Tyler Stephenson-Moore's block helps Seawolves hold off Saint Peter's
Stony Brook guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore hits the three-point shot against Central Connecticut State, Wednesday, at Island Federal Credit Union Arena in Stony Brook. Credit: George A Faella
Finding himself in a precarious position during the final seconds on Saturday night, Tyler Stephenson-Moore ultimately became the hero for Stony Brook.
With Daryl Banks III dribbling rapidly toward him and the Seawolves ahead by just one, Stephenson-Moore went straight up with Banks and blocked his potential game-winning shotat the rim as time expired to seal a 64-63 victory over Saint Peter’s at Island Federal Arena.
"For [Stephenson-Moore] to come up with a game-saving block and not foul and block it cleanly is amazing," Stony Brook coach Geno Ford said. "Because he got beat on the dribble a little bit. To miss a free throw, get beat, recover and make a game-winning play like that speaks a lot to his toughness and our team’s growth. So I’m very excited that we were able to win."
Stephenson-Moore credited his performance down the stretch to one key aspect.
"Honestly it was just about staying confident," said Stephenson-Moore, who also finished with eight points and six rebounds. "I feel like my confidence level and mentality has changed over the last couple of games. Just showing people what I can do and helping my teammates out and getting wins."
Back-to-back turnovers by Stony Brook allowed Saint Peter’s to cut a 64-57 deficit down to 1 with 1:27 remaining. Jahlil Jenkins’ floater missed long with 34 seconds left before Stony Brook forced a missed jumper right outside the paint by Banks III.
Jenkins, who came up with seven crucial points down the stretch, finished with 15, while Tykei Greene added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Stony Brook extended its winning streak to four games and improved to 7-4 overall. Saint Peter’s fell to 3-6.
A powerful put back dunk by Greene with 6:08 left cut the Saint Peter’s lead to 1. After Stony Brook tied the score at 55 about a minute later, Jenkins splashed in a three from the left wing to give the Seawolves their first lead of the night with 4:33 remaining. Jenkins then converted a contested layup a minute later to cap off a 20-5 run.
Entering the night shooting a respectable 36.8% clip from three-point range this season, the long ball nearly undid Stony Brook on this night. The Seawolves finished the game shooting just 5-for-26 from deep, but were able to limit Saint Peter’s to only five successful three-point attempts as well.
"We just reminded our team that we entered the night 53rd in the county in three-point shooting out of 368 teams," Ford said. "And we shoot a lot of them. We’re also around the same number in attempts. We have a lot of guards and we can get in the lane and kick out for threes. Their defense made our ball movement stagnant. They pressured the ball really well."
Despite creating numerous quality looks, Stony Brook misfired on its first 13 attempts from beyond the arc until Stephenson-Moore connected for its first with just under two minutes left to cut the deficit to 28-25.
Although the Seawolves entered halftime shooting just 1-for-16 from deep and only 26.5% from the field (9-for-34) overall, they scored 14 points off 11 turnovers, allowing them to remain within striking distance at 34-27. Anthony Roberts led the way with eight points at the break.
Stony Brook will visit No. 20 Florida on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
