Stony Brook can erase some bad memories

All Stony Brook's shaky 13-16 regular season meant, ultimately, was a No. 5 seed in the America East Conference Tournament, and all that seeding meant, coach Steve Pikiell said, was "you get to wear a red jersey or a white jersey at a neutral site."

As the lower seed in both its games last weekend, Stony Brook wore red, which didn't stop it from advancing to Saturday's title game at Boston University. And all that matters now is that the winner will qualify for the NCAA Tournament, which would be a first for Stony Brook. It also would wipe out months of frustration about injuries and inconsistent play -- not to mention last season's loss to BU in the conference semifinals, when Stony Brook was the No. 1 seed.

Pikiell, who insisted he has gotten much better at dealing with losses in his sixth season as SBU coach, nevertheless hasn't forgotten the "block/charge call" at a crucial moment in that victory by BU. "We got beat by a better BU team," he said. But . . .

That call, he said, he watched on tape "all summer long. I know the referees don't have the chance to slow the game down and watch in slow motion, but there's an absolute, 100-percent charge by their best player, who would've fouled out of the game . . . 70-63. And that ended our season.'' (Aside from the NIT game against Illinois, of course.)

"In college basketball, whatever you think is going to happen isn't going to happen. Whistles, whatever, injuries, anything. Kids lose confidence in themselves, they're studying, worried about that, thinking about their girlfriends or having a bad practice.

"That's what makes it so exciting. You can't predict anything. Our team is really one of those teams that test your perseverance, all ups and downs, but the guys have stayed with it, continue to live by our core. We defend, play unselfishly."

BU (20-13) is riding a 10-game winning streak and beat Stony Brook (15-16) in both regular-season meetings, led by 6-5 senior John Holland (19.0 ppg), a Bronx product who twice has paced the conference in scoring. He is supported by three transfers: guard Matt Griffin (from Rider), forward Darryl Partin (La Salle) and center Patrick Hazel (Marquette).

But Stony Brook appears to be experiencing a crescendo of efficiency, with four straight victories and six in its last eight games. Bryan Dougher (12.8) lately has gotten significant help from Chris Martin (7.0) and Leonard Hayes (6.6) as Stony Brook reversed a pair of regular-season losses to both Albany and top-seeded Vermont in the conference tournament. Martin averaged 16.0 points and Hayes 15.5 in the two tournament games.

The sudden buzz on campus led more than 200 Stony Brook students, not including the pep band, to sign up for the bus trip to Boston. And if Stony Brook should win . . . The NCAA Tournament committee "can send us anywhere, any time," Pikiell said. "We'll be happy."