Lehigh's Mountain Hawks (4-3) hit 90 percent of their overtime field goals, providing enough room to beat the Seawolves, 79-76. The Seawolves (3-3) took over the lead early in the first half and held on to it throughout regulation, and in overtime the lead changed five times as both teams sped through offensive attacks.
Heroes: Stony Brook's scoring leader this season, Bryan Dougher, took the reigns offensively for the Seawolves. Dougher scored 26 points, 15 of those coming from three-pointers. The Mountain Hawks tookan early lead, but six minutes in, a 3 from Dougher tied the game. Following that shot was a steal from Dave Coley who laid in two points on a fast break, putting the lead in Seawolf hands.
Turning Point: The first half ended with the Seawolves up, 38-30. Once out of the locker rooms, the Mountain Hawks started the second half with an aggressive 7-0 run. But Stony Brook kept its composure and began to slow things down to set up the offense and re-establish control of the game. With seven minutes remaining, Stony Brook led 62-51, before Lehigh's C.J. McCollum turned on the offensive ability that's placed him at No. 16 among the NCAA's top scorers. Ahead by two, the Seawolf offense lost focus and possession when a violation was called for not getting the ball past a close defensive guard in five seconds after crossing half-court. Stony Brook's Chris Martin was able to put his team's score up to 66 with a strong move driving in the lane. But McCollum, a player who keeps the ball in his possession as much as possible when things get close, drew a foul and sank both of them to tie the score at 66, sending the game into overtime.
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Both teams were scoreless 2 minutes into overtime, but Lehigh struck first with a putback under the hoop. Dallis Joyner quickly stopped Lehigh's momentum in the post, and struck up some scoring with smart moves around the backboard. The teams went from one end to the other fast; in 2 minutes and 6 seconds the teams scored 23 points, with the lead changing five times. Lehigh took the lead with 30 seconds left, 77-74. Dougher took the ball up court, looked for a lane and charged sideline. He stopped his run and pulled up, not hard enough to shake the defender, but he powered through the contact and sank his shot with a soft touch off the glass. Immediately, the whistles were blown and the officials gathered around the review station to decide where his feet were, and they ultimately let down the crowd when they only put two points up.
Quote: "When you let up 80 points at home, you're going to lose. We didn't play well. At half we had a chance to tell them we weren't letting up, instead we let them know they were back in the game," Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell said.
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Bottom Line: Stony Brook had been off for nine days, a period when Lehigh played three games. The Seawolves started sloppy, and ended weakly. The all-time record for these teams meeting up is now at 5-3, Lehigh. Stony Brook has won the last two meetings, but Lehigh's a tough team that's been to the NCAA tournament four straight years. The Seawolves could have won this one with some defense and rebounds, but more importantly, they need to hit their free-throws. Stony Brook went 12-21, while Lehigh hit 18-20. Those are the points that this game came down to.
Who's Next? Dec. 4, 4 p.m. @ Columbia (3-4). The Seawolves have a 6-4 all-time record against the Lions, and have won the last two meetings.
Key Statistics:
Dougher- 26 points (10-20), 3 assists, 3 rebounds
Joyner- 7 points (3-7), 7 rebounds
