Stony Brook Downs Hofstra to Advance to First CAA Final
Rob Washburn
CHAMP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY | STONY BROOK PRESSER | HOFSTRA PRESSER | SIGHTS & SOUNDS VIDEO
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 11, 2024) – Stony Brook became the first No. 7 seed to reach the finals of the Jersey Mike’s CAA Men’s Basketball Championship since 1993, knocking off 3
rd-seeded Hofstra, 63-59, on Monday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
The Seawolves (20-14) will make their first appearance in the CAA title game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night against top-seeded and defending champion Charleston. Stony Brook joins East Carolina, which won the 1993 CAA championship, as the only No. 7 seeds to reach the final; Stony Brook is the third team seeded seventh to advance to the final. Hofstra fell to 20-13 after the setback.
Graduate guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore recorded team highs of 23 points, nine rebounds and three steals to lead Stony Brook. The Seawolves also got 13 points from Chris Maidoh and 12 points and eight rebounds from Aaron Clarke.
CAA Player of the Year Tyler Thomas had a big night for Hofstra, pouring in a game-high 32 points, a team-best nine rebounds and six assists. He made six 3-pointers to set the CAA single-season record for treys with 125. Guard Jaquan Carlos added 13 points and six assists for the Pride.
Hofstra went up 51-48 on a Thomas bucket with five minutes remaining, but Stony Brook responded with a 10-0 run over the next 4:24. Stephenson-Moore started the surge with a game-tying three and a Dean Noll trey from the right wing extended the Seawolves’ lead to 58-51 with 57 seconds to go.
Three Clarke free throws made it 61-51 with 37 seconds on the clock before Thomas single-handedly rallied the Pride, scoring eight straight Hofstra points including a three from the top of the key to slice the deficit to 62-59 with six seconds to play. However, a Keenan Fitzmorris free throw sealed the victory for the Seawolves.
Hofstra grabbed a 22-18 advantage behind the backcourt duo of Thomas and Carlos, who combined for five treys and tallied nine points apiece in the game’s opening 13 minutes. Stony Brook battled back quickly as Stephenson-Moore hit a jumper to put the Seawolves up by two and then buried back-to-back threes to extend their lead to 30-23 with 5:02 to go in the half. The Pride closed the period on a 7-2 run to pull within 32-30 at the break.
The second half remained tight with neither team leading by more than four points until the game’s final minute.
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