Pratt reaches 1,000 career points in tale of two halves for Stony Brook as Seawolves fail to hold 24-point lead

By Zachary Wilson (@zwilsonpxp)

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Every team feels the need to preserve a huge lead, especially in the second half. But when your opponent starts building a huge run, momentum will shift over and give them a good chance to make a comeback.

Stony Brook saw that firsthand Saturday against reigning Coastal Athletic Association champion UNCW, who turned a 24-point deficit into a 75-71 win at Stony Brook Arena. 

To tip off the game, Erik Pratt launched a three-pointer, the first of nine straight points by the Seawolves before UNCW got on the board with five unanswered. Then, the first official review of the game would come during the media timeout after the initial call that the ball went off Stony Brook was reversed to off UNCW, giving the Seawolves an extra possession.

Rob Brown III would get on the board early in the first half with a three-pointer, setting himself up to be a catalyst for his team the rest of the night, while six of the Seahawks’ first eight points would come from Madison Durr. Stony Brook would then go on another first-half run with six unanswered points, featuring a stretch in which the Seawolves made four of five shots.

Out of the media timeout with 11:57 to go in the half, the Seawolves would make back-to-back impressive plays, including a backdoor cut by Oleg Kojenets, who found Brown for a layup, then a three-pointer by Jonah Butler to force a Seahawks timeout as Stony Brook extended its lead to 25-10.

Before a timeout, Andrej Shoshkikj would beat the shot clock with a floater. Nolan Hodge then appeared to beat the shot clock with a three-pointer, but an official review took the basket off the board.

Throughout much of the first half, the Seawolves’ defense stood tall against UNCW, making six blocks and six steals and limiting the Seahawks to just 30 percent shooting from the field and three made threes, sending Stony Brook to the locker room up 43-21 at halftime.

To start the second half, Pratt would start the scoring again with a pull-up jumper to hit a career milestone, eclipsing 1,000 career points. Just as it appeared Stony Brook would keep the momentum on their side, UNCW began to have other plans.

Following Pratt’s shot, the Seahawks would go on a run that took everyone at Stony Brook Arena by surprise. Down 24, UNCW scored 24 unanswered points, with the first 11 forcing a Stony Brook timeout, to tie the game at 45 after forcing uneasy shots on the Seawolves, finding wide-open shots from deep and drives inside the paint.

Pratt broke the tie with a layup and the foul to momentarily give the Seawolves back the lead before five straight points by UNCW, including a three by Durr, gave the Seahawks their first lead of the game. Once the Seahawks took a 50-48 lead, both teams started trading buckets until they reached the final media timeout of the game with four minutes to go and UNCW leading, 63-60.

Patrick Wessler would hit a layup out of the timeout before Brown hit a trey to keep it a one-score game. The Seahawks would then score on their next two possessions to force another Stony Brook timeout after going up 70-63, their largest lead of the game.

Eventually, UNCW would take advantage of being in the bonus, and the Seawolves would run out of time to try and mount a comeback of their own, suffering one of their toughest losses of the season.

Despite the blown lead, Pratt and Brown proved to be pivotal scorers down the stretch for Stony Brook, as each picked up a game-high 24 points. For Brown, that total was a new season-high to go with his six three-pointers, the four straight games in which he has made at least three made triples.

Stony Brook’s second-half shooting went down from the first half, as Stony Brook shot just 35.5 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.

Stony Brook will continue its three-game homestand at Stony Brook Arena on Thursday night when the Seawolves face Long Island rival, Hofstra. The Seawolves are currently on a three-game win streak against the Pride, dating back to the 2024 CAA tournament semifinals, and will look to keep their win streak going on “Red Out” night.