Stony Brook rallies by Maine in final 2 minutes

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STONY BROOK, N.Y. – A potential game-tying 3-point shot from the left wing at the buzzer by the University of Maine’s Errick Greene bounced off the rim and Stony Brook University’s six-game losing streak was over.

The host Seawolves also notched their first conference victory since joining America East with a 68-65 victory over the Black Bears Sunday afternoon.

“It was exactly the shot we wanted,” Maine coach John Giannini said of Greene’s 3-point try. “You just hope you get the right player with enough room and enough time and we had that, but it just didn’t go in.”

Starting sophomore guard Dawud Munir and reserve guard Mike Konpka led the way for the 2-12 Seawolves (1-2 in conference play) with 17 points apiece. Munir also led Stony Brook with six rebounds.

Forward J.B. Bennett also enjoyed a productive day off the bench for the Wolves with 15 points and six rebounds.

Maine 7-foot junior center Justin Rowe just missed a triple-double as he finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots. He was four off the league record for blocked shots (13), set by Kevin Roberson of Vermont.

Rowe already had six blocks by halftime, as the Black Bears found themselves trailing by four points (30-26). Maine went ahead by as many as seven points in the second half, which featured eight lead changes and five ties in the final 16 minutes. Stony Brook’s largest second-half lead was six points.

Greene led the Black Bears, now 1-1 in conference play, with 24 points and also turned in an eight-rebound effort. Junior forward Clayton Brown came off the bench to score 13 points and grab seven rebounds.

Maine clung to a two-point lead with 21/2 minutes left and went up by four on a Brown layup with 2:06 to play, but two straight hoops by the Wolves on a Bennett layup, Bennett steal, and Jairus McCollum fast-break dunk tied things up with 1:12 left. Maine took its last lead (63-62) on a Rowe free throw with 52 seconds to go.

Guard Derrick Jackson tried for a steal with 45 seconds left, but was called for a foul. Munir then hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to put the Wolves back on top for good.

“Derrick tried to make a gutsy play on a steal attempt and we put them on the line to get the winning point,” Giannini said. “He knew it wasn’t a good thing in hindsight, but I didn’t do a good job communicating that that late in the game, you don’t need the back-breaking play, just the stop.”

Larry Jennings, who managed seven total points off the bench, went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 24 seconds to help the Wolves close out the game.

“We didn’t get the defensive stops, missed the shots, and they were able to make their shots,” Giannini. “Statistically, the difference was free throws because we just didn’t take care of things on the line.”

Stony Brook hit 23 of 27 shots from the foul line while Maine was 14 for 26.

Freshman forward Joe Campbell of Bangor had five points, three rebounds, and three assists before fouling out with 3:27 left in the game.

The Black Bears wound up shooting 45.3 percent from the field for the game while Stony Brook was 38.9. Maine also dominated the paint with a 41-28 rebounding edge (15-8 on the offensive boards).

“Yeah, it was one of those games where we won just about every statistical category, but we didn’t make our free throws,” Giannini said. “It’s disappointing, but I told the guys we’re not going to let it discourage us also.”

SEAWOLVES 68, BLACK BEARS 65

Maine men (4-9) STONY BROOK (2-12)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Campbell 2 6 0 0 5 Orfini 1 7 4

White 1 2 3 4 5 Eriksson 0 0

Rowe 5 10 5 14 15 Kobryn 1 4 0 2

Greene 10 22 4 6 24 Munir 5 10 17

Jackson 1 4 0 0 3 Johnson 0 1 0

Petkus 0 2 0 0 0 Jennings 0 7

Tibbetts 0 0 0 0 0 McCollum 2 6

Brown 5 7 2 2 13 Bennett 7 11 15

Konopka 5 16 6 17

Totals 24 53 14 26 65 21 54 23 27 68

Halftime: Stony Brook 30-26

3-pt. goals: Maine (3-12): Brown 1-1, Campbell 1-3, Jackson 1-4, Greene 0-2, Petkus 0-2; Stony Brook (3-9): Munir 2-4, Konopka 1-2, Eriksson 0-1, Orfini 0-2

Attendance: 1,346