UConn Rallies Past Stony Brook 73-62
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Niels Giffey had a career-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help No. 21 Connecticut rally for a 73-62 victory over Stony Brook on Sunday.
Shabazz Napier had 15 of his 19 points in the second half for UConn (5-1), and Omar Calhoun added 14.
Dave Coley led Stony Brook (4-2) with 15 points and Tommy Brenton added 14.
The game was tied at 39 when Connecticut found its stroke from outside, making its final eight attempts from behind the arc. A four-point play by Napier put UConn up 61-47 with just over 4 minutes left and sealed the win.
The Huskies finished 10 of 22 from behind the arc.
Connecticut trailed 33-26 early in the second half after a 10-0 Stony Brook run that overlapped with halftime.
The Huskies chipped away at the deficit, tying it at 39 with 11:40 to play on a jumper by DeAndre Daniels.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Napier and Giffey put UConn up 45-39. That started the run of consecutive makes from behind the arc by the Huskies.
Stony Brook made just five of their 18 3-point attempts.
Coley opened the game with a 3-pointer and the Seawolves jumped out to an early 10-2 lead.
The Huskies missed 11 of their first 12 shots from the field and trailed 14-8 midway through the first half. Napier, their leading scorer, didn't take a shot until almost 13 minutes into the game, when his layup cut the deficit to 15-14.
Ryan Boatright made a tying 3 a minute later and Daniels' putback gave the Huskies their first lead at 19-17.
But Stony Brook scored the last eight points of the half. Anthony Mayo blocked a 3-point attempt by Boatright just before the buzzer and the Seawolves carried a 31-26 lead into the break.
The Huskies shot just 32 percent from the field in the first half, but moved to 64 percent in the second.
This was just the second home game for the Huskies, who were coming off their first loss of the season to New Mexico in the Paradise Jam final in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Stony Brook outrebounded Connecticut 38-35. The Huskies have been outrebounded in every game this season, and were averaging almost nine fewer rebounds than their opponents.
Stony Brook was averaging 41 rebounds per game. It was led by Jameel Warney's 11 boards. He also had eight points.
Connecticut played without its top reserve, Holy Cross transfer R.J. Evans. Evans sprained his collar bone and is expected to miss about two weeks. The graduate student, in his final year of eligibility, has been a steadying presence for the Huskies, averaging about six points.
Little-used reserve forward Leon Tolksdorf also missed the game with a left knee sprain.
The Huskies improved to 5-0 against Stony Brook. Connecticut hasn't lost to a non-conference opponent in its on-campus arena since falling to Detroit Mercy in the 2001 NIT.
Stony Brook was looking to go 5-1 for just the second time in program history. The first came in 2009. But the Seawolves were playing their second game in two days after beating Canisius at home on Saturday 82-75.
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