Dec. 11, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Stony Brook senior Andre Vanterpool, who scored 13 of his game total 15 points in the second half, made two free throws to put his team ahead for good with 4:44 left and then added five more points down the stretch in the visiting Sea Wolves' 65-61 win at New Jersey Institute of Technology Monday night.

Stony Brook, which owns earlier wins over Penn State and a Columbia team that handed NJIT its first Division I loss, was paced by junior guard Ricky Lucas' 17 points and 9 rebounds. Preseason all-America East Conference guard Mitchell Beauford added 13 points off the bench and senior forward Mike Popoko scored 10 points for the Sea Wolves.

NJIT, which played its best game in nearly a month, got a game-high 19 points from senior guard Clayton Barker. Junior swingman Kraig Peters finished with 17 points--15 in the second half.

Sophomore Nesho Milosevic, making his first start for the Highlanders, posted a double-double, with 12 points and a personal career-best and NJIT Division I-record 14 rebounds. The Highlanders outrebounded Stony Brook, 37-29.

A Peters jump shot for NJIT with 5:32 left had produced the game's fifth tie, 50-50, before Vanterpool broke the deadlock on two free throws with 4:44 left. His foul shots sparked an 8-0 run that included two more free throws by Vanterpool and layups by Popoko and Beauford. The visitors led, 58-50, on Beauford's bucket at the 2:59 mark.

Barker broke the decisive Stony Brook spurt on a three-point basket with 2:35 left and his traditional three-point play with 22 seconds left pulled the Highlanders to within two points of the lead, 63-61, but NJIT would not get closer.

Stony Brook led after the first half, 26-24, paced by Beauford's nine points. Barker, with 10 points, led all scorers for the Highlanders at the break.

The visitors controlled the early going, as NJIT struggled to score and fell behind, 12-2, after Beauford's three with 12:05 left in the first half. But the Highlanders, who have shown tenacity through their first 10 games competing against Division I competition, battled back and grabbed a 23-22 lead on Barker's jump shot with 2:31 left in the half.

Up by two at halftime, Stony Brook gradually pushed the lead to eight, 41-33, on Lucas' three-pointer with 13:41 left. Again, the Highlanders fought back, scoring 10 unanswered points--five each by Milosevic and Peters--capped by Peters' trey that made it 43-41 for NJIT with 11:23 on the clock.

After Stony Brook's Brandon Hickson re-tied the game, 43-43, Mark Milbourne Swan completed a traditional three-point play, to put NJIT on top, 46-43, matching its biggest lead at the 9:58 mark.

There were three ties in 2:30, before Vanterpool's free throws with 4:44 left sparked the decisive rally.

The Highlanders will take a break from competition for exams, returning on December 21 in the marquee game of their inaugural Division I schedule, when they visit St. John's for a 7:30 pm contest on the St. John's campus in Queens, NY.