Stony Brook loses to Vermont, 69-53

Stony Brook got off to a good start Thursday night, but things went downhill fast.

Carson Puriefoy hit a three-pointer 13 seconds into the game -- and host Vermont responded with 14 straight points in the next 4:14 en route to a 69-53 victory.

The Catamounts (20-9), who followed Puriefoy's three-pointer with a 30-9 run and led by as many as 24 in the second half, clinched the America East Conference regular-season title by moving to 14-1 with one game left.

Stony Brook (20-9), which had beaten Vermont, 67-64, on Jan. 24 at Pritchard Gymnasium, fell to 12-3.

Victories over Vermont and Albany on Sunday would have given the Seawolves the title, but they're now locked into second. The top remaining seed in the conference tournament final earns the right to host the game.

Puriefoy finished with 20 points. Anthony Jackson, who entered the game two points short of 1,000 for his career, shot 0-for-8 and went scoreless. Luke Apfeld led five Vermont players in double figures with 14.

Sandro Carissimo scored 13 points, Ethan O'Day and Clancy Rugg had 11 each and Candon Rusin added 10 for the Catamounts. Brian Voelkel had seven points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Vermont shot 24-for-44 from the field to Stony Brook's 18-for-53.

Carissimo's three-pointer with 5:35 left in the first half gave Vermont a 30-12 lead. Carissimo and Rusin each had eight points in the half as Vermont shot 13-for-23 from the field, including 6-for-12 from three-point range. The Catamounts held Stony Brook to 9-for-29 shooting in the half, limiting Jameel Warney to two points. Warney, who entered the game averaging 15.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for three games and finished with seven points and one rebound in 26 minutes.