Stony Brook coach Geno Ford talks to guard Anthony Roberts in...

Stony Brook coach Geno Ford talks to guard Anthony Roberts in the second half of an NCAA men's basketball game against American Eagles at Island Federal Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

The ball hung in the air.

Juan Felix Rodriguez and Jahlil Jenkins had both missed layups, and the ball was just waiting to be grabbed.

And it was. By Tykei Greene, who in one motion secured it before throwing down a vicious two-handed follow dunk.

It was a brief moment which encapsulated how Wednesday night went for the Seawolves, who routed American 80-57 at Island Federal Arena.

"I feel like we’re starting to figure each other out," Seawolves coach Geno Ford said.

After consecutive losses against George Mason and No. 8 Kansas to start the season, the Seawolves have won three of four and improved to 3-3 overall. Anthony Roberts led four Seawolves in double-figure scoring with 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jenkins added 16, Greene chipped in with 13 and Jaden Sales had 12.

"We’re trending in the right direction," Sales said.

Coming into the 2021-22 season, it would be fair to view the Seawolves through the prism as a team in transition. Stony Brook returned back eight players--three starters--from the 2020-21 edition, and brought in seven new players, including four transfers.

Against an Eagles squad that entered the contest having lost five in a row after winning their first two games of the season, though, the Seawolves looked like a group that had been playing together for years.

Stony Brook led by 20, 45-25, at halftime. Following a relatively even opening 15 minutes, the Seawolves ended the half on a 19-4 run. Jenkins (8) and Roberts (5) scored 13 of Stony Brook’s 19 points in that stretch.

It wasn’t all offense for the Seawolves in the first half, who limited American to 35.3% (12-for-34) shooting from the field, including 0-for-6 on three-point attempts. For good measure, Stony Brook’s pressure and up-tempo attack forced a deliberate Eagles team into committing five turnovers.

"That was one of the thing (the coaches) preached," Roberts said. "(Their) bigs are slow. Our guards can outrun them. Even our bigs can outrun their bigs so that was one of the things (the coaches harped) on."

With the outcome decided for all intents and purposes, the second half was essentially a carbon copy of the first 20 minutes. After American had cut the deficit to 13 on two Stacy Beckton Jr. free throws with 11:37 left, Stony Brook ripped off a 7-0 spurt to push its advantage back to 20, 64-44. Sayles scored six of the Seawolves' seven points in the stretch.

Beckton led American with 13 points.

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