Stony Brook, NY – The University of Maine fell to the Seawolves of Stony Brook 80-72 on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides would come out of the gates slow, with the first basket coming 2:07 into the contest by
Sam Ihekwoaba.
The Black Bears would get their early lead up to 4 after a layup by Ihekwoaba.
Tykei Greene would tie back up the score at 6-6 with a layup of his own for the Seawolves.
The two teams found themselves in a tied contest on five occasions in the first half, with the Seawolves breaking the scoring open following free throws by Jahil Jenkins.
Stony Brook closed out the final 10 minutes of the first half on a 26-13 run.
The Black Bears were led in the first half by reigning America East Rookie of the Week
Sam Ihekwoaba, who scored a team high 10 and brought in a team high 5 rebounds in the half. Ata Turgot and
Maks Klanjscek chipped in with 6 each in the scoring department.
Stony Brook's Frankie Policelli went into the half with a game-high 11 points. Jenkins scored 8 to rank second on his squad at halftime.
Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish would hit the first three-pointer for the Black Bears early in the second-half as the Black Bears trimmed the deficit to 12.
After being down by 21 with 10:54 left in the second half, Maine went on a 11-2 run over the next 4:38 to trim the deficit down to 11.
Maine would gather all the moment with 1:54 left in the contest with an Atat Turgot steal that led to a
Byron Ireland dunk. The score would get the Black Bears to within 5.
Stony Brook would hit their late free throws and hold on to pick up their first conference win of the season.
Maine was led by Ihekwoaba, who dropped a career high 22 and got a career high 9 rebounds. Wright-McLeish (15 pts, 2 reb) and
Maks Klanjscek (13 pts, 2 reb) were key contributors.
The Seawolves were led by four players, Elijah Olaniyi (16 pts), Tykei Greene (16 pts), Anthony Roberts (15 pts) and Frankie Policelli (14 pts).
Maine will look to bounce back as the make the trip to New Hampshire to face the Wildcats on Wednesday, Jan. 12.
-UMaine-
