Stony Brook men's basketball can't complete road upset of No. 9 Virginia
Kody Stattmann #23 of the Virginia Cavaliers shoots over Tavin Pierre Philippe #15 of the Stony Brook Seawolves in the second half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on December 18, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Credit: Getty Images/Ryan M. Kelly
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Kihei Clark scored 14 points and Jay Huff had eight of his 12 during a second-half run as No. 9 Virginia held off Stony Brook 56-44 on Wednesday night.
Huff ended a 5-minute scoreless drought for the Cavaliers (9-1) with a putback dunk with 12:11 remaining and added six more points as Virginia turned a 35-30 lead into a more comfortable 49-38 edge.
Elijah Olaniyi scored 11 to lead Stony Brook (7-6). The Seawolves hurt their cause with 17 turnovers and shot just 37.8% (17-44).
Mamadi Diakite added 13 points while Clark added six assists and five rebounds for Virginia.
BIG PICTURE
Stony Brook: The Seawolves arrived with one of the nation's best 2-point shooting defenses and could have pulled an upset had they not been so careless with the ball. They outrebounded Virginia 16-14 in the first half and outscored them 14-8 in the paint but had 11 first-half turnovers.
Virginia: Nine days without a game did little to help Virginia's offensive woes. They scored 14 points in the first 5:43 of the game, then went 6:27 without a point but still had the lead because the Seawolves turned the ball over repeatedly. In the second half, a drought of 5 minutes quieted the crowd as the Cavaliers enjoyed just a five-point lead.
