Jackson, Coley, Brenton spark SBU comeback

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- When Stony Brook faced Binghamton a month ago, the Seawolves ran up a 40-point lead and never called timeout in a 34-point victory. Steve Pikiell's top-seeded team may have been focused on the two-win Bearcats on Saturday, but human nature was working against them to lower expectations -- right up to when Binghamton took a four-point lead on Chris Longoria's three-pointer with 12:17 left.

That's when Pikiell inserted sophomore guards Anthony Jackson and Dave Coley, who combined with forward Tommy Brenton to spark a 23-6 run that led to a 78-69 victory in an America East Tournament quarterfinal at the University of Hartford's Chase Family Arena.

Having survived that scare with its hopes for an NCAA bid intact, Stony Brook (21-8) advanced to the semifinals at 5 p.m. Sunday against fourth-seeded Albany (19-13), which earned a 63-45 win over fifth-seeded New Hampshire (13-16). Second-seeded Vermont (a 50-40 winner over Maine) will face sixth-seeded Hartford (a 53-49 winner over Boston University) in the other semifinal at 7:15 p.m.

It seemed a shaky beginning for Stony Brook, which is the conference's best defensive team but allowed Binghamton (2-29) to shoot 50 percent for the game and make 10 of 21 three-pointers. "The shots they were making were tremendous," Pikiell said. "I wanted to pound the ball inside. Tommy did a great job. I thought Anthony Jackson came off the bench and gave us great minutes. I was just pleased we won . . . against a team that played as good as I've seen them play."

Brenton, who was named the conference's defensive player of the year Friday, had 14 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, three assists and one blocked shot. Coley had 14 points and six rebounds, and Stony Brook got 13 points each from Jackson, Bryan Dougher and Dallis Joyner. The Seawolves outrebounded the Bearcats 36-25 and had a 36-14 advantage in points in the paint.

But Binghamton's Ben Dickinson (20 points), Longoria (17) and Jimmy Gray (16) combined to make 9 of 17 three-pointers. When Longoria's three gave the Bearcats their 47-43 lead, it shook the Seawolves. "My biggest thing was keeping everybody calm and making sure guys didn't panic," Joyner said. "I knew we would get enough defensive stops to pull through."

As soon as Jackson entered, he hit a 12-foot jumper to steady Stony Brook. Then Coley hit a jumper in the paint and made two foul shots at 10:34 to restore a 49-47 Seawolves lead. Coley assisted on a layup by Brenton, and the Seawolves' confidence returned.

At one point, Brenton made a steal and went full-court for a dunk before assisting on a layup by Joyner. When Coley threaded another pass to Brenton for a dunk and a 66-53 lead with 4:41 left, it was too much for the Bearcats to overcome.

Speaking of the shot by Jackson that began that surge, Coley said: "That's a booster. He's a great shooter. Once he gets going, it takes a lot of pressure off . . . Tommy's dunk comes from A.J. being a good shooter. A.J. was free and the defense ran to him, so I found Tommy."

Pikiell insisted that he isn't concerned about playing such a close game with Binghamton, which was winless until it upset Vermont on Feb. 21. "I don't get caught up in numbers and seeds," he said. But he added, "If we don't play better [Sunday], we'll be in for some trouble."