Stony Brook now has home-court advantage

Given a choice between having a shot at a big game or a big arena, the Stony Brook men's basketball team believes there is no contest. It finally has a genuine big game on campus Wednesday night. Maine will come in to play for first place in the America East conference, and it will come to the small gym that has become one of Stony Brook's best weapons.

Pritchard Gymnasium, one of the original buildings on the campus that took root in the 1960s, fits only 1,595. When the team, the band and the crowd all get cranking - as they did in a huge win over Boston University in a sellout Jan. 30 - the gathering sounds like one at least three times its size.

"You can feed off the energy," said Bryan Dougher, a sophomore guard and one of the leading scorers. "Vermont is definitely the toughest place to play (in our conference). We had to play there a couple weeks ago. At one point, I couldn't hear what coach was saying. We couldn't yell out plays. To have a place like that as our home court is definitely an advantage for us."

Coach Steve Pikiell said, "We like this environment."

That environment figures to be rocking again Wednesday night (provided the weather doesn't discourage fans from coming out). Maine (8-3) is a strong, physical defensive team that had held or shared first in the conference until Stony Brook (8-2) surprisingly reached the top with that win over Boston University. Being in first so late in the season definitely was a first for Stony Brook, which still is a nascent Division I program, having made the jump 10 years ago. "We were Division III for 40 years. It takes time," said Pikiell, who is in his fifth season.

The Seawolves are having their best season since deciding to live on college basketball's top step. They are 16-7 overall, status helped by the fact they are 9-1 on a court in a tiny gym that is their home by accident.

Stony Brook had been playing in the adjacent arena until last season. Pikiell acknowledged that the arena had been built during the team's Division III era and that it was seen mostly as a good facility for other people to rent. High school playoff games were routinely played there. It was nice enough, but it never felt like home for the Seawolves.

"Every coach who came in here said it was like a neutral site. No home court advantage," Pikiell said. Dougher, then a New Jersey recruit, said, "I came to a few games then and there wasn't too much fan support."

There were big plans for a new arena. In fact there still are. You can see them in the lobby of Pritchard. It was to be partnered with a makeover of the entire indoor athletic complex. But the expected funding got frozen. Judging from a report last week that state funds for higher education are extremely tight, there is no telling when the Seawolves will move.

"We don't bring it up any more," Pikiell said. "One thing I've learned is, don't worry about things you can't control. That new place was on the books and was going to get rolling. But I can't even tell you where it is. I haven't asked about it."

Stony Brook did spruce up Pritchard. It is brighter, more colorful. "They did a great job renovating this," Dougher said. "The way they made the floor and everything else, it makes it a lot better than the arena was."

After the 71-55 win over Boston University, which had been picked to win the conference in a preseason poll, the coach and players marveled about the atmosphere.

It is hard to say which is the chicken and which is the egg. Stony Brook is playing better because of the support, and the support is there because Stony Brook is winning. Pikiell sees it as a combination. He likes the way his team has developed, with high scoring senior Muhammad El-Amin complementing a stellar sophomore class that includes Dougher, strong rebounder (and crowd pleaser) Tommy Brenton, Danny Carter and Dallis Joyner.

"Coach sold the school," Dougher said, recalling why he chose Stony Brook over Rider, which is near his home. "I could tell from his vibe and his energy that he was going to make it a good program and I wanted to be part of that."

Pikiell, a former player for Jim Calhoun at the University of Connecticut, also likes the effort that students and school marketing experts have spread the word. He cites the band, for instance. "They're a lot like us. Their first year, they had 19 kids. Now they have 127," the coach said. Pikiell added that he senses a buzz in Dunkin Donuts, 7-Eleven and everywhere else he goes around town. Even his neighbors, a half-mile from campus, finally decided to go to a game and now never miss one.

"I always tell people, if they come, they'll like it," he said. "For the most part, when they come, they come back."

They just might have to put up with a little ringing in their ears. "All the (opposing) coaches now say, `Boy that's loud!' A lot of people did a lot of work to get it that way," Pikiell said. "If you ever knew how far we've come. I think my first game, the crowd was my wife and my kids and a couple managers."

Now they've got a big game with Maine and two others coming up with Binghamton and Vermont. Stony Brook basketball actually has become a hot ticket, in February.