BY MARCUS HENRY
Everything was clicking for Stony Brook in Sunday's 75-59 win over Maine. The offense, the defense and the special teams (my bad, this isn't football). The point is the Seawolves were in a groove. Mitch Beauford (21 points) was excellent and Ricky Lucas (18 points) found his stroke.
But it was more than just those two. Demetrius Young elipsed double figures in rebounding for the second straight game. And Jermol Paul (12 points) was huge in the second half. The key to the win was Stony Brook's second-half defense and its free-throw shooting. The Seawolves struggled from the field in the second half, but they went 14 of 19 from the line. They shot 8 of 23 from the field in the second, but limited Maine to just 30 points.
There were other subtle things that could be taken from the win -
-- Coach Steve Pikiell has shortened his rotation. Earlier this season he was playing everyone on the roster. On Sunday he played just nine of the 12 players who were available. And he didn't make his first subsitution until the 15:42 mark.
-- Getting Nick Carter involved in the offense is critical. He didn't play as much Sunday because of foul trouble, but when he first entered the game he got the crowd into it with a three. He gives the team instant energy when he's in the game.
-- Demetrius Young, if he continues his strong play, should be in the mix for defensive player of the year. He's becoming an excellent rebounder and has 14 steals.
-- The crowd was also a factor as 788 people showed up to root for the Seawolves.
-- Picking up a conference in so early in the season is huge. The Seawolves (4-10, 1-1 America East) haven't been .500 in conference play during a season since 2003-2004. They face a tough Albany team on Wednesday.