougher outscored them by 7 on his own. The Stony Brook defense as a whole was outstanding, holding Mount Ida to a scant 27.4 field goal percentage and out-rebounding them 49-31. Anthony Mayo made the most of his 11 minutes of playing time with 6 points and 4 blocks.

Turning Point: With a little over a minute left in the first half, Stony Brook trailed the Mustangs by two. Then, the Seawolves took over the game with an 18-0 run that turned the game from competitive to blowout in about five minutes. Dougher had two of his three pointers during that stretch, giving him confidence that would lead him to take, and make, fade away shots from behind the arc.

Quotable: Dougher on missing all of his first half shots and then connecting on six consecutive three pointers: "At half time we did a mechanics check and realized I wasn't really using my legs on my shot. I just tried to get my mechanics right in the second half."

Bottom Line: The Seawolves were rusty, even for early in the season. Mount Ida came out to play by nailing early threes that the defense wasn't ready to defend, allowing the Mustangs to hang around and lead for most of the first half. Stony Brook got to the line in the first half for 20 free throws, but shot just 28.6 percent from the floor in the half. They pulled it together to dominate in the second half and if they can shoot like that throughout the season it'll be a good year for the Seawolves. Next up is a nationally televised game that tips off at 6 a.m. Tuesday, a scenario for rust to creep back in to the picture.

Key Stats:

Dougher: 7-15 (6-11 3 point FGs), 24 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists.

Al Rapier: 11 points, 11 rebounds.