BOSTON – It took four overtimes: That’s twenty minutes, the equivalent of playing an entire extra half of basketball, before the game was decided.
When the dust finally settled, it was BU who came away with a 99-97 victory in the greatest regular season game in America East history.
“What a game. It’s a shame somebody had to lose,” remarked Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell.
“I’m not really even sure where to start. We knew Stony Brook was a much-improved team. I don’t think they could have played any harder, I don’t think our guys played any harder. We were fortunate we ended up making one more play than they did at the end,” added BU head coach Dennis Wolff.
Four overtimes: It could have gone longer.
If Stony Brook guard Brian Dougher’s runner in the lane had a bit more English on it, if Dougher got just a shade more of a “shooter’s roll,” if Tommy Brenton gets one more finger on his tip-in attempt at Dougher’s miss, or if the rims at Case Gymnasium were just a hair looser, it would have gone five.
The way both teams were playing, they could have gone all night and the game would have only gotten more intense, harder fought, and that much better. As it was, the Terriers-Seawolves marathon was not only the greatest regular season game in conference history, but quite frankly, one of the best college basketball games you will ever see at any level.
“Both teams had real hard games Saturday afternoon, so to come back in less than 48 hours and play a game like this with the minutes, I think both teams deserve a lot of credit. I don’t want to minimize how much credit I think Stony Brook deserves,” said Wolff.
Nine times out of ten, overtime basketball usually comes down to which team can make one big play: players are usually running on fumes, offenses break down, legs cramp up and give out, and buckets become few and far between. But this overtime thriller wasn’t who could make the big play, it was who could make the last big play, as both sides combined to score 84 points in overtime. The Seawolves and Terriers went shot-for-shot during the first three overtimes (10-10, 10-10, 11-11), before the Terriers made on more play in overtime number four, outscoring the Seawolves 12-10.
What a game indeed. What a statement for both teams, what a performance by John Holland and Corey Lowe, what fight by Tommy Brenton, what an exclamation point for the America East conference, and what a testament to the character and heart of Chris Martin.
Stony Brook may have lost the game, but there were no negatives taken away from either side. This wasn’t just a great statement by the Seawolves and the Terriers, this was a great statement for America East Basketball as a whole.
This was last-place Stony Brook, the worst team in the in the conference over the past three years, going shot-for-shot for sixty-minutes with the preseason conference favorites in a BU squad firing on all cylinders and featuring the best 1-2 duo in the conference in Lowe and Holland. This was a Seawolves team starting four first-year players and a walk-on going shot-for-shot with a BU squad featuring two potential first team all-conference players.
“There’s no moral victories,” said Pikiell. “No one cares. And no one cares about the plight of our program. It’s been a long road and there isn’t a ton of tradition. We were Division III 10 years ago, then we were Division II. We went Division I and got behind the eight ball but I think we’re catching up in a hurry. I think Coach Wolff will say that too. We’re graduating kids, we’re moving forward, we’ve got a good foundation here, we’ve got kids accepting their roles. You’ve got to get some wins, too.”
And this was a BU squad which only weeks ago had looked like it was mailing in the season, and whose heart, toughness, and fight had been in doubt for years, matching intensity for 60 minutes with the hardest-fighting team in the conference.
There was no quit on either side, at it seemed like the longer the game went, the harder the teams fought. Every shot was contested, every rebound a war, every loose ball a scrum, as the Terriers and Seawolves traded haymakers for an extra twenty minutes of game time, or the equivalent to an entire extra half of basketball.
“We had plenty of chances to fold on we didn’t, just like they had chances and credit them that they didn’t either,” reflected Wolff.
This was a game of backbreakers and comebacks, momentum shifts and defensive stops, but most of all this was a game of big players elevating their game in the crunch.
“It was an incredible game that I think we’ll all remember for a long time,” said Wolff.
Holland, the Terriers uber-athletic but sometimes enigmatic 6’5″ forward, played all-out for the entire 60 minutes, never once catching a breather. Holland continued to make a case for not only a 1st Team All-Conference nod, but the conference Player of the Year award, as he poured in 29 points and ripped down seven rebounds. Holland hit shots from all over the floor, with defenders draped all over him, including six three’s, two of which came in the first over time to push the Seawolves up against the wall, and two in the third overtime to pull the Terriers back from the brink.
“John played 60 minutes in a game, that’s a lot of minutes,” said Wolff.
There was freshman Jake O’Brien chipping in 13 points, none bigger than the deep three he hit with 47 seconds left in overtime number two, cutting what seemed like an insurmountable 76-71 Stony Brook lead to two points.
And there was Scott Brittain, the Terriers’ center who had looked dead and buried before injuries forced him into action from the end of the bench, and he responded with his most meaningful minutes of the season. Brittain was aggressive and asserted himself in a way Wolff has been pleading for all season, pulling down nine rebounds and chipping in nine points, including a huge bucket off of a spin move at the end of regulation.
Then there was Lowe, who showed why he is the most talented guard in the conference, pouring in 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting. Lowe had been invisible for weeks, and missed the only shot he attempted in the first half, but exploded in the second, and only got stronger with each overtime. For the first time in more than a month, Lowe wanted and demanded the ball when the game was on the line, and delivered, scoring on an array of acrobatic drives into the paint and four long range 3’s. Lowe put the game into a third overtime on a coast-to-coast drive and layup with four seconds left, and forcing a fourth overtime with a game tying free-throw with one second left in the third extra frame.
“I think [Holland and Lowe] played, individually, two of the best games that I can remember played here in a long time. I thought Corey played the best half and overtimes that I can ever remember a kid playing,” said Wolff.
Stony Brook countered every punch the Terriers threw with scoring from across the board, as five Seawolves scored in double figures. Chris Martin led the way with 26, while Brian Dougher dropped 18, Muhammad El-Amin 17, Tommy Brenton 15, and Demetrius Young 12.
It was El-Amin, the Seawolves’ leading scorer, who shrugged off a poor shooting night to send the game into overtime, nailing a three over two defenders from several feet behind the arc as time expired.
It was the play of Brenton and Dougher, two freshmen playing in the most intense game of their young careers, that was the most encouraging for the upstart Seawolves, as both anchor the best freshman class in the conference, and played like seasoned veterans against the likes of Lowe and Holland.
“The young players are confident and I’m confident in them. Bryan Dougher’s going to be a 1,000-point scorer, Dallis Joyner had a tough night, but he had 14 the other night and he rebounds, he’s going to be a 1,000-point scorer and Danny Carter’s going to be a 1,000-point scorer for us and Tommy Brenton had 17 rebounds and 15 points, so the young guys have no problem with confidence. We just need to finish the deal. We’ve been in some tight games like this,” said Pikiell.
Dougher went toe-to-toe with Lowe, whose combination of strength, speed, explosiveness, long range shooting, and experience is unmatched in the conference, as the Seawolves’ rookie hit big shots when they mattered.
Brenton was a beast, plain and simple, routinely out-leaping Holland (one of the conference’s resident high fliers) and the rest of the Terriers, as he skied for a Division I school-record 17 rebounds. Brenton outmuscled, out-positioned, and outworked the Terriers all night, fighting in a way that few rookies have. Brenton also provided the play of the night, throwing down a monster two-handed slam over two Terriers defenders in the third overtime period. Brenton fought all night, and looked like he could have gone another round or two, as he went nose-to-nose with the Terriers trio of Holland, Lowe, and 6’8″, 260-pound Jeff Pelage after the final whistle.
“Tommy Brenton had 17 rebounds as a freshman that breaks the school record in Division I – we’ve never had a guy have 17 rebounds,” reflected Pikiell.
But the story, and star, of the night was Martin. Martin shrugged off a first half in which he was invisible to single-handedly carry the Seawolves through the second half and all four overtimes, scoring all 26 of his points after the intermission. The Seawolves’ 6’1″, 235-pound guard/fullback scored from everywhere on the floor: 25-foot three’s, fade away jumpers, left-handed floaters, and fearless drives into the lane and through the entire Terriers squad.
As Martin heated up the Terriers focused their entire defensive efforts on stopping him. It didn’t matter. The Terriers could have thrown 10 defenders on him, Martin wasn’t going to be denied. Fighting his way to the basket was nothing compared to what Martin was fighting that night and has been fighting all season. Martin’s father Delvado has been fighting terminal lung cancer all season and was given his last rights two months ago, and Martin did not travel during the Seawolves trip west to face Air Force in December because doctors feared his father would not make it through the night.
“(Martin) was terrific today,” said Pikiell, “and made some huge plays for us. His dad is really struggling, it’s a daily thing, he (Delvado) has cancer, he’s been in and out of the hospital. (Chris) comes to practice, then he jumps in his car and goes to see his dad, then he comes back to practice. It’s been a tough stretch, but he’s been able to focus and he gave us good minutes today. He’s a sophomore, so he’s another young guy. I’m real pleased that he’s been able to focus because it’s been a real tough situation on him and his family. As soon as we get back tonight, he’ll be jumping in his car and he’ll go see his dad.
Delvado, who now weighs less than 100 pounds, has kept on fighting, as has Martin every time he sets foot on the court.
In the end, it’s a shame that someone had to lose this game, but both teams had nothing to hang their heads about. For the Terriers, they proved that their season is far from over, and they have the heart, talent, and fight to win this conference. And the young Seawolves proved that they should not be judged by their previous incarnations, these kids are no joke; they have the talent and the heart to play with anyone.
