Stony Brook holds off Bryant

For two consecutive seasons, the Stony Brook men’s basketball team has had an influx of talented transfers reshape the identity of the team.

The results were mixed last season, in part because the Seawolves also had a handful of players transfer out and the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the team’s schedule and routine.

But this season, with the team’s three leading scorers back to lead the way, things seem to be coming together for the Seawolves.

Anthony Roberts had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Tykei Greene added 19 points and eight rebounds and Jahlil Jenkins scored all 13 of his points in the second half as the Seawolves defeated Bryant, 86-78, in a non-conference game on Saturday night at Island Federal Credit Union Arena.

The win was the fourth in five games for Stony Brook (5-4) and improved the Seawolves to 4-1 at home.

Roberts played at St. Bonaventure and Kent State and Jenkins is a graduate transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson.

After the Seawolves went ahead by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Bulldogs slowly chipped away and made it a game. Bryant closed the first half on a 12-3 run and came out hot in the second half, pulling to within 49-46 before Greene’s three-pointer restored the lead to six.

Bryant moved within two points on a three-pointer by Adham Eleeda with 13:06 left, and the Seawolves’ lead was cut to three on numerous occasions later in the half, but Stony Brook always had an answer.

"We kept scoring just enough and they just couldn’t get it tied," Stony Brook coach Geno Ford said. "It was really hard-fought and they played with a good sense of urgency and we had that one good spurt in the first half where we got some cushion and we were able to hold on."

Two free throws by Greene gave Stony Brook a 78-70 lead with 2:10 remaining before a 6-1 Bryant run in the next 1:16 again made it a one-possession game.

"We knew we had to stay composed and just keep playing," Greene said. "We were trying to put the pressure on them defensively and make sure we were composed."

Stony Brook shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute.

"I thought that we deserved to win the game," Ford said, "but they put themselves in position to steal one late."

The Seawolves again played without star guard Elijah Olaniyi, who transferred back to Stony Brook after spending a season at Miami. Olaniyi hasn’t played since Nov. 22 against Sacred Heart because of a knee injury.

The Seawolves have four more games before beginning America East play on the road against Hartford on Jan. 2.

By Gene Morris

gene.morris@newsday.comGeneMorris

Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.