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SBU SPORTSWEEK

DEC. 8 TO DEC. 14, 2022 TOMORROW IS FRIDAY – WEAR RED ON CAMPUS! STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY

Men’s basketball puts forth valiant effort but falls to Yale

The Stony Brook men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Yale in front of an energized crowd inside Island Federal Arena on Dec. 3. The Seawolves put forth a valiant effort as they were led by senior guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore and graduate guard Aaron Clarke, who each posted 20-point outings. Despite the Seawolves' efforts, the Bulldogs were able to narrowly pull away, 77-72, to improve to 8-1 on the season.

Clarke made his Stony Brook debut and gave the Seawolves a lift off the bench as he scored 20 points in 22 minutes. The graduate checked into the game with 15:44 to play in the first half and scored his first points as a Seawolf at the 13:29 mark when he knocked down a three-pointer.

Stephenson-Moore led the way offensively for Stony Brook as he scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Stephenson-Moore helped fuel an 8-0 run in the second half as he drilled a three to cut Yale's lead to 67-62 with 8:04 to play.

The Seawolves and Bulldogs traded blows down the stretch. Stony Brook was able to get within two points of the lead three times over the final eight minutes of the game, but Yale came up with an answer on each occasion. With 1:06 to play in the contest, Clarke converted a pair of free-throws to make it 72-70. Yale returned the favor by cashing in on two free-throws on the ensuing possession with 43 seconds to play to go up, 74-70. A second-chance layup by graduate forward Frankie Policelli cut the Bulldog's lead to two points, 74-72, as he cleaned up a missed three by Stephenson-Moore with 15 seconds to go.

Yale was able to convert its free-throws down the stretch and go on to win by the final score of 77-72. The five-point margin of victory was the second-smallest of the season for Yale, its smallest margin of victory was three points when it defeated Hawaii, 62-59, in overtime earlier this season. "This [experience] is something we can build on," said head coach Geno Ford after the game. "Tonight we played hard and we played well — it just wasn't quite well enough to beat a really, really good Yale team From a coach perspective, I'm disappointed we lost ... but we took a huge step forward and this is by far the best we've looked."

Up next, the team will travel to Rhode Island to take on Brown on Dec.9. A quick turnaround finds the Seawolves back at Island Federal Arena on Dec. 12, for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off against Sacred Heart.

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

#14 Tyler Stephenson-Moore takes a shot during last Saturday evening's game.

Seawolves Home Games

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Dec. 12 vs. Sacred Heart 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 vs. Army West Point 1 p.m. Jan. 7 vs. Towson 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12 vs. Drexel 7 p.m. Jan. 19 vs. Northeastern 7 p.m. Feb 2 vs. Elon 7 p.m.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Dec. 10 vs. St. Frances Brooklyn 2 p.m. Dec. 21 vs. Maryland East Shore 2 p.m. Dec. 30 vs. William & Mary 6:30 p.m. Jan. 6 vs. UNCW 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13 vs. Monmouth 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 vs. College of Charleston 6:30 p.m. Jan 29 vs. Towson 1 p.m. Feb. 5 vs. Drexel 1 p.m.

Visit www.stonybrookathletics.com for tickets and any last minute cancellations.

Women's basketball falls to Bucknell Bisons in tough battle

The Stony Brook women's basketball team battled tough, but was ultimately edged by Bucknell, 64-58, on Dec 3 in Sojka Pavilion in Lewisberg, PA. Graduate guard Anastasia Warren paced the Seawolves with a game-high 20 points as she recorded her third 20-point performance of the season and first since November 14, against Iona.

The Bison outlasted the Seawolves in a back-and-forth contest. The score was tied a total of 11 times and the lead changed five times. Stony Brook led 46-42 with 1:59 to play in the third quarter following a pair of free-throws by sophomore forward Sherese Pittman. Bucknell used a 10-2 run that carried over into the fourth quarter to take a lead it would not relinquish.

Stony Brook battled until the final buzzer as it cut the Bison lead to as little as three points with 22.6 seconds to play. With 22.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Warren knocked down a threepointer off a feed from senior guard Gigi Gonzalez. Bucknell was able to close the game out down the stretch as Tai Johnson converted three of her four free-throw attempts over the final 22.6 seconds to give the Bison a 64-58 advantage, a score it would hold on to win by.

Warren finished as the game's leading scorer with 20 points. The guard shot 9-of23 from the field and 2-of-8 from threepoint range. She grabbed four rebounds and swiped a season-high tying three steals. It marked Warren's third 20-point game of the season as she also scored 20 points against Manhattan on November 10 (28 points) and against Iona on November 14 (28 points). Her 23 field goal attempts were a career-high.

Graduate forward Nairimar VargasReyes nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and a season-high 12 rebounds. She shot 4-of-8 from the field and six of her 12 rebounds were of the offensive variety. The forward has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in four games this season. Sophomore forward Sherese Pittman scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, dished out a career-high five assists, and recorded three rebounds. Graduate guard Daishai Almond scored seven points, while senior guard Gigi Gonzalez totaled five points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Stony Brook won the battle for the boards by outrebounding Bucknell, 35-31. "Bucknell is a good team that challenged us today. We will learn from this and continue to get better," said head coach Ashley Langford after the game.