Men's Basketball: ‘Wolves Fight Back Late, But Can’t Match Hofstra

By Henry Danner

A night dedicated to honoring the Stony Brook Alum and Minnesota Twins closer, Joe Nathan, was not enough to help the Seawolves find their way to a win against cross-county rival Hofstra. 

Junior guard Ricky Lucas came back of the injured list only to be part of a brutal 73-57 loss in a game where his team got off to a good start and took a 7-2 lead within in the first four minutes.  Lucas, who finished with eighteen points, appeared to be a little rusty in the first period as he came back from a sprained ankle.

In the early stages of the game, the Seawolves moved the ball around the perimeter and patiently waited for high percentage shots.  By the 16:14 mark they were fifty percent from the field, on 3 for 6 shooting.   With 9:02 left in the half, Hofstra capped off a 12-0 run that gave them a good lead, but more importantly, gave them control of the game tempo.

As far as defense goes, the ‘Wolves’ scouting report on Hofstra was put to good use, as they opened up in a 1-3-1 zone. The number one task was to make scoring tough for the nation-leading, 46.3 scoring three-man backcourt of Loren Stokes, Antoine Aguidio, and Carlos Rivera.  In order to do this the ‘Wolves would have to have been relentless in defending the perimeter.

The zone appeared to be effective in the early stages of the game.  By the 14:11 mark the Wolves had forced the Hofstra pride to commit six turnovers.  However as the game progressed the Pride settled down and moved the ball around the floor.  They finished the game with fifteen assists compared to Stony Brook’s seven.

The story of the night for Hofstra was three-point shooting.  As a team they managed to hit fifty percent of their attempts on 9 of 18 shooting.  Sophomore forward Zygis Sestokas was responsible for this three-point torture.  He finished the game shooting 4 of 6 from downtown.  By halftime the Pride had a commanding ten point lead.

As the second half started, the ‘Wolves came out aggressive.  Their first basket came on a Mike Popoko dunk.  Although this energized the team and the crowd the slam did not suffice for the ‘Wolves lack of defense.  They just could not stop Hofstra from scoring, and could not put the ball in the hole themselves.  The Seawolves’ foul problems put Hofstra in the bonus with 12:53 left in the game.  This limited how aggressive they could be for the remainder of the game.

By the 6:22 mark Hofstra took it largest lead, 17, and things were not looking bright for Stony Brook.  But the wolves fought back just as they always do.  Ricky Lucas got into more of a rhythm during the second period.  He scored fifteen of his eighteen points and hit big shots down the stretch to keep the team convinced that a comeback was still very much possible.

The closest the Wolves were able to get the deficit down to was nine points.  Hofstra was just too smart a team for Stony Brook to match.  When Stony Brook played zone, they spaced the floor well, and when Stony Brook played man, they ran a high motion offense, setting lots of screens, which freed up shooters to knock down huge shots.

It would have been good for Stony Brook to pick up a win tonight on their home court, in their second consecutive televised game (FSNY), but tonight was not their night.  They are still a puzzle in the making, and there are still quite a few pieces missing.