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The Stony Brook men’s basketball team would like to remove the sour taste of its worst season in 13 years, a season that ended by blowing a 16-point second-half lead in the opening round of the America East playoffs against an opponent the team had displayed historic dominance against.
Judging by their offseason transactions, the Seawolves are going all in to secure the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2016. Days after Elijah Olaniyi announced his decision to transfer back to Stony Brook after a season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with Miami, the Seawolves’ roster gained even more starpower with another pair of transfers.
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Noel scores 23 to lift UMass Lowell over Stony Brook 64-62
February 27, 2021 GMT
DURHAM, N.H. (AP) Obadiah Noel scored 23 points as UMass Lowell erased a 16-point deficit to edge Stony Brook 64-62 in the opening round of the America East Conference tournament on Saturday.
Noel scored the game-winner in a short drive with 6.6 seconds left. The win marks the first time at the Division I level that the River Hawks have advanced in the post season. The face No. 3 seed New Hampshire on Sunday.
Kalil Thomas had 15 points for UMass Lowell (9-11). Connor Withers added 11 points. The River Hawks forced a season-high 21 turnovers.
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The last two weeks offered a hefty challenge for the Stony Brook men’s basketball team, with four games against the top two teams in the America East standings. After being swept in Burlington by the Vermont Catamounts on Feb. 13 and 14, the Seawolves lost all four of those contests.
“We need to win just to feel better about life,” head coach Geno Ford said in a postgame press conference after suffering the sweep on Sunday. “This weekend was kind of extra because we did play well enough to win … I think that we all are ready for the tournament.”