Kaela Hilaire in action against Hartford. Hilaire led the Seawolves with 17 points in the win over Binghamton to extend the winning streak to 16 straight games. PHOTO CREDIT: JIM HARRISON STONY BROOK ATHLETICS
The Stony Brook basketball program knew the pressure was high for defeating the Binghamton Bearcats on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Stony Brook Women’s Basketball was putting its program-record start on the line against the second best overall team in the America East Conference. Men’s Basketball was out for retribution against the team that upset the Seawolves in the 2019 America East Quarterfinals.
Both teams saw different results in battles that came down to the final minute of action. The women’s team earned the 67-60 victory in Vestal, NY, earning the program’s best start and extending its winning streak to a nation-leading 16 consecutive games. The men’s program faced the same setback from last postseason, falling to the ‘underdog’ Bearcats, 83-79, at Island Federal Arena.
Stony Brook 67 (19-1; 7-0), Binghamton 60 (13-6; 2-4)
Stony Brook set a new program-record by improving to 19-1, its best start through 20 games. The Seawolves were also named the NCAA Team of the Week and earned its first ever vote in the USA TODAY/WCBA Coaches’ Poll, prior to the contest.
Much of the contest was a spirited battle between the team’s two veteran ‘quarterbacks’– Binghamton senior guard Kai Moon and Stony Brook graduate guard Kaela Hilaire. The guards commanded the majority of their respective offenses, but Moon held the upper hand throughout the contest and led the game with 21 points. Stony Brook’s defense struggled to contain the senior as she masterfully created scoring lanes inside, knocked down long-range shots from behind the arc, and drew fouls that kept Binghamton alive.
Moon cut the Bearcats deficit to 51-49 with 5:50 to go after sinking two free throws, but her night was cut short following the score. As Binghamton picked up the pressure against Stony Brook with a zone-trap defense, Hilare threw a cross-court lateral to sophomore guard Anastasia Warren— who Moon was guarding. As both players leaped for the ball, Moon inadvertently ran into Warren’s outstretched elbow and immediately dropped to the floor with a bloody nose. Binghamton’s medical staff attended to Moon for the rest of the night, but she did not return to the floor. No official injury has been reported as of the time of publication.
Hilaire connected on a long range three-pointer on the ensuing drive, following Moon’s departure. That sparked a 14-4 run for the Seawolves capped off by junior forward India Pagan‘s layup off the dish from Hilaire, handing Stony Brook the 65-53 lead with 1:41 and putting the team in the driver’s seat for good.
Pagan led the Seawolves scoring inside– not with layups, but with free throws– battling the near-lockdown Ramil sisters, forwards Olivia and Annie. The junior did damage to Binghamton by sinking 10 of her 13 free throw opportunities, after the pair applied pressure in the paint. Pagan got the upper hand by the end, fouling out Annie and finishing with 16 points, despite shooting a lackluster 33 percent from the floor.
Binghamton jumped out to a 16-7 first quarter lead after holding Stony Brook to two makes out of 14 attempts. Hilaire and junior guard Victoria Johnson woke up the silent offense by leading a 24-7 second quarter route and taking the 31-23 lead into halftime. While the game was a nail biter throughout the second half, the Seawolves capitalized off 15 total second chance points, 20 points off turnovers, and 28 bench points. Hilaire led the team with 17 points and three assists
“It was a good team win,” Hilaire said in a press release. “We played one of the best teams in the conference today but we came out and played ‘Stony Brook basketball’ as a team on both ends of the floor.”
The Seawolves will return to Island Federal Arena to battle the UMass Lowell River Hawks, who are also undefeated in conference action, in Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 6:30 and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and WUSB 90.1.
Binghamton 83 (8-11; 2-4), Stony Brook 79 (13-8; 4-2)
Head coach Geno Ford and the Men’s Basketball team were critical of their performance after Wednesday night’s loss to Binghamton. Stony Brook was up 77-73 with 2:32 to go, but sophomore guard Sam Sessoms gave Binghamton control by scoring nine consecutive points. The Seawolves clanked six straight three-point attempts on ensuring drives and were unable to erase the deficit.
“We were up four with three minutes to go and had the game won,” Ford said in a post-game press conference. “But, we could not get a stop. One stop, you win the game, we missed and they hit a three [which] changed the whole game.”
The tone from the team was reminiscent of last March after No.7-seeded Binghamton shockingly topped No.2-seeded Stony Brook in the America East Quarterfinals, the only upset in the whole bracket. Binghamton found that same success on Wednesday evening by holding Stony Brook below 40 percent shooting in the first half and 32 percent shooting for the game.
“Because we got size, we got a lot of guys that can drive it to the rim, [opposing defenses] sit in zone and hope you can’t shoot it.” Ford said. “9-29 from three is significantly worse than what we have been on the season.”
Binghamton picked up where it left off last year by starting the game with on a 11-4 run. The Bearcats rarely struggled finding open players and created shots all around the floor, including three backcuts inside. The team knocked down nearly two-thirds of its shots in the paint and almost half its shots throughout the contest.
Sessoms captained the active Bearcats’ offense, which had four players finish with double-digits in points. The reigning conference Rookie of the Year ended his night with a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds. Stony Brook also had four players finish with double-digits in scoring, topped by junior guard Elijah Olaniyi— who scored all of his 20 points in the second half.
Men’s Basketball will travel to Lowell, MA to battle UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
