Stony Brook falters in second half in loss to Northeastern
Stony Brook forward Frankie Policelli drives the outside against Northeastern guard Joe Pridgen on Thursday at Island Federal Credit Union Arena. Credit: George A Faella
Stony Brook was bound to have bad nights this season. It was expected when the Seawolves made the jump in conferences from the America East to the far tougher Colonial Athletic Association. In the former, road games were the biggest challenge. In the latter, a road win doesn’t guarantee a sweep in the two-game season series.
Stony Brook won by four in its first CAA game at Northeastern on New Year’s Eve. The Huskies returned the favor on Thursday night by burying the Seawolves in a hail of three-pointers for a 79-66 win before 1,651 at Island FCU Arena.
Northeastern (8-11, 4-3), which came in averaging 7.1 three-pointers per game, went 13-for-20 from beyond the arc and shot 59% from the floor overall. The Huskies made 11 three-pointers in the first 33 minutes, shrugging off a one-point halftime deficit and extending to a 61-46 lead on Glen McClintock’s three-pointer with 7:38 to play.
Stony Brook (7-12, 3-3) employed a press and made a few three-pointers as a result but never got it back to even a two-possession game.
“You’ve got to keep the other team from shooting 65% from three,” Seawolves coach Geno Ford said. “Whether it was a bad defense, which it definitely was at times, or good offense by them, which it was at times, it kind of spelled a disaster for us.”
Frankie Policelli had 22 points and Tyler Stephenson-Moore and Toby Onyekonwu each had 14 points for Stony Brook.
Jahmyl Telafort and Masai Troutman each scored 20 points for the Huskies. Northeastern went 9-for-9 from the field in the final 10:24 and had 19 assists on 26 made field goals.
The Huskies capped a 14-2 run with three-pointers on three straight possessions — the last by McClintock — for the 15-point lead with 7:38 to play.
“Once it gets to 15, you’re really throwing Hail Marys at that point,” Ford said.
Policelli scored 11 of his points in the final 6:02 of the first half to get SBU back from a seven-point deficit to a 32-31 halftime lead.
Asked to compare the America East and the CAA, Ford replied, “It’s not even close.”
He added: “The talent in this league is much different . . . the guys on the rosters tend to be big, strong [and] fast. The other league had some of that, but not near this level [and] depth in this league . . .
“If you don’t play well, you’re going to lose. And once in a while you’re going to play OK and still lose.”
Nevertheless, Stony Brook is competitive. It’s a two-point road loss to North Carolina A&T away from being in the top tier of the 13-team conference.
“I knew to expect that it was going to be a good jump up, be really competitive for us,” Policelli said. “We are hanging in there . . . We belong in this league.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
