Frankie Policelli excels down the stretch for Stony Brook in win over Army
Stony Brook Seawolves forward Frankie Policelli and teammates react against the Army Black Knights late in the second half of a men's basketball game at Island Federal Arena on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Stony Brook played from behind for most of the afternoon on Sunday and couldn’t seem to get over the hump. That was until Frankie Policelli willed the Seawolves to victory.
Policelli tied a career high with 22 points and added a career-best 19 rebounds as Stony Brook defeated Army, 66-59, at Island Federal Arena.
“From the bench I saw [Kenan] Sarvan having success getting in the paint. He laid out the formula for me,” Policelli said. “I tried to take my time in the paint, slow things down and get some easy buckets.”
Policelli took over late, scoring eight straight points in a two-minute span. His run turned a four-point deficit into a four-point advantage and gave the Seawolves their first lead with 4:59 remaining.
“It became our mentality to just get one stop, take things play by play,” Policelli said. “We had to focus and lock back in.”
Tyler Stephenson-Moore, Stony Brook’s leading scorer this season, was scoreless in the first half but had eight consecutive points to give the Seawolves their largest lead at 62-54 with 1:38 remaining. He finished with 10 points.
“He didn’t really get it going offensively until the end of the game, but boy, did he get up and make a few big ones,” coach Geno Ford said. “He’s got a lot on his plate, but he’s having an all-world year.”
The Seawolves (4-8) allowed Army (5-7) to connect on five of its first seven three-point attempts in the first half and found themselves down by double-digits midway through the half. Coleton Benson (19 points) hit four threes during that stretch for Army.
Stony Brook then held Army to 0-for-7 shooting from three-point range and eight points in the final 10 minutes of the half.
“As the game wore on, we were able to get them away from the three-point line, but they shot much better than their percentages early,” Ford said. “I didn’t think we were playing horrible defense, I just thought it was good offense.”
Keenan Fitzmorris had 11 points in the first half for Stony Brook, which trailed 33-28 at the break. He totaled 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
“The preparation going into games from our coaches and the scouting reports have really helped,” Fitzmorris said. “Teams don’t really deviate much from what they normally do, so good scouting helps a ton.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
