Stony Brook feasts on Farmingdale State, 91-42
Jameel Warney #20 grabs a rebound in the first half during an NCAA basketball game at Island FCU Arena on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. Credit: Daniel De Mato
Competitive it wasn't. Stony Brook flexed its muscles early and routed Division III Farmingdale State, 91-42, Saturday afternoon at Island FCU Arena.
It begged the question of why a mid-major power like the Seawolves would schedule their first two home games against D-III opponents, including a 71-point win over U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in the opener.
The answer is that it's tough for coach Steve Pikiell to convince a quality non-conference opponent to travel to Stony Brook to play a team with Jameel Warney. Farmingdale replaced a mid-major school that pulled out of a previous commitment.
So coming off three games in which Stony Brook lost to No. 19 Vanderbilt in overtime and fell by one at Western Kentucky before winning at Loyola Maryland, the Seawolves (3-2) enjoyed their Thanksgiving cupcake, taking a 34-4 lead 10:28 into the game.
"We could go on the road 100 times, but we need to play some home games, too," Pikiell said. "Our schedule is plenty challenging, so it's nice to be able to play everybody [on the roster] in front of our home fans. We're 3-2, and that's what we wanted to be at the end of the game."
Warney had his customary double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in only 18 minutes. Point guard Lucas Woodhouse sat out with an injured knee, but Ahmad Walker added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists; Kameron Mitchell scored 12 points; Tyrell Sturdivant pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds and walk-on Tim Donohoe hit a corner three-pointer with 59 seconds left to send everyone home happy.
Anthony Lanieri led the Rams (0-4) with 15 points and shot 7-for-10, but Farmingdale State shot 29.8 percent from the field and was outrebounded 54-29.
Pikiell was pleased that the Seawolves had 20 assists, but they took 39 three-pointers, making only 11 (28.2 percent). They made 24 of 35 two-point tries (68.6 percent). Asked if the plan was to work on the team's outside shooting, Pikiell said, "No, that's what they gave us. I thought we had a lot of good looks, but we never want to shoot that many threes. Every time we shoot a three, that's a Jameel touch that he doesn't get."
The lopsided win over Farmingdale, of course, didn't say as much about Stony Brook as losing a 10-point lead in the final 15 minutes of regulation at Vanderbilt did. The Commodores beat St. John's by 37 points in their next game and were second to Kansas in the Maui Invitational.
"The games at Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky, we didn't like the result, but we took some positives away," Warney said. "Our toughness when things were going south for us, we battled back. It showed what we can be."
Carson Puriefoy III added, "We still came up short, but [Vanderbilt is] a top-15 team in the country. That tells us we're a very good team as well. We have really great pieces, and we can make some noise this season. That's what we need to do at the end of the season."
Stony Brook's schedule gets much tougher, starting with a home game Saturday against Princeton followed by games at Notre Dame, Northeastern and American before the big one against Long Island rival Hofstra on Dec. 20 at Island FCU Arena.
"Northeastern just beat Miami; Columbia is good; Hofstra is good; obviously, Notre Dame is good," Pikiell said. "Hopefully, we can learn to finish. We had a lot of opportunities to win, especially the Western Kentucky game, but you learn a lot and your team grows. You have to learn how to win, and we still have to go through that a little bit."
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
