Stony Brook sweeps weekend series vs. Binghamton with overtime win
Frankie Policelli of the Stony Brook Seawolves puts up a shot in the first half against the Fairfield Stags at Island Federal Arena on Dec. 4, 2020. Credit: Jim McIsaac
With the America East modifying its schedule this winter to cut travel in conference play, the Stony Brook men's basketball team will be facing the same opponent on consecutive days all season long. And as the Seawolves discovered Sunday, one game has nothing to do with another.
After defeating Binghamton by 14 points the day before — and leading by 23 midway through the second half — the Seawolves got a scare Sunday. But Stony Brook defeated Binghamton, 80-70, in overtime at The Events Center in Vestal, New York.
"I think you’re going to see a lot of teams on the second day just play harder when they get beat," coach Geno Ford said. "Whether it’s an actual X's-and-O's adjustment or just guys having pride not to want to lose twice in a row, it’s probably a little bit of both."
"We didn’t want to let that win get to our heads," said Tykei Greene, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. "We wanted to stay locked in and we went into the game knowing it’s not going to be as easy as it was before."
Stony Brook outscored Binghamton 16-6 in overtime and 27-13 in the final nine minutes, including regulation.
"When we really had to dig in and get tougher on defense," Ford said, "we were able to get game-winning stops for the last nine minutes pretty consistently."
Frankie Policelli scored 11 of his 16 points in the final nine minutes for the Seawolves (4-4, 2-0). Juan Felix Rodriguez and Omar Habwe added 14 points each and Mouhamadou Gueye had 10.
Stony Brook had five different scorers in overtime.
"That makes us extremely dangerous just because we have so many guys that can create their own shot and flip the bucket," Policelli said. "It’s hard to defend us just because we have so many guys that can do so many things, so I think down the road, the more we play, the scarier this team can get."
The Seawolves began the game with a 17-5 run before Binghamton pulled within 32-28 at halftime. Binghamton (0-5, 0-2) took its first lead at 46-45 on George Tinsley's layup with 10:40 remaining in the second half.
Stony Brook opened conference play 2-0 for the sixth straight year. The weekend sweep is a nice conference start for the Seawolves, but Ford expects even more improvements.
"I think our best basketball’s still down the road ahead of us," he said, "and we need to keep getting better."
Stony Brook women win. Asiah Dingle had 14 points and India Pagan and Nairimar Vargas-Reyes added 10 each as the Stony Brook women's basketball team beat Binghamton, 55-47, on Sunday at Island Federal Arena. Pagan scored seven points during a 9-0 run to begin the third quarter. The Seawolves, who trailed by 10 in the second quarter, are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in America East play.
