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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Jameel Warney, the America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, posted his 22nd double-double of the season with game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 3 Stony Brook to a 79-77 victory over No. 2 Vermont in the America East Semifinals at Patrick Gymnasium.
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Photo GalleryWarney also added five blocks and was 11-for-17 from the field. Deshawn Thrower added 18 points and Carson Puriefoy netted 17 points (15 in the second half) to round out the leading scorers for the Seawolves.
Hector Harold paced the Catamounts for the second straight game with a season-high 17 points. He was 3-for-7 from 3-point range and added six assists and four blocks in his final game for Vermont.
Ethan O'Day added 14 points and five rebounds and
Brandon Hatton chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Vermont set a new America East record for most 3-pointers in the half with eight, to take a 41-29 lead at the break. The Catamounts shot 51.9 percent in the first 20 minutes and held Stony Brook to 33.3 percent shooting in the fist stanza.
Stony Brook hit 9-of-13 shots to start the second half, while Vermont struggled, going 2-for-10 over the first five minutes. The Seawolves took advantage, putting together a 26-6 run to stake a 57-47 lead with 11:31 remaining in the game.
A 3-pointer by Thrower, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, at the 9:09 mark gave Stony Brook an 11-point advantage. Vermont used a 9-2 run to slice the lead to four with 6:47 remaining.
A 3-pointer by
Kurt Steidl at the 3:09 mark knotted the game up at 71. However, Stony Brook pushed back out to a four-point lead with just over a minute left.
Dre Wills converted a layup to bring Vermont within two, but Thrower answered with a jumper on the other end to push Stony Brook's lead back to four with 25 seconds remaining.
O'Day responded with a layup to cut the lead back to two, 77-75, with 14 seconds remaining. Puriefoy was fouled twice in the next two possessions for SBU seconds, but only converted two of the four free throw opportunities to keep the door open for the Catamounts.
Purifoy made one of two free throws with nine seconds left.
Trae Bell-Haynes raced down the floor for a layup. Vermont trailed 79-77 with three seconds left.
Stony Brook tried to inbound the ball but O'Day was able to tie up Thrower and the possession arrow favored the Catamounts.
Off the inbounds play, O'Day had a look at the basket in the final shot of regulation to try to force overtime, but Warney tipped the shot and the Seawolves were able to hang on for the victory.
Stony Brook, the preseason favorite to win the league, extends its win streak to eight games and improves to 23-10 overall. The Seawolves also picked up their first win at Patrick Gymnasium since January 21, 2010 and second in the all-time series. Stony Brook will face top-seeded Albany in a rematch of last year's America East Championship game on March 14 at SEFCU Arena in Albany, New York.
Vermont, which had advanced to the America East Semifinals for the 13th time in 14 years, closes out the season with a 18-13 and may have a shot at a bid to the CBI or CIT postseason tournaments.
NOTES: Hector Harold averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 58.3 percent from 3-point range (7-for-12) in the America East Playoffs ...
Ethan O'Day averaged 13 points and shot 66.7 percent from the floor in two playoff games ... As a team, Vermont shot 45 percent (18-for-40) from beyond the arc in the playoffs.