Stony Brook can't shake off slow start in loss to Binghamton
Stony Brook guard Anthony Roberts drives the top of the key against Binghamton guard Christian Hinckson in a America East basketball game on Wednesday at Island Federal Credit Union Arena. Credit: George A Faella
The Stony Brook men’s basketball team learned Wednesday morning it wouldn’t be competing in the America East Conference Tournament through no fault of a single player or coach. This also likely means the Seawolves have — essentially — no route to the NCAA Tournament.
Less than 12 hours later, Stony Brook had to take the court. The quick turnaround after an emotional day was tough on the Seawolves as they fell to Binghamton, 77-61, in an America East game at Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
Jacob Falko had 29 points for Binghamton.
Tyler Stephenson-Moore, who led Stony Brook with 15 points, admitted the emotions of the day weighed on the team and carried onto the floor.
"Most definitely felt that," he said. "But as a team, we tried collectively to come out in the second half, push it behind us. We should have pushed it behind us, but we definitely didn’t want it to affect us in the second half."
The America East Conference announced Wednesday morning that because Stony Brook accepted an invitation to join the Colonial Athletic Association beginning July 1, none of the Seawolves’ programs would be eligible to compete for conference championships. With the America East traditionally being a one-bid conference for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, that effectively ended Stony Brook’s hopes of participating in March Madness.
"It hurts," Stephenson-Moore said. "I’m hoping hopefully something good happens and it changes and we’re allowed to play, but it definitely [stinks]. But we need to keep pushing."
For the time being, the opportunity to play in the conference tournament is out of the players’ and coaches’ control. All they can do is continue to play and hope for a reversal.
"We can’t let this affect us," Stephenson-Moore said. "We are basketball players at the end of the day. This is something we love to do so we still have a lot of games left. We have to put this one behind us and we’ll be ready for the next games coming up."
Stony Brook (13-8, 5-3) got off to a slow start Wednesday, with Binghamton taking a 20-12 lead midway through the first half as the Seawolves had five turnovers in the game’s first 10 minutes. Binghamton (9-10, 6-4) used an 11-2 run to take a 40-24 lead with 1:28 left in the first half.
Coach Geno Ford said it’s his responsibility to support the players during a period of uncertainty. He added the America East’s decision to announce on a game day "was what it was."
But Ford expects Stony Brook to keep playing hard. "I’ve liked our mental toughness all year," he said. "This is a real time where we just need to rely on it and we need to find a way to bounce back and get a win."
