Stoney Brook gets 2nd stunner in 83-81 win over S Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Stony Brook coach Jeff Boals told his team if they played with no fear, they could knock off South Carolina.
So his Seawolves drove at the Gamecocks, beat them to rebounds and loose balls and pulled off their second big upset of the year in an 83-81 win Friday night.
"We expected to win this game," Boals said, three nights after Stony Brook (2-0) overcame falling behind 22-0 to beat George Washington in overtime.
The Seawolves led almost the entire second half against South Carolina (1-1). But they needed Jeff Otchere's block of a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Justin Minaya with two seconds left to hang on.
South Carolina was out of timeouts and scrambling to get a shot off after failing to rebound an air ball on a layup with 13 seconds left and grabbing Akwasi Yeboah's miss with six seconds to go.
Stony Brook pulled down 10 more offensive rebounds than South Carolina.
"They just physically manhandled us. They beat us to every loose ball. They beat us to every rebound. They didn't give in," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said.
Yeboah scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds, while Elijah Olaniyi added 16 points and nine rebounds for Stony Brook.
Freshman A.J. Lawson scored 23 points and Tre Campbell added 15 for South Carolina.
"My freshman really tried; we got nothing from the older guys. It's hard to win," Martin said.
WHERE'S SILVA?
Preseason Southeastern Conference first-team selection Chris Silva had seven points on just 1-of-5 shooting with two rebounds.
Silva picked up his fourth foul with 10:18 left in the game and Martin never put the senior back in.
Martin said he is trying to figure out how to toughen his upperclassman big men like Silva and junior Maik Kotsar who had seven points and no rebounds.
"For Chris Silva to have two rebounds and Maik Kotsar to have zero in a game. ... we got punked, then obviously the coaching is very overrated."
KEY SEQUENCE
South Carolina was surging back after a Campbell 3-pointer off a missed free throw cut the deficit to three with 5:14 to go.
But Stony Brook responded as they did all game. Miles Latimer hit a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound, Elijah Olaniyi had a layup and Latimer hit another 3 to give the Seawolves a 79-70 lead with 3:37 to go and the cushion they needed down the stretch.
"They played hard. We played harder," Yeboah said.
BIG PICTURE
Stony Brook: Perhaps no small school has a better pair of opening wins than the Seawolves. In the George Washington game, they never led or were tied after the opening tip until Yeboah put in his own miss with one second to go in regulation. Now Stoney Brook can add a Southeastern Conference win to the list that includes a victory last season over Big Ten Rutgers.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks aren't looking good. They also lost an exhibition game to Division II Augusta. South Carolina is now 4-2 against the Atlantic East. They also lost to Maine in 1980. South Carolina played just nine players because of injuries.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook: The Seawolves head to Connecticut to play Holy Cross on Nov. 16 in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks end their three-game opening stand against Norfolk State on Tuesday.