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#Post#: 46676--------------------------------------------------
Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Oakes Date: February 20, 2026, 8:52 am
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Hampton: 12-15 Overall, 6-8 in CAA (2-10 on the road)
Stony Brook follows up a thrilling home win over Drexel with a
contest vs Hampton on Saturday, another team who defeated the
Seawolves in the 1st game of a two-game regular season series.
But this time Hampton enters the game missing key contributors
and is coming off of a 36-point loss to Hofstra.
Hampton is expected to be without former Siena guard and leading
scorer Michael Eley who has missed the last five games with a
foot injury. He was averaging 13 pts, 3 rb and 1 ast on 30% from
deep and scored 43 pts vs Campbell earlier this year— the most
of any CAA player in a single game this season. It is important
to note that Hampton beat Stony Brook with Eley sidelined in
that game as well.
Hampton’s most notable strength is their defense which is ranked
5th in the CAA so far this season— holding opponents to 69 PPG—
behind only Hofstra, Towson, UNCW and Drexel. They hold
opponents to 31% from outside the arc, the third best in the CAA
behind just UNCW and Drexel. Some of Hampton’s most notable
defensive efforts came when they held Stony Brook to 59 pts on
12/29 and held UNCW to just 49 pts on 1/3.
Their starting PF and top rebounder in the CAA, Xavier Long,
will remain a problem for Stony Brook. He is averaging 10 pts,
10 rb and 2 ast this season and is a huge reason why they are
the 2nd best offensive rebounding team in the conference. Long
is seriously physical presence in the paint that Stony Brook
consistently struggles to contain (see Tyler Tejada on Towson,
Okechukwu Okeke on Albany, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi on William &
Mary, Patrick Wessler on UNCW, Christian Reeves and Chol Machot
on Charleston, etc). He also led the charge in Hampton’s win
over Stony Brook in January with 16 pts, 10 rb and 5 ast.
Despite their formidable defense, they have the 2nd lowest
scoring offense and the worst team FG% in the conference. Their
guards struggle with consistency on the offensive end,
particularly with Eley sidelined.
Their PG Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt — who was notably born and raised
in Wyandanch, NY — is the biggest threat amongst their guards
without Eley playing. He is averaging 12 pts, 1 rb and 3 ast on
a poor 27% from outside the arc. Gaines-Wyatt put up 12 vs Stony
Brook in the last meeting opposite just 2 points from Andrej
Shoshkikj. He is better at attacking the basket and getting to
the line than spotting up from three, but is also prone to
putting up some serious duds that really drown his team’s
chances at competing. Gaines-Wyatt was held to 8 pts on 27%
shooting vs Drexel on 1/29, he was held to 6 pts on just 17%
shooting vs William & Mary on 2/7, and was most recently held to
just 2 pts on 17% shooting with Cruz Davis guarding him in the
loss to Hofstra on Thursday.
Etienne Strothers is a player who has stepped up in Eley’s
absence and has increasingly become one of their best 3PT
shooters. While he is averaging just 5 pts, 2 rb and 2 ast this
year— he has scored 10 or more points in 4 of the team’s last 5
games while knocking down 10/22 (45%) from 3PT range in that
span. Strothers could prove to be their biggest threat among
their guards down the stretch if he continues to play like this.
Sophomore wing Daniel Johnson has been held to under 40%
shooting from the field in each of the team’s last four games—
and while capable producing, he struggles to stay consistent.
Though he did put up 11 points and 5 rebounds on 2/5 from deep
in the last meeting vs Stony Brook. I think he is better at
defense than offense and is likely going to be the one matched
up with Pratt.
Christian Watson, another one of their guards and a former
member of Miami’s roster, returned vs Hofstra after missing a
few games. He put up 11 pts off the bench in the last game vs
Stony Brook. Watson struggles in minimal minutes vs Hofstra on
Thursday, but shouldn’t be ruled out to contribute in Saturday’s
contest.
—————————————————-
Stony Brook 16-11 overall, 8-6 in CAA (11-3 at Home)
The most important thing to note from Stony Brook’s perspective
entering this upcoming game vs Hampton is that I find it hard to
believe Hampton will hold Andrej to two points like they did in
December. Shosh is a different player now and has grown far more
comfortable in his role as the team’s starting PG since then. He
is averaging 10 pts, 3 rb and 3 ast on 47% from three so far
this season. Andrej’s 47% 3PT clip is the most efficient in the
CAA this year among players who have made at least 25 threes:
followed by Elon’s Kacper Klaczek at 47%, Stony Brook’s own
Ethan Simmon at 44%, Drexel’s Eli Beard at 43%, while
Northeastern’s William Kermoury and Hofstra’s Cruz Davis are
tied at 41%. But his defense and timely forced turnovers are
quietly becoming even more of a story as he’s accumulated 16
steals in the last 8 games, including three vs Drexel on Monday.
A reborn Andrej alone should be the difference maker in this
game vs Hampton.
Ethan Simmons should play a big role in this game, coming off of
a heroic performance in the Drexel win. But also because he
scored 17 pts vs Hampton the last time these two teams met in
January. Many wondered why he didn’t get more shot attempts
before his clutch three in the Drexel game— but he should get
plenty of looks in this one. Not to mention— he is the hottest
3PT shooter in the CAA right now, having connected on 19 of his
last 30 attempts (63%) in Stony Brook’s last 8 games. As
mentioned above, Simmon’s 44% from three this year is the 3rd
highest in the CAA among player who have made 25 or more 3PTFG.
He and Andrej vs Hampton’s tough 3PT defense should present an
interesting clash.
It’s not everyday Stony Brook has two of the best 3PT threats in
the conference, and we haven’t even mentioned Pratt’s
contributions on offense yet. Despite some bumps in the road in
some games— we really need to take a step back to realize just
how good this Stony Brook offense is from a historical
perspective. But it should be noted and seen as motivation that
Hofstra has recently overtaken Stony Brook in both 3PT% and 3PT
FGM.
Erik Pratt bounced back to score 21 points in the win over
Drexel after two slower scoring nights vs Northeastern and
Towson. He and Xavier Long should basically cancel each other
out with their scoring (while of course it would be nice to see
Pratt win that race). Pratt also tallied 5 assists again vs
Drexel. His passing was phenomenal during the winning streak and
it’s nice to see him emphasize getting others involved again
after three straight games of light passing. Pratt put up 20 pts
on 8/15 shooting in the last game vs Hampton— but here is to
hoping he gets some more help from his teammates this time
around. I think he will.
Rob Brown is another one who really struggled vs Hampton last
time around— putting up just 3 pts on 1/5 from the field in the
game. While he can be hit or miss at times— he should easily
overcome that amount of production in this game. Though it
should be noted that he has scored under 10 pts in 5 of the
team’s last 7 games, so it would be nice to see him get the ball
rolling again.
Richard Goods put up 17 pts on Drexel on Monday which is good to
see after not scoring in double figures in the previous four
games. It will be interesting to see if he can get in double
figures in this game since Xavier Long held him to just 5 pts on
2/7 shooting in their last matchup in December.
Oleg Kojonets only gave us one minute in the last game, but
maybe we could see more from him against a big like Long in some
sequences in this game after he seems to have gotten back in
Geno’s good graces defensively in recent games.
————————————————
Andrej’s rebirth and recent solidification at Erik Pratt’s
running mate in this offense should be the difference maker in
this game. I expect Stony Brook’s offense will look more loose
in this game, having had more reps together and for the fact
that is a game being played at home. Hampton has a tough
defense, but Long doesn’t have the help around him offensively
than Tejada had in the Towson game. They were surely embarrassed
by the ugly loss to Hofstra the other night, and will
undoubtedly play with more confidence knowing they beat these
Seawolves last time. But Stony Brook is a different team now.
The Seawolves need to get off to a strong lead early in this
one— as this Hampton offense doesn’t have the brass to pose a
serious comeback. But if this is a close game by halftime it
could get dicier than it should be. Hofstra beat them by 36 pts
on Thursday, so let’s not make this a close game. It should be
even more reassuring to know that Hampton has the worst record
on road in the entire CAA).
#Post#: 46677--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Chairman of the Board Date: February 20, 2026, 9:55 am
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anyone else notice- when Simmon comes into the game- it's as if
he's been playing every minute. he needs no warmup time. i
love his game and that he comes off the bench to surprise teams.
#Post#: 46678--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Oakes Date: February 20, 2026, 11:20 am
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[quote author=Chairman of the Board
link=topic=1226.msg46677#msg46677 date=1771602948]
anyone else notice- when Simmon comes into the game- it's as if
he's been playing every minute. he needs no warmup time. i
love his game and that he comes off the bench to surprise teams.
[/quote]
Yea he doesn’t lack confidence at all. He comes in and gets
right to work. Such a weapon to have on a roster in the CAA
#Post#: 46679--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: OldSeawolf Date: February 20, 2026, 5:28 pm
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Great write-up, Oakes!
I think everyone will agree that this is a MUST win! And yes,
Simmons has proved his worth offensively AND defensively. He is
deserving of more minutes IMO, and should be taking some shots
away from Brown, who hasn't been running on all cylinders the
last few weeks.
Go SBU!
#Post#: 46681--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Accelerator Date: February 21, 2026, 9:55 am
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I didn't watch the first game, so how did we even lose to
Hampton earlier this season? I know that was during the "sky is
falling" week that we also lost to Albany and Marist, but still.
#Post#: 46686--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: ecasadoSBU Date: February 21, 2026, 4:17 pm
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Erik having a Killer game. GLAD we are blowing them out. LFG!!
#Post#: 46688--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Accelerator Date: February 21, 2026, 5:31 pm
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Pratt with 34!!
I'd like to get a full blowout but a W is a W. Shoutout to Goods
for turning into a 73% FT shooter the last month. You know Shosh
is going to get his in the second half.
#Post#: 46689--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Chairman of the Board Date: February 21, 2026, 5:42 pm
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we were up something like 18 in the second half, and started to
let it slip. but, we closed it out.
also, CoC beats monmouth.
so we are in fourth, one game behind hof. who we play in one
week (we have monmouth 2/26).
7 blocks to 2. good game from shosh. GO SB
#Post#: 46691--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 28 vs Hampton: 2/21 at 4:00PM on FloSports
By: Checkmate Date: February 21, 2026, 7:07 pm
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Another nice crowd. Consider that the first Saturday of the year
had 700 fewer fans, and trust that it had nothing to do with
class not being in session. The baton troop came out in force
tonight [emoji123]
Again, I marvel at what Pratt does for us on both ends of the
floor. The 34 points is obviously noteworthy, but he's on the
boards and gets after it defensively too. I love Brown for that
also. He really competes. All the guards had key defensive plays
in that second half.
It might have been a different game had Hampton had
Gaines-Wyatt. But I really like the kid Williams for them. Where
the heck has he been all year? He started almost every game for
Hawaii last year.
What an enormous week and a half ahead – the team behind us, the
team in front of us, and the preseason favorite that just took
it to us. I have to think that two of three gets us the double
bye.
As I said before, it's been a fun year. Pratt and Shosh in
particular are just a joy to watch, and it's been great to see
Goods develop the way he has. The offense just looks so much
smoother. We already have more assists this year (379) than last
(361), with at least four games to go. Without a run to the
national title game (let's gooooo), we won't approach our
all-time D-I record from 2015-16 (541) but climbing into second
all-time (currently 434 from 2013-14) is in play.
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