Box Score
NEWARK, NJ—Visiting Stony Brook got a game-high 24 points from freshman guard Bryan Dougher en route to a 60-39 victory Tuesday night against NJIT in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Dougher, who is from Scotch Plains, NJ, about 15 miles from the NJIT campus, celebrated his return to the Garden State with the best effort of his young college career. He shot 6-for-8 from the field, including 5-for-6 on three-pointers, and also made seven of his nine free throws for a new career scoring high, breaking the old mark of 15, which he set in Stony Brook's previous game, a 62-60 win at Columbia three days earlier.
Junior guard Muhammad El-Amin came off the bench to score 13 points for Stony Brook (3-3). The top rebounder for the Seawolves was freshman swing man Tommy Brenton, who finished with five boards.
The leading scorer for NJIT was sophomore backup forward Paulius Skema, who finished with 11 points in 14 minutes of action. Skema, who scored a career-best 13 points against Monmouth over the weekend, has led the Highlander scorers in each of the last two games.
NJIT, which outrebounded Stony Brook, 36-30, got a game-high eight rebounds from junior center Dan Stonkus.
Both teams started slowly, with a pair of Dougher three-point buckets accounting for the Seawolves' 6-0 lead through the first 4:04.
The teams came into the game with good defensive statistics—NJIT was allowing an average of 59.2 points per game and its opponents were shooting just under 41 percent from the field and Stony Brook was allowing 61 points per game, so slow scoring start was not unexpected.
However, Stony Brook built a 14-4 lead by midway through the first half and was never threatened after that, pulling out to the 32-15 lead at the break by holding the home team scoreless over the last 5:53 of the first half.
NJIT, which shot just 5-for-24 from the field in the first half, did better in the second half (10-for-26) but still trailed by at least 16 the rest of the way.
The Highlanders, who opened their season at home, then played four in a row away from home before hosting Stony Brook, will go back on the road for their next two games.
Next up for NJIT is a 2 pm game on Saturday in Princess Anne, MD at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
