Stony Brook stuns 13th-ranked Washington
SEATTLE – Lorenzo Romar doesn’t think the Washington basketball team he watched Sunday night was the same as the squad that went undefeated and beat two ranked opponents.
Stony Brook took advantage and shocked No. 13 Washington 62-57 after overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit, recording the program’s first victory over an Associated Press Top 25 team. Jameel Warney banked in a short runner with 30 seconds left to give Stony Brook its first lead and complete the collapse of the Huskies (11-1).
“The entire game, we just weren’t with it totally,” Romar said. “We didn’t have that extra edge that we’ve had most of the nonconference season.”
Carson Puriefoy hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:07 left to pull the Seawolves (8-6) even at 57. Nigel Williams-Goss turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, and Washington took a wild shot following Warney’s go-ahead bucket.
“This year when we come into offensive droughts, our defense picks us up and we get some transition and stuff like that. We didn’t bring our defense this game,” said Andrew Andrews, whose free throws with 3:41 left were the final points for UW.
The Huskies, who were looking to get off to their best start in 13 years under Romar, had a double-digit lead for much of the night. Williams-Goss scored six straight points early in the second half to spark an 8-0 run that gave Washington a 47-31 lead. Stony Brook answered with a 9-2 run to stay within striking distance.
Upshaw had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for Washington. Williams-Goss also scored 10 points for UW, but committed the costly turnover.
“Mentally, we just weren’t there,” Romar said. “And with so much at stake, you wonder why not. Obviously, me as the head coach, should have had our guys better prepared to go out and finish this up, but I didn’t do a good enough job, obviously.”
It’s only the second win ever against a team from a power conference for the America East school from Long Island that knocked off Penn State in 2006.
“This is our biggest win in program history,” said Warney, who scored the go-ahead basket over Upshaw, the nation’s leading shot-blocker. “It give us more confidence as the season go on.”
Warney finished with 15 points, and Kameron Mitchell added 12 on 4-of-5 3-point shooting.
Stony Brook overcame a poor shooting performance in the first half when it shot 2 of 9 from beyond the arc. The Seawolves started 3 for 15 from the floor and didn’t hit a 3-pointer until their sixth attempt.
“I thought we were getting decent looks,” coach Steve Pikiell said. “Certainly in a game like this against a great team, you’re not going to get a lot better. I love their defense, I think they’re real good defensively, so I told our guys, you got to take the first one that becomes available.”