FTs help SBU win seventh in a row

Stony Brook struggled with its shooting but found other ways to get the job done Monday night, beating New Hampshire, 57-48, in Durham, N.H., in an America East Conference men's basketball game.

The victory was the seventh straight and 13th in 14 games for Stony Brook (16-7, 11-1), which remained a game ahead of second-place Vermont (16-10, 10-2), a 73-63 winner over Maine Monday night. Stony Brook will play at Vermont at noon Sunday.

"We did our job tonight, but it was a real grind,'' Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said. "New Hampshire does a good job on defense. They really make you work for it."

Stony Brook shot 14-for-45 (31 percent) from the field and 3-for-16 from three-point range. But the Seawolves made up for it with a much better performance at the free-throw line. They converted 26 of 33 attempts; New Hampshire (8-14, 3-8) shot 5-for-7.

"We were fortunate to attack the basket and draw contact to get ourselves to the free-throw line," Pikiell said. "Our defense was strong, too; our goal was to hold them to 50 points, and we succeeded.''

Tommy Brenton hit 12 of 14 free-throw attempts and finished with 14 points for the Seawolves. Bryan Dougher was the only other Stony Brook player in double figures with 10 points, shooting only 4-for-13 overall and 2-for-9 from three-point range.

Dave Coley had nine points and Dallis Joyner added six points and 11 rebounds for the Seawolves.

Alvin Abreu had 19 points and Ferg Myrick added 15 for New Hampshire.

Ahead 24-20 at the break, Stony Brook outscored New Hampshire 14-6 in the first 10-plus minutes of the second half and took a 38-26 lead with 10:42 left in the game.

New Hampshire trimmed the deficit to 38-32 with 8:13 remaining on a layup by Myrick, but the Seawolves answered with a 14-6 run and took its biggest lead at 52-38 with a minute left.