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By Ed Boulat
ITHACA — A pair of scoring droughts coupled with a hot shooting opponent made for a long night for the Cornell men’s basketball team, as the Big Red were soundly beaten by Stony Brook, 76-53, on Wednesday night at Newman Arena.
Playing its first game at home since returning from a six-day, four-game road trip that included stops in Madison, Wis., Tempe, Ariz. and Las Vegas, Cornell was held to 34.8 percent shooting from the floor and without a point for stretches of five-plus minutes in both the first and second halves.
The Sea Wolves shot 53.7 percent from the floor, held a 38-20 edge in rebounding and after going up 31-19 with 5:48 remaining in the first half did not see their lead dip below double-digits.
“I did have some concerns before the game about our energy levels because of what we did last week, but we don’t use those things as excuses,” said Cornell coach Bill Courtney. “I think mentally we weren’t where we needed to be tonight, and we saw it right from the beginning of the game. Stony Brook is a very good defensive team, and because we didn’t move like we needed to or cut with a purpose or set screens and play with pace, they were able to kind of shut us down.”
The Big Red (3-5) seemed up for a challenge early, matching scores with the Sea Wolves on its way to a 19-all tie with 10:06 remaining in the first half.
The next 6:04 saw Cornell stuck on 19 points, however, and by the time Cornell got back on track, Stony Brook had built a 12-point lead. The Sea Wolves carried that advantage into halftime, and early in the second half applied some more suffocating defense.
Trailing 54-39 with 14:08 remaining, the Big Red was held scoreless for another 5:42, by which time the visitors led 64-40. Stony Brook’s lead grew to a game-high 26 points in the final minute, when Courtney emptied his bench.
Senior guard Johnathan Gray scored 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from behind the 3-point arc to lead Cornell, while Stony Brook got 20 points from junior Anthony Jackson and 19 from freshman Jameel Warney. Senior center Eitan Chemerinski was the only other Big Red player in double digits with 11 points on 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Courtney not using Thanksgiving trip as excuse for Cornell's loss
Big Red coming off blowout against Stony Brook
ITHACA — Cornell men’s basketball coach Bill Courtney is not in the business of making excuses.
So while part of Wednesday night’s 76-53 loss to Stony Brook at Newman Arena could have been attributed to tired legs and minds brought on by a Thanksgiving cross-country road trip, Courtney was not interested in sugarcoating things.
“I did have some concerns before the game about our energy levels because of what we did last week, but we don’t use those things as excuses,” said Courtney, whose squad fell to the Sea Wolves in its first game since returning from a six-day, four-game road trip, which included stops in Madison, Wis., Tempe, Ariz. and Las Vegas.
“These guys are 18 to 22 years old,” Courtney said, “so if we as old men can recover from the trip, they can. I think mentally we weren’t where we needed to be (Wednesday) night, and we saw it right from the beginning of the game.”
Hounded all night by a relentless Stony Brook defense, Cornell (3-5) was held to 34.8 percent shooting and without a point for stretches of five-plus minutes in both halves. The Sea Wolves (5-2), meanwhile, shot 53.7 percent, outrebounded the Big Red, 38-20, and, after going up 31-19 with 5:48 remaining in the first half, did not see their lead dip below double-digits.
Courtney said his team’s no-show caught him by surprise, especially considering Cornell was coming off scoring outputs of 89 and 84 points in claiming the lower-bracket title at the 2012 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational last weekend.
“You never see a game like this coming,” Courtney said. “Stony Brook is a very good defensive team, and because we didn’t move like we needed to or cut with a purpose or set screens and play with pace, they were able to kind of shut us down.”
The Big Red seemed up for a challenge early, matching scores with Stony Brook on its way to a 19-all tie with 10:06 remaining in the first half.
The next 6:04 saw Cornell stuck on 19 points, however, and by the time the Big Red put the ball in the hoop again the Seal Wolves had built a 12-point lead. Stony Brook carried that cushion into halftime and while leading 54-39 with 14:08 remaining, Cornell was held scoreless for another 5:42 and to one field goal over a span of 10:21, by which time the visitors led, 64-40.
Senior guard Johnathan Gray seems to be working himself out of an early-season shooting slump. Going into Wednesday’s contest averaging 5.6 points, Gray led the Big Red with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the 3-point arc, while senior center Eitan Chemerinski was the only other Cornell player in double digits with 11 points on 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Courtney’s squad will have a shot at redeeming itself against Colgate on Saturday in a game moved to 6 p.m., although third-year coach Courtney says the first order of business will be learning from Wednesday’s mistakes.
“It is never easy to get over a game like this, especially at home,” said Courtney. “There’s so many alarming things that we have to address. You want to just watch the tape and have the guys watch the tape and figure out what we need to do.”
Box Score (PDF)
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Stony Brook went on a 14-0 run midway through the first half and cruised to a 76-53 win over Cornell on Wednesday evening at Newman Arena. The Sea Wolves improved to 5-2 on the year, while Cornell slipped to 3-5.
Freshman Jameel Warney posted 19 points and 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes, hitting 7-of-8 field goals and grabbing a game-high five offensive rebounds as the visitors dominated the glass (38-20). Stony Brook shot a season-high .586 (29-of-54) from the floor and outscored the Big Red 32-8 in the paint. Anthony Jackson added a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers.
Big Red senior Johnathan Gray scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting (5-of-6 from 3-point range), while classmate Eitan Chemerinski added 11 points. Cornell made just 35 percent of its shots in the loss and turned the ball over 17 times.
The game was tied at 19-19 when Nolan Cressler hit his second 3-pointer of the night for the Big Red, but it was all Stony Brook over the final 30 minutes. The 14-0 run started with a layup by Warney and less than five minutes later ended when Marcus Rouse hit a jumper.
Cornell hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds, one by Gray and another by freshman Holt Harmon at the buzzer tp get back within 12 after falling behind by as many as 16. With a little spark, the Big Red headed to the locker room.
But the momentum didn't turn. And coming off a stretch of six games in 1 days in four time zones, Cornell's legs didn't come back.
An early 3-pointer by Gray after halftime cut the deficit to 11 (44-33) less than a minute into the half. Stony Brook answered in a big way, going on a 20-6 run and holding the Big Red to one field goal over a span of 10:21 as SBU pushed the lead to 25. Cornell wouldn't get closer than 19 points the rest of the way.
Cornell closes out the fall semester when it plays host to Colgate on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at Newman Arena.
Nov. 28, 2012
Ithaca, N.Y. - Freshman Jameel Warney (Plainfield, N.J.) had a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, and junior Anthony Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) had a game-high 20 points as the Stony Brook men's basketball team shot a season high 53.7 percent in a 76-53 win over Cornell Wednesday night at Newman Arena. The win was the 100th at Stony Brook for head coach Steve Pikiell.
Warney was 7-for-8 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Jackson was 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range. Senior Tommy Brenton (Columbia, Md.) added nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
Coach Steve Pikiell's Reaction
"I liked the way we played tonight. We did our damage in the post, both on offense and defense. I liked how we forced them to take jump shots, and we made sure to outrebound them and avoid second chances. We now have to head home and prepare for another big game on Saturday."
Turning Point
In the first half, the two teams traded leads in the early going, but it was Stony Brook that took control with a 14-0 run. Warney got the Seawolves started with a layup, and the Seawolves then hit four consecutive jump shots to close the run, including a pair of Jackson threes to give Stony Brook a 33-19 lead.
The Seawolves never looked back, holding as much as a 25-point lead in the middle of the second half while playing strong defense. Stony Brook punctuated the game mid second half when Warney connected on a layup in traffic and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but Brenton broke free from his man and put back the miss to complete a four-point play.
By the Numbers
Stony Brook shot a season-high 53.7% from the field.
Stony Brook's 58.6% first-half shooting percentage is its best for a half this season. The 42 points are second-best for a half, behind the team's 48-point first half vs. Mount Ida.
Stony Brook outscored Cornell in the paint 32-9 and produced 29 points off of 17 Big Red turnovers.
The Seawolves outrebounded the Big Red 38-20, the 28th time in their last 31 games they've outrebounded their opponent.
In addition to his career-high scoring output, Warney matched his career high in rebounds with 11.
Brenton posted his fourth game of five or more assists this season.
Nine different Seawolves scored points.
Stony Brook's defense limited Cornell to 34.8% shooting and just 53 points. SB is now 20-1 since the start of the 2011-12 season when holding teams under 60 points.
News & Notes
Pikiell earns his 100th win at Stony Brook. His record is 100-120 (.455), but he is 64-39 (.621) since the start of the 2009-10 season.
Stony Brook is now 5-2 for the first time since November 2009, matching the 2009-10 team for best seven-game start and best month of November in the program's Div. I history.
The team also matches the 2009-10 team for best four-game road start with a 3-1 record.
Stony Brook improves to 3-4 against Cornell and 16-15 against the Ivy League all-time.
The Seawolves came into the game America East's highest scoring offense (68.8 PPG).
Up Next
The Seawolves are back at home Saturday, Dec. 1 against Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit GoSeawolves.org/tickets or call (631) 632-
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