Box Score

STONY BROOK, NY—Forward Sabre Proctor scored a game-high 18 points as Stony Brook defeated visiting NJIT, 50-44, in the season opener for both squads Friday evening at the Pritchard Gymnasium.

Stony Brook, a team that recorded a program-record for wins (14) in 2012-13, was paced by America East Preseason first-team honoree Proctor with 18 points and 8 rebounds. The junior forward finished the game shooting 5-for-12 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line.

The Seawolves' other double-figure scorer was senior guard Chikilra Goodman, who just missed a double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Goodman shot 6-for-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc.

NJIT, a 16-win team in 2012-13 and tournament champion of the Great West Conference, was paced by junior guard Martina Matejcikova's career-high 16 points and five assists. Matejcikova shot 6-for-11 from the field and connected on 3-of-6 from long range.

Point guard Alyssa Albanese scored 12 points for the Highlanders, 10 coming in the first half, while graduate student Shakia Robinson, netted eight points and pulled down six rebounds.

Senior forward Uju Nwankwo grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for NJIT, but the Highlanders were outrebounded by the home team, 40-34.

Stony Brook took an 8-5 lead in the opening five minutes led by Proctor's five points. The Highlanders answered with a 9-2 run, sparked by a pair of free throws by Albanese at the 14:47 mark, for a 14-9 lead. Albanese scored four points in the spurt.

The Seawolves would knock down the next two points from the free throw line, but NJIT's Albanese sank a three-pointer from the left wing for a 6-point advantage, 17-11, with 6:43 left to go in the first half.

Stony Brook's Teasha Harris matched Albanese's three-pointer on the opposite end, closing the Highlander gap to three, 17-14. NJIT scored the next five points, taking its largest lead of the first half, 21-14, on back-to-back layups by Matejcikova.

The Seawolves scored five consecutive points, four from senior guard Goodman, knotting the contest at 21 with 16 seconds remaining in the first half.

NJIT's Albanese led all scorers in the first half with 10 points while Stony Brook's Proctor paced the Seawolves with 8.

To start the second half, the score remained close with neither team leading by more than three, with four ties in the opening 13 minutes. The final tie was at 39 after a three-pointer by Stony Brook's Goodman at the 7:13 mark.

The visitors went on a quick 4-0 run capped, by a jumper by Albanese and a pair of free throws by Robinson, for a 43-40 lead with 5:34 remaining. Stony Brook's Proctor connected on a pair of free throws of her own and Goodman capitalized on a fast break layup giving the home team a one-point advantage, 44-43, with 4:31 remaining.

With less than four minutes to play, Stony Brook scored the next five points, extending the lead to five, 49-43, after a three-pointer by Proctor from the top of the arc.

NJIT will return to action on Monday, November 11 when the Highlanders travel to Lehigh for a 7pm tipoff. The Highlanders seek its first-ever victory over Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks hold a 7-0 record against NJIT.

In the last meeting between the two teams, Lehigh nipped the Highlanders in Newark, 46-45, as Lehigh's Katie O'Reilly made a free throw with 4.6 seconds remaining, breaking a 45-45 tie.