Defense leads way for Stony Brook as Seawolves sweep Northeastern

By Zachary Wilson (@zwilsonpxp)

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Coming off a loss that snapped a five-game conference win streak, Stony Brook rebounded at home in front of a good crowd, including kids from the local children’s hospital as part of Children’s Hospital Day at Stony Brook Arena.

To start things off, Stony Brook won the tipoff, and 15 seconds later, a shooting foul was drawn by Richard Goods despite missing both free attempts afterwards. The shooting was stone cold in the first few minutes of the game, especially for Stony Brook, who missed its first five shot attempts, while both sides did not produce a single point in the first three minutes, until Northeastern struck first with back-to-back threes from Mike Loughnane and JB Frankel.

Then out of the first media timeout, the Seawolves would get on the board from Rob Brown III’s layup, then Tomas Valeninty’s triple made it a 6-5 Northeastern lead by the next media timeout. Before that, the Seawolves’ defense would hold the Huskies scoreless for over five minutes, forcing three turnovers.

After Loughnane got a fast-break layup off a Ryan Williams block, Stony Brook would go on an 8-0 run to pick up its first lead of the game, capped off by an Ethan Simmon three to make it 13-8 with 7:55 remaining in the first half.

Another scoring drought and turnover issue would befall the Huskies, as they would commit six turnovers in over nine minutes while being held without a single point in over three minutes. Along with that, they would lose a timeout on an unsuccessful challenge where the initial call was the ball going out of bounds off Northeastern, which led to Jonah Butler making both shots at the free throw line thereafter.

Despite allowing Stony Brook to hit the double bonus by the 6:56 mark of the first half and a 14-point lead at one point, the Huskies would hold their own for the remainder of the half by keeping Erik Pratt, one of the leading scorers in the CAA, scoreless for most of the frame. Frankel’s back-to-back shots from downtown made the score 29-19 in favor of Stony Brook at halftime, and gave him a game-high nine points after 20 minutes of action.

At the beginning of the second half, Goods would launch a three the first of many spectacular plays he would make for the Seawolves over the next 20 minutes. His triple would eventually be followed by a huge transition play by the Seawolves, starting with Quin Gorman’s block on Loughnane to Andrej Shoshkikj’s layup off Brown’s pass to put the Seawolves up, 36-21.

More theatrics by Stony Brook would be created in between a media timeout, including Pratt breaking the ankles of his defender for a downtown shot, then Shoshkikj lobbing the ball to Goods for a dunk that brought the arena to its knees.

Another challenge would fall on the Seawolves, as Pratt picked up his third foul with 13:34 remaining. After Loughnane got a layup off a steal, Shoshkikj answered with a drive to the basket for a layup and a foul on Luca Soroa Schaller to complete the three-point play, increasing the Seawolves' lead to 48-30.

The advantage would continue over the next few minutes, as the Seawolves put Petar Pinter into foul trouble with his fourth foul committed halfway through the second half. Then, Goods would slam the ball into the basket once again off of Simmon’s toss into the paint, giving Stony Brook its largest lead of the game, 57-38.

Despite a six-point run by the Huskies to come to within 13, the Seawolves would keep momentum on their side by drawing fouls on the next two possessions, maintaining a 61-44 lead with under four minutes to play.

Goods would get one more dunk in the second half from Shoshkikj to ice the game and give Stony Brook a 69-55 win over Northeastern, the lowest amount of points by the Huskies in a game this season. The win also gave the Seawolves a season sweep of Northeastern for the second time in three years, and moved them into a tie for third place in the CAA standings with Hofstra and Drexel.

Pratt would once again lead the team in points with 13, while Loughnane led all scorers with 17. The Seawolves’ defense would also hold the Huskies to only 33 percent shooting from the field and 25 from deep, while Stony Brook would shoot 48 percent from the field.

Coming up next, Stony Brook (15-10, 7-5 CAA) goes back on the road Thursday to face CAA preseason favorite Towson (13-12, 5-7 CAA), while Northeastern (6-17, 2-10 CAA) returns home the same day to host William & Mary (15-9, 6-6 CAA) to try and end its six-game losing streak.

Penn breaks losing streak to Princeton, squares series with win over Tigers

By Andrew Hefner (@Ahef_NJ)

PHILADELPHIA — Just over a month ago, the Princeton Tigers shocked the basketball world by not just flipping the script on a historical matchup played for over a century, but staging an improbable comeback to take down the Penn Quakers and extend a 14-game win streak that has stood since 2018.

Rolling into The Palestra today with the all-time series out of their hands for the first time, the Quakers were set for revenge, and a battle that saw Princeton almost stage the same devastating resurgence finally fell into the hands of Penn, 61-60. 

A packed crowd and strong visiting fan section saw Princeton jump ahead early, with the scoring opening on a Malik Abdullahi slam and a Dalen Davis trey. Davis, the star guard for the Tigers, suffered a sprained ankle last week at Columbia and did not return to that game, but was all set and suited up to start at Penn. 

Penn’s response was almost instantaneous, as it seemed to be for much of the clash between rivals, as first-year head coach Fran McCaffery’s side was able to regain the lead by the first media timeout, and head on a 14-3 run with little challenge from the visitors. 

Jack Stanton, coming off six three-pointers and a career-high in last week’s win over Columbia, did not start for the Tigers and only played six minutes before being removed for the remainder of the game. 

“I have no idea,” said head coach Mitch Henderson as to why Stanton was unable to return. “We’re going to reevaluate, but it’s tough not having him out there.” 

The injury did not help Princeton, as the Penn onslaught continued for much of the first half, but was halted for a moment by junior Jackson Hicke, who contributed eight big points in the final minutes of the half to hold Princeton within ten heading into the locker room. Hicke, a native of Radnor, Pennsylvania, played high school basketball just a 30-minute drive from The Palestra, but has been a highlight of this Princeton team over the past two seasons.

The Tigers finished the half making just one of eight field goal attempts and saw themselves at a firm 35-25 deficit, but not a game completely out of hand for a visiting team that has staged far more improbable comebacks in recent seasons. 

“In that locker room, they felt like they had it,” said Henderson. “They felt like they were going to win the game. I love that about them. I just want to encourage that.”

Out of the locker room, Princeton was a rejuvenated group, as it commonly is to start the second half, opening the frame with a 10-2 run to pull within four for the first time since the middle of the first. 

“It was spectacular up there for a half, and then it was as bad as it could be,” McCaffery said of Penn’s defensive performance. “But again, you always say, well, we didn’t do this, we didn’t do that. (Princeton) shot it well, and they moved it, and they executed their stuff, and they made a bunch of shots in a row.” 

Leading the charge in the start of the second half was Abdullahi, who has become an incredibly important part of a Princeton team that lacks a ton of strong size and pressure in the paint.  

“Abdullahi is really playing well, so they kind of went to him,” McCaffery explained. “He’s a different kind of cover than the other guys.”

Abdullahi finished the night with 12 points and four assists, while leading the game with 11 rebounds. Similarly, junior Jacob Huggins stepped up for the Tigers as well, taking much of the minutes that would have gone to Stanton, and capitalized in a big way for Princeton. Huggins racked up 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, capped by a big three that once again brought Princeton within four points. 

“He was awesome, especially down the stretch and doing things that juniors do on the road,” Henderson said. “It was terrific. He was great on both ends of the floor. He got us back into the game and made a huge three.”

Huggins tied a career high with a team-leading 14 points and six rebounds, but it was not enough to power the Tigers all the way to victory. For the second time this season, the Penn and Princeton clash came down to the final few possessions, as after Penn looked like it was going to run away with it again and held a ten-point lead late in the second half, Princeton battled back to make it a five-point game with under four minutes to play. 

“I loved the way we played at the end,” said Henderson. “It didn’t go our way tonight, but that was a very, very physical game. We had a chance to win it at the end. It was good on the road.”

A TJ Power three-pointer from Penn put the Quakers up four with just over a minute to go in the game, but great defense from both sides gave Princeton one more possession with just under 20 seconds on the shot clock. The ball remained with Davis the entire drive, but a stumble left him in an awkward position for the final shot, forcing him to take a falling mid-range jumper that clanged off the front of the rim and ended with a one-point victory for the Quakers. 

The victory over Princeton, the first time in 14 games over a span of eight years, now re-ties the all-time record at 127 apiece, and puts Penn at 4-4 in Ivy play, tied with three other teams for third. 

“We have a few generations of guys that haven’t lost here or at home,” said Henderson, “This felt a lot like what it was like when I played.”

Princeton similarly falls to 4-4 and, like Penn, is tied for third heading into next weekend’s two-game slate. 

“I just said to the staff, ‘this stuff's gotta help us at some point,’” said Henderson. “We’re also pretty banged up, we’re getting better. Like I said, tough to win on the road. That was just a really physical game. To be able to be right there, I feel really good about it.”

Winthrop runs win streak to 10 with physical victory over Longwood

 

Winthrop guard Kody Clouet finished with 14, including the eventual game-winning shot against Longwood Saturday.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Winthrop-Longwood rivalry is one of the best – if not the best – in the Big South. The Eagles and Lancers have seemingly taken up permanent residence as Big South contenders, and most games between them are hard-fought affairs that defy words.

Perhaps we’ll use Winthrop assistant Sid Crist’s word for Saturday’s tilt:  “Donnybrook.”

However you classify it, the Lancers and Eagles partook in another 15-round heavyweight bout Saturday, with the Eagles landing the final blow. Winthrop sent an announced crowd of 2,041 happy with a 79-74 decision in a game marred – or enhanced, depending on your perspective – by fouls. The win marked the tenth in a row by the Eagles, who have still not lost a game in 2026.

“It’s hard – that game (Longwood defeated Winthrop at the Joan Perry Brock Center to start conference play) was so long ago. We’re both totally different teams,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game. “I’m not very smart, so I can only operate in the moment.”

“Our kids don’t blink. They didn’t blink again (today).”

Winthrop (18-8, 10-1 Big South) surged out of the gate with back-to-back buckets from Tommy Kamarad, giving the Eagles an early lead they would hold for the first six minutes. Longwood (13-13, 5-6) clawed its way back, earning a 7-6 lead on a Fats Billups jumper at the 13:58 mark. Winthrop clutched back the advantage two minutes later but could not separate by any greater than two possessions.

The Lancers had whittled the deficit to one at the 4:15 mark, but a dust-up at the free throw line resulted in a potentially game-changing call. Billups, who had been whistled for a technical earlier in the game, was assessed a second technical following the interaction with Winthrop’s Kody Clouet. Billups was ejected from the game due to the pair of technicals.

“(On) the second one, Clouet bumped him and he bumped him back with a forearm, so it should have been a double technical. The first one is the one I probably have a bit more of an issue with,” Longwood coach Ronnie Thomas said after the game. Thomas was told that Billups had said an expletive out loud – not toward an official, but randomly – which led to the first technical.

“That was just a little frustrating that early in the game, and that’s just  – it’s hard to stomach. I think you can just talk to the young man. He could have just talked to him. We lose Fats, who was 2-for-4 in the first half and playing well. A guy like Fats, he thrives in a game like this. To have him – again, we lose him off the first call – that’s just a really, really bad call by (referee) Bobby (Lineberger). It was an awful call for him to make that call. With the type of game it became and the type of game this always is – that was a really early tech, and that affected the game.”

Following Billups’ departure, Winthrop threw a figurative haymaker, going on a 7-0 burst that gave the Eagles their biggest first-half advantage. Longwood punched back, using a 7-0 run of its own to again knife it to one before Winthrop took a three-point halftime lead off two Logan Duncomb free throws.

The Lancers snagged a four-point lead on the strength of a 9-0 run to start the second half, only for Winthrop to answer right back and go back ahead on a pair of triples from Josh Meo and Kody Clouet. The slugfest continued through the second half, with neither side able to lead by greater than four over much of the remainder of the game.

The lead seemingly changed on every possession for much of the final five minutes, as Winthrop countered every Longwood advantage – and vice versa. Four minutes elapsed inside the final five in which neither side led by greater than two. Winthrop then turned to one of its season-long heroes to finally break the tension.

Following an offensive foul assessed to Elijah Tucker – his fifth – on the opposing end, Winthrop allowed as much time to elapse as it could in a tied game at 71. As the clock oozed under a minute, the Eagles sprayed to the corner, where a wide-open Clouet awaited. Clouet locked in his sights and canned the triple, giving the Eagles the lead they would not again surrender.

“I don’t want to get in trouble, but it was kind of like a football game out there,” Clouet said. “It was physical. That’s how they play. We just stuck with it, took punches, took hits, and found a way to win.”

“They got us in the first game of league (play). They set the tone for us. They showed us where we were weak and what we needed to work on. Since then, we’ve responded incredibly. We definitely wanted this one back and we got it, so that was big.”

Winthrop shot 19-for-50 (38 percent) from the deck on the day, managing just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from three. The Eagles matched the percentage from distance they recorded in the first game in Farmville.

“I thought we did really well,” Thomas said when queried about his team’s perimeter defense. “We had a really big mistake. We should have given up a Duncomb dunk. We never wanted to give up that three with Clouet. We’ve got to grow from it.”

The Eagles hit 35-of-40 from the line on the day (87.5 percent), collecting their second-highest free throw attempts number in a game this season behind the 43 they were awarded at North Dakota. The 35 makes were a season-best.

Tommy Kamarad led the Eagles and all scorers with 15, capitalizing off a strong early start. Clouet and Duncomb added 14 apiece, hitting a combined 7-of-10 shots from the field and 11-for-13 from the line. Senior guard Josh Meo tallied 10 off the bench in 21 minutes of reserve duty.

“This is a selfless group,” Prosser said. “They are giving of themselves when it comes to stats. If they were in another program with a different roster, they may be getting more shots, assists, and different things on paper. They don’t really care. They just want to win.”

Longwood dropped 39 percent (23-for-59) from the field, with 6-for-25 (24 percent) of their three-point tries finding the net. The Lancers hit 22-of-35 from the line, with a number of misses late that affected the Lancers’ chances.

“I told them they can blame two people. They can blame themselves and me,” Thomas said. “We’ve got to figure out what we can do better and what we can do individually, and then they can blame me, but that’s it.”

Johan Nziemi led the Lancers with 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting, despite hitting just 6-of-12 from the stripe. Junior guard Jacoi Hutchinson booked 11 on 4-for-11 shooting and 3-for-4 from the line.

Winthrop hits the road Thursday night to take on regional rival Gardner-Webb. Tip time from Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C., is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with coverage streaming on ESPN+. Longwood hosts UNC Asheville in the Joan Perry Brock Center in Farmville, Va., for the league’s ESPNU Wildcard Thursday game. The game is slated for a 7:00 start, with coverage over ESPNU.

WINTHROP 79, LONGWOOD 74

LONGWOOD (13-12, 5-6 BIG SOUTH)

Nziemi 3-7 6-12 13, Tucker 2-4 3-4 7, Hutchinson 4-11 3-4 11, Richards 1-7 5-6 7, Kelly 3-4 0-1 7, Jones 2-2 1-2 5, Billups 3-5 0-0 8, Benard 3-8 0-0 8, Thompson 2-11 4-6 8, Payne 0-0 0-0 0, Kalala 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 22-35 74.

WINTHROP (18-8, 10-1)

Kamarad 5-10 4-4 15, Duncomb 4-6 6-7 14, Wilson 2-8 5-6 9, Rozier 0-7 8-8 8 Clouet 3-4 5-6 14, Hendawy 0-3 0-0 0, Meo 2-5 4-5 10, Nnamoko 2-2 0-0 4, Boyogueno 1-2 3-4 5, Berry 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 35-40 79.

Halftime:  Winthrop 38-35. 3-Point goals:  Longwood 6-25 (Nziemi 1-1, Hutchinson 0-2, Richards 0-2, Kelly 1-2, Billups 2-4, Benard 2-7, Thompson 0-7), Winthrop 6-28 (Kamarad 1-3, Wilson 0-4, Rozier 0-7, Clouet 3-4, Hendawy 0-2, Meo 2-5, Boyogueno 0-1, Berry 0-2). Fouled out:  Tucker (LU).  Rebounds: Longwood 42 (Richards/Jones 7), Winthrop 35 (Clouet 7). Total fouls:  Longwood 32, Winthrop 27. Technicals:  Billups 2 (LU), Clouet (WU).

 

CCSU uses late first-half run to build separation in win over Wagner

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — With Central Connecticut ahead 23-22 over Wagner with 5:23 left in the first half, starting center Max Frazier picked up a silly second foul 94 feet from the basket going for an offensive rebound.

During the tie-up, he and Seahawks’ guard Bryan Akanmu picked up double technical fouls for going at each other, granting Frazier his third foul before halftime.

“With Max, he’s such a dynamic lob threat that can block shots, you see him dunking everything,” head coach Patrick Sellers said, aware of how crucial Frazier is to the Blue Devils scheme.

The game could easily have flipped on its head after that, with CCSU needing to go five minutes without its anchor on the defensive end, but it was quite the opposite. The Blue Devils ended the half on a 15-6 run from that point and cruised to an 84-67 win on Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium.

“We ended the half the right way,” Sellers said. “We talked well, I don’t know what the run ended as, but we ended up with a good lead at halftime.”

Darin Smith, Jr. got the scoring stretch started with a top of the key triple, three of his 14 first-half points. He finished with 25 points on 7-of-16 from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.

“Yesterday’s practice was a little different than what we usually do,” Smith said. “We just got a lot of shots up and had a lot of energy in the building, so that helped us get ready for today.

This marks back-to-back games where Smith was able to get back to his usual self in the scoring column. After averaging just 12.3 points per game during CCSU’s 1-4 skid to close January, Smith followed up his 24 points on Thursday over Chicago State with 25 on Saturday, his 13th game this year with at least 20 points.

Frazier also had an afternoon outside of the early foul trouble, scoring 21 points on an efficient 7-of-8 from the field. The junior big man has developed his game as the season has progressed, turning into a more well-rounded post presence as opposed to just a lob threat. The 21 points marks the third time he's reached 20 this year, doing so in the same game as Smith each occasion.

“In practice, I’m always backing down and backing down,” Frazier said. “I’m always posting up, so in games, it’s easy for me.”

The lob threat is still there, of course, and Frazier had a pair of emphatic flushes, one from Melo Sanchez in transition and the other from Jay Rodgers on a ball that was so high that he had to reach up with one arm and slam it straight down.

“It’s up there,” Frazier said on where that one-handed lob ranks amongst his best flushes this year. “But I’ve definitely had some better.”

Rodgers agreed, saying, “yeah, I’d say we’ve had some better ones, but that one was nice.”

Rodgers scored 14 points and had just five assists, a below-average day in that regard for one of the top playmakers in the nation. Still, CCSU was able to continue to build its lead after halftime and control the game to finish off the win.

“I think it’s just big for our confidence,” Rodgers said. “You can lose a couple in a row and start questioning yourself, but Coach reassured us.”

The unsung heroes that propelled CCSU to the win were the Joneses (no relation). James Jones grabbed 11 rebounds playing the usual Swiss army knife role he has filled so well, while Roddy Jones hit three triples off the bench for the second time in the past three days.

“He’s a really good player that we’re fortunate to have and now that he’s healthy, him going down the stretch is going to be a big help for us,” Sellers said of James Jones.

“He’s a super, super confident shooter,” Sellers said of Roddy. “He brings the same energy every day and plays really hard.”

The Blue Devils are now 7-5 in NEC play with six games to go, including a short road trip down to New Haven on Thursday. Pending other results around the league, CCSU could be as high as tied for second in the standings despite the rough stretch at the end of January. For the players, their hopes and beliefs are still quite high.

“We feel like we can beat any team in this league, and you’ve got to be clicking at the right time in March,” Rodgers said.

UConn win streak comes to halt as Huskies upended by St. John’s in MSG classic

Silas Demary, Jr. tries to fight off St. John’s pressure defense as Red Storm forced UConn guard into nine turnovers as Huskies fell to Johnnies Friday. (Photo by John Munson/Associated Press)

NEW YORK — UConn came into Friday’s much-hyped showdown with St. John’s off its two most efficient offensive performances of Big East play, a pair of victories over Creighton and Xavier that prompted Dan Hurley to say his Huskies had started to play the bulletproof style of basketball that yielded back-to-back national championships before last season.

As it turned out, the metal-resistant armor was no match for an old-school Big East fistfight.

UConn, the third-ranked team in the nation, went at St. John’s throughout the night before a sellout Madison Square Garden audience, surviving foul trouble to go into halftime tied with the No. 22 Red Storm. But a litany of turnovers and missed free throws, coupled with relentless ball pressure, allowed the Johnnies to get the upper hand in the second half and escape their home floor with an 81-72 victory in the first of at least two battles between the class of the conference.

“It was the exact type of game we thought it was going to be,” Hurley said as the Huskies (22-2, 12-1 Big East) suffered their first loss since a November 19 setback to now-No. 1 Arizona. “Just as hard a game as we’ve had to play this year.”

UConn stayed afloat despite an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers, nine of which were committed by point guard Silas Demary, Jr., who was lured into ten giveaways by St. John’s last season when he played them as a Georgia Bulldog. The visitors were also befallen by a woeful 5-for-12 showing at the free throw line, missing all but one of their six attempts from the stripe over the final 20 minutes.

“When you go minus-17 point-wise at the foul line (St. John’s was 22-for-31 on free throws), turn the ball over 15 times and get outrebounded (32-26), you’re not gonna win on the road. So credit St. John’s. They’ve got a physicality that plays real well in these conference games.”

The Huskies started strong, using the shot making of Braylon Mullins to withstand Dillon Mitchell’s early explosiveness to build a 16-10 lead. But after a Rick Pitino timeout, St. John’s scored the next seven points to retake the lead. The two teams would trade baskets for the majority of the opening stanza thereafter, with UConn fighting back to take a 39-all deadlock into halftime despite six players racking up two fouls before the intermission.

The second half started in a similar vein before St. John’s ripped off 10 straight points to open up a 55-45 lead with 13 minutes remaining in regulation, getting in transition behind five UConn misses and three forced turnovers, all against Demary.

“I don’t think that we turned it over because of their pressure,” Hurley opined. “I think we turned it over because we lost our fucking mind a little bit. And they have great defense. That’s a Top 20 defense, easy. They’re hard to beat.”

Still, the Huskies fought back, even after St. John’s took its largest lead of the night on a Zuby Ejiofor hook shot with 10:24 to play, giving the Johnnies a 60-49 lead. Demary, Tarris Reed, Jr. and Alex Karaban went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to whittle the deficit to one, at 64-63. After two Dylan Darling free throws were answered by a Demary layup, UConn again drew within one point, at 66-65, but would get no closer after St. John’s scored eight of the next ten points to put the game away.

“The main message in the huddle was to defend and rebound,” Karaban said. “We felt like we didn’t do that in this game. We had great looks pretty much the entire game, but it came down to defense and rebounding, and we just didn’t do that.”

UConn shot just under 55 percent from the floor and 9-for-19 from three-point range, but St. John’s turned the Huskies’ 15 turnovers into 20 points and enjoyed a 16-9 advantage on second-chance points.

“We prepared the right way,” Karaban said. “We knew the pressure was happening and (St. John’s) had tall, athletic guys. We knew what was expected. We’ve just gotta execute better. It’s a hard feeling.”

Still atop the Big East standings despite the loss, UConn hits the road Wednesday for its next matchup against Butler, the first of a three-game stretch in seven days that will also see Georgetown and Creighton come to Gampel Pavilion. While Karaban lamented the missed opportunity, his coach reiterated the need to stay in the moment before the much-anticipated rematch with the Red Storm on February 25 in Hartford.

“You really don’t look ahead,” Hurley said. “We’ve had an unbelievable run, we haven’t lost in months. As much as we turned the ball over, we put them on the free throw line, the second-half collapse, we still had our chances to steal it. We’ll move on to whoever we play next.”

No fear, no problem as Johnnies reaffirm themselves over UConn

Zuby Ejiofor dominated UConn Friday as St. John’s shook off challenge and prevailed over No. 3 Huskies. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — St. John’s finally shook its arch-nemesis several minutes into the second half, with a 10-0 run that broke a 45-all tie.

Or so it thought.

The ten-point lead soon became five. Then two, then one. Still, the Red Storm refused to break. A capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden only served to amplify the steel will of its resident team.

When the dust settled on an 81-72 victory over third-ranked UConn, a catharsis not seen since St. John’s Big East championship triumph in this building eleven months prior ensued. The exact machinations behind the outpouring were obscure in the heat of the moment, but the emotion was tangible.

“I can’t really remember what was done or what was said,” Zuby Ejiofor remarked after another legacy-defining game in a Broadway career full of them. “I just let it all out. The moment the buzzer sounded and it was over, all the emotions really just flew out.”

Ejiofor tallied 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists Friday, seemingly sealing the game with five straight points to extend the Johnnies’ lead to 11 points late in the second half before a 14-4 Husky run. The senior made up for it down the stretch, when after a Dylan Darling three restored the lead to a two-possession margin, he muscled his way through the paint for a hook shot to balloon the Red Storm advantage to seven points, at 74-67, thereby icing the outcome.

“You know, you’re gonna make me retire,” Pitino quipped to his senior captain, “because I’m not living life without you.”

Many had circled Friday’s clash of Big East titans the moment the conference schedule was released, with St. John’s and UConn both harboring championship aspirations and the personnel to make them a reality. For the Johnnies, a lackluster non-conference showing and deflating loss to Providence a month ago forged a diamond. On the UConn side, the Huskies carried an 18-game win streak into an atmosphere that has become almost like a third home venue to the program.

On most nights, but not this one.

“I looked around during the (national) anthem and I saw a lot of red,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley shared. “It felt like a real road game.”

St. John’s fed off the lathered-up surroundings, and a poignant, yet intelligent message from its veteran leader.

“My message before the game was, ‘you just gotta have no fear of failure,’” Pitino recounted. “We’re definitely gonna win this. If (UConn) cut it to two, no fear of failure. And these guys just responded in a great way.”

“A lot of emotions go through the night, just playing hard and hearing the fans, and trying to give it everything we’ve got,” senior forward Dillon Mitchell said. “But we kept saying (in) every huddle, ‘stay solid.’ Don’t let the emotions take over.”

As UConn pulled closer behind the valiant exploits of Silas Demary, Jr. and Alex Karaban, it was Ejiofor guiding his team through the terrain, undaunted, unfazed.

“Zuby, in every single timeout, said, ‘we got three minutes, we got four minutes,’” a proud Pitino said. “Whether we go up 12, they cut it to two, we have no fear. We’re gonna win this game.”

“I showed them both Providence games (against UConn) of losing a lead and how good they can be with that three-point shot. So we were honed in, every single play was honed in.”

St. John’s (18-5, 11-1 Big East) harkened back to last season en route to its ninth straight victory, bullying UConn into 15 turnovers and using its impressive physicality to boast a commanding 31-12 disparity in free throw attempts that left a defeated Hurley no other recourse to tip his hat to the three-pronged front line of Ejiofor, Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins.

“They’re grown-ass men,” he said of the forwards. “They’re built for Big East games. You’ve gotta be in great shape to do what they do. It disrupts your ability to get into what you want to do offensively.”

“I could see our focus going into this game,” Mitchell said. “Just our focus the past couple days in the film room, on the court, the focus we’ve had the past couple days, I could tell that all the guys were locked in.”

The laser-like focus revealed itself again when Ejiofor and Mitchell were asked about Friday’s conditions giving way to heightened stakes in the return match with UConn later this month in Hartford. Their coach would have none of it.

“We’re worried about Xavier,” Pitino interjected.

St. John’s has a chance to move into a share of the conference lead if it can get past Xavier Monday night, and will assuredly have the same groundswell of crowd support that spurred it on Friday. The Red Storm has embraced its relentlessness, but is once again falling in love with the adoration of a fan base that has its back regardless of the result.

“They’re into it every second of the game,” Mitchell said of the St. John’s fans. “You hear them. They’re loud, they’re supporting. We pick off a lot on that. We play hard, not only for the fans, but for us. It’s exciting to hear it, it’s definitely different. It’s something that I’m blessed to be a part of.”

LIU vs. New Haven Photo Gallery

Photos from LIU’s 60-55 win over New Haven on February 5, 2026:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Inside the Numbers: Jacksonville at Queens

 

Queens guard Isaiah Henry (3) throws down a dunk in the Royals' win over Jacksonville Thursday night.  (Photo:  Queens Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – No ASUN game is ever easy.  For Queens, trying to bounce back from a three-game losing streak was daunting enough. Seeing Jordan Mincy’s physical and talented Jacksonville Dolphins on the visiting bench didn’t make the challenge any easier.

After a 40-minute battle that Queens led for the final 34 minutes or so, the Royals finally fended off the Dolphins, 93-84, at Curry Arena Thursday night. Queens led by as many as 20 points in the game, only for Jacksonville to fight back late. Five Royals finished in double figures, all notching between 13 and 17 points on the night.

You know what happened – now, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!

• After Jacksonville took its final lead of the game at 13-12, Queens tore off an 18-7 burst to take a 30-20 lead. The Royals maintained a double-digit lead for much of the remainder of the game. Jacksonville coach Jordan Mincy spoke after the game about the early Royals charge.

“I thought in the first half – just giving a lot of props to Queens – they came out and they punched us right in the mouth,” Mincy said. “They showed a level of physicality on both ends. I was highly impressed with how offensively they just took it to us. I thought our guys really shied away from contact early.”

• Queens flirted with a record for the Division I era of its program, finishing with just five turnovers – one away from its record of four. Jacksonville converted those turnovers into just four points. At the 5:27 mark of the game, the Royals had committed just two miscues that resulted in zero Dolphin points.

“That’s a huge deal (against) them,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “Anytime you give them free baskets, it really hurts. I thought we did a good job of minimizing their easy ones. They hit a lot of tough twos, and that’s what we wanted them to do. Twos hurt, but threes kill. I thought we did a great job. They only got off 16 threes, and we really protected the paint.”

• Jacksonville got 28 points off its bench, including 18 from sophomore guard Chris Arias. Mincy cited the impact Arias made in keeping his team in the game.

“I was really happy with Chris,” Mincy said. “He’s a guy who’s been battling through some injuries. He started off league play really well. He loves shooting the ball. He was our leading scorer in (non-conference play). He’s the guy who came into league play with a lot of expectations.”

“At the same time, dealing with the injuries – just to see him get out there and kind of get back in a rhythm, I think that will bode well for us in the future.”

• Queens emphasized getting its identity back entering Thursday’s game. Leonard explained after the game what that meant and how the Royals did so.

“Taking care of the ball is a huge thing for us. Winning the offensive rebound battle, which we won. Winning the turnover battle, which we won,” Leonard said. “We got off more threes than they did, even though I thought they did a good job of limiting us. We almost won (at) the free throw line. Those are the four areas we’re trying to win every game.”

• Freshman guard Isaiah Henry played key minutes Thursday, throwing down a thunderous dunk and drawing praise from Leonard.

“I’d say (the dunk) was (a) top-five (play),” Henry said after the game. “Definitely in high school, I had a few better dunks. That’s definitely up there in the top five. I’d say (it was the best at Queens). That or the Arkansas one.”

“I’m proud of Zay,” Leonard added. “Think about this – he hadn’t played a lot lately, and I thought that was a misstep by me. We shortened the rotation to maybe get more efficient, but I thought it caused (guard) Chris (Ashby) and (guard) Carson (Schwieger) to be tired down the stretch in the last few games. I just thought (Henry) did an unbelievable job. We wouldn’t have won that game without Zay.”

• Schwieger and guard/forward Maban Jabriel shifted into the paint to help stem Jacksonville’s physical tide. Leonard was pleased with their play.

“Maban got a bunch of steals, and to force them into 12 turnovers, I thought Maban got his hands on a bunch of different balls today. Then, there’s the possibility that our baseline out of bounds defense caused more turnovers than it has all year. That was (forward) Avantae (Parker) and Maban’s activity on the ball. That’s a huge deal for us – the switchability.”

“(Forward Yoav) Berman’s done an unbelievable job. He guards point guards. He guards five men. He walls up. Sometimes he’s our most physical defender – even more than Tae. That flexibility and versatility is a huge deal for us.”

• Queens has a tough stretch of games ahead, despite their next three being at home. Leonard was in no mood to look ahead after this game, however.

“It was just today that mattered,” Leonard said. “For our guys to get their confidence back – they know they’re a good team. To get back in the win column was a big deal. We’ll move on to Saturday’s (Homecoming game against North Florida) after midnight. I don’t even want to talk about next week, because that doesn’t matter. What matters is North Florida now. What mattered today was JU, and JU is a formidable opponent. I’m just glad we handled it.”

• Mincy felt Jacksonville played better in the second half, even if the scoreboard did not always indicate that.

“I think our guys really focused in (during the second half),” Mincy said. “In the first half, we felt like we didn’t really stick to the scouting report. They have deadly shooters, and we allowed those guys to have six threes (in the first half). Anytime you let Queens get more than 10 threes (the Royals finished with eight), it’s going to be a hard night for you.”

• Mincy’s message for his team was one of perseverance.

“I told them to keep their heads up,” Mincy said. “We understand that it’s a long season. When you look at the box scores, man, everybody in the league is neck-and-neck. Historically, everybody knows this program. We’re really good when it comes to the conference tournament. For me, it’s just game-by-game. I told them the same thing – it’s game-by-game.”

“I understand we lost to Queens here. You might see them in the tournament. You’ve just got to be ready to go. We’re going to take this as a learning lesson and just keep moving forward.”

Queens shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) on the night, adding 47.1 percent (8-for-17) of its tries from distance to the total. The Royals shot 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) from the stripe. Berman led Queens with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 4-for-6 from the line. Nas Mann contributed 15 on 5-for-11 shooting and 4-for-4 on free throws. Jabriel tallied 14 in reserve duty, while Parker and freshman guard Jordan Watford added 13 apiece.

Jacksonville hit 51 percent (26-for-51) from the deck, with 43.8 percent (7-for-16) falling from beyond the arc. The Dolphins hit 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) from the line. Arias led all scorers with 18 on 7-of-10 shooting and 3-for-3 from the line. Power forward Donovan Rivers booked 17, bolstered by an 11-of-14 effort from the line. Guards Jaylen Jones and Hayden Wood each added 12 on 8-for-17 combined shooting, with Jason Thirdkill adding 10.

Next up:  Queens remains at home for a Saturday tilt with North Florida. Tip time from Curry Arena is set for 4:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ streaming the contest. Jacksonville travels to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., for a Saturday outing against West Georgia. The 2:00 start will stream over ESPN+.

Hustle Stats:

Points off turnovers:  Queens 15, Jacksonville 4

Points in the paint:  Queens 46, Jacksonville 32

Second-chance points:  Jacksonville 9, Queens 8

Fast-break points:  Jacksonville 15, Queens 10

Bench points:  Queens 32, Jacksonville 28

QUEENS 93, JACKSONVILLE 84

JACKSONVILLE (9-15, 4-7 ASUN)

Jones 5-8 1-2 12, Wood 3-9 4-4 12, Thirdkill 3-4 2-2 10, Rivers 3-5 11-14 17, Sterck 2-4 0-0 5, Jordon 0-0 0-0 0, Arias 7-10 3-3 18, Lockett 2-8 4-4 8, Udemadu 1-2 0-0 0, Caporaso 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 25-29 84.

QUEENS (13-11, 8-3)

Mann 5-11 4-4 15, Parker 6-10 1-4, Ashby 2-6 2-2 8, Schwieger 3-6 0-0 8, Berman 6-8 4-6 17, Watford 4-6 5-6 13, Henry 2-5 0-0 4, Larson 0-0 1-2 1, Jabriel 5-9 2-2 14. Totals 33-61 19-26.

Halftime:  Queens 44-31. 3-Point goals:  Queens 8-17 (Mann 1-2, Ashby 2-5, Schwieger 2-5, Berman 1-2, Jabriel 2-3), Jacksonville 7-16 (Jones 1-1, Wood 2-5, Thirdkill 2-3, Sterck 1-2, Arias 1-3, Lockett 0-2). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Jacksonville 30 (Arias 7), Queens 27 (Parker 6). Total fouls:  Queens 24, Jacksonville 23. Technicals:  NA.

 

              

 

Seawolves’ win streak snapped at home by Rivera-Torres and Monmouth

By Zachary Wilson (@zwilsonpxp)

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Coming home with a five-game win streak has made Stony Brook feel confident as the race in the CAA has started to become critical with where the Seawolves stand. 

Monmouth, however, would show them up as they had some surprises up their sleeve tonight, leaving Long Island with a hard-fought, 76-75 road win.

Before the first media timeout of the game, the Seawolves and Hawks had only one made shot apiece, starting with Dok Muordar’s turnaround jumper, followed by Erik Pratt’s layup minutes later.

Kavion McClain, who made his Monmouth debut after transferring from Texas Southern, put down his first points as a Hawk with a three. The Hawks would eventually go on a 7-0 run by making four shots in a row and forcing six turnovers on the Seawolves within the first eight minutes of the game, leading to a Stony Brook timeout with 12:27 to go in the first half.

Monmouth created another run out of the second media timeout, this time putting up 10 unanswered points with the last 4 by Cornelius Robinson. Following Pratt’s layup, Jack Collins’ triple would give Monmouth its largest lead of the game at 17 before the Seawolves would go on a 15-5 run to close the gap, led by Pratt’s seven points during that stretch.

Stony Brook cut the Hawk advantage to 34-27 deficit with 4:41 remaining in the half, but a foul by Richard Goods to send Jason Rivera-Torres to the free throw line would spark another Monmouth run with eight unanswered, with five from Rivera-Torres.

After the final media timeout of the half, both sides would once again get only one made field goal over the course of a few minutes that would send Stony Brook to the locker room trailing 46-31, featuring 12 points off of Stony Brook’s nine first-half turnovers.

To start the second half, Andrej Shoshkikj’s inbound immediately landed into Rivera-Torres’ hands, but his missed layup would lead to Shoshkikj getting the scoring started for the home team with a three, creating an 11-2 run over the first five minutes out of halftime and cutting the deficit to 48-42.

Rivera-Torres, however, would keep things in control for the Hawks by drawing a foul while driving into the paint for a layup, putting the Monmouth lead back in double digits.

Approaching the midway point of the second half, McClain would contend with the likes of Jonah Butler and Shoshkikj on hook shots and three-point jumpers to maintain Monmouth’s lead, until Stony Brook would find another 8-0 run, started by back-to-back treys from Butler and Rob Brown III, who would put up five points during that run.

Trailing 67-60, one of the most electric plays of the night for the Seawolves would occur, as Butler lobbed a pass to Goods for a dunk while drawing contact on Robinson to complete the three-point play and make it a four-point game with over five minutes to go.

However, Rivera-Torres would get a dunk of his own after an extended possession for Stony Brook would go empty on multiple missed three-point attempts.

Down the stretch, more shots would be traded between both teams until Shoshkikj would put up a three to pull the Seawolves within 71-68 with 2:07 to go, leading to Stony Brook calling a timeout to plan its next move. The lead for the Hawks would average around three until the most critical point of the game came with under 30 seconds to go.

After the Seawolves trailed 73-72 with 26 seconds to go, McClain split his trip at the free throw line, putting the ball in the hands of Pratt with the shot clock turned off and a chance to tie or win the game. However, Pratt’s pass to Goods along the baseline would go off Goods’ hands and out of bounds, leading to Rivera-Torres sinking two more free throws to seal the win, despite Shoshkikj beating the game clock to make it a one-point loss for Stony Brook.

Pratt finished the night with a team-high 22 points, but would eventually foul out following his fifth turnover of the game that ended the Seawolves’ comeback attempt, while Shoshkikj had 18 points, his sixth straight game in double figures.

On the Monmouth side, Rivera-Torres had a game-high 25 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds. In his Hawks debut, McClain finished with 14 points and five assists.

Following the loss, Stony Brook (14-10, 6-5 CAA) stays at home to host Northeastern on Saturday afternoon, while Monmouth (12-12, 6-5 CAA) stays on the road next Thursday and heads to Philadelphia to play Drexel.