Withers scores career-high 32 in loss at Stony Brook

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook used hot shooting from beyond the arc to erase a second-half deficit and hand the Bryant University basketball team an 86-75 loss on Saturday night at Island Federal Arena.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 6-5 overall and will travel to Cincinnati on Tuesday to face the Bearcats.

On Saturday, Bryant led by as many as nine points in the second half but the Seawolves made 11-of-15 from three, including seven-straight at one point, to earn the win. SBU finished the game 16-of-30 from three.

It spoiled a career night for Connor Withers as the fifth-year wing hit seven threes and finished with a career-high 32 points. He added seven rebounds and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line. Earl Timberlake posted 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals and Daniel Rivera finished with 15 points and nine boards.

Game Information
Stony Brook 86, Bryant 75
Records: Bryant 6-5 | Stony Brook 4-5
Location: Island Federal Arena (Stony Brook, N.Y.)
Attendance: 2,225

Key Moments

• Stony Brook made seven-straight three-point field goals to turn a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

How it Happened

• Withers came out hot on Saturday night, scoring 14 of Bryant's first 17 points to give the Bulldogs a 17-5 lead at the 14:35 mark.
• He started the scoring with a putback and then drilled a three from the top. Withers then hit back-to-back threes from the top to make it 17-5.
• Bryant's lead would remain at 10 as Miles Latimer hit a corner three and Timberlake and Rivera both converted layups.
• The lead would get to 11 as Sherif Gross-Bullock knocked down a three but the Seawolves would answer with a 13-4 run over the next 5:00 to cut Bryant's lead to two, 31-29, with 2:30 left.
• Bryant started the half 9-of-13 from the field but went just 5-of-19 down the stretch.  
• The Black and Gold, however, made their final two field goals of the half to take a 36-31 lead to the break. Timberlake finished a perfect pass at the rim and Rivera muscled his way and banked it home.
• Rivera and Withers opened the second half with a surge, hitting back-to-back threes from the right wing.
• The Seawolves would answer with the next five but Rivera finished off a pretty and-1 before Timberlake finished underneath. Rivera backed his man down on the block and then spun home an underhanded shot while taking the contact.
• SBU erased the deficit as Dean Noll hit a three from the right wing in transition, tying the game at 47-47 before the under-12 media. It marked the first tie since the game was 0-0.
• The Seawolves would finally take their first lead of the game, 51-49, on a three from Stephenson-Moore at the 10:17 mark.
• SBU taking the lead conincided with a 5:41 stretch in which Bryant did not make field goal.
• Bryant's stretch without a field goal would reach eight minutes but four free throws from Rivera and Gross-Bullock gave Bryant a 53-51 lead.
• Withers would then hit a hook in the paint and then drilled a three off an offensive rebound to make it 58-55. Following his three, Withers celebrated towards his own bench but was assessed a technical foul.
• The Seawolves would score the next 10 points, hitting three-straight threes, to take a 65-58 lead with 5:22 left.
• Stony Brook's hot hand from three would continue as the Seawolves made 7-of-7 from distance to take a 77-68 lead with 2:35 left.
• Following the questionable technical, Stony Brook outscored Bryant 24-10 over the next five minutes to build an insurmountable lead.

Stats

• Bryant finished 24-of-61 (39.0 percent) from the field, 11-of-33 (33.3 percent) from three and 16-of-19 (84.0 percent) from the line.
• SBU held a 37-35 edge in rebounds.
• Bryant led for 28:21, while Stony Brook held the lead for just 6:37.
• The Seawolves shot 11-of-15 from three in the second half and 16-of-30 in the game.
• Withers posted a career-high of 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He was 7-of-13 from three and also canned all seven of his free throws. Withers added seven boards, two assits and two steals.
• Timberlake finished with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He had five boards, three assists and three steals.
• Rivera chipped in 15 points, nine boards and two steals.
• Gross-Bullock was held to just eight points but added six assists.

Game Notes

• Bryant is now 2-2 against Stony Brook at the DI level. The home team has won all four games.
• Withers' 32 points are a career high. He bested his previous high of 28 that he set in the 2021 AE Semis while at UMass Lowell. It's the first 30-point game by a Bulldog since Gross-Bullock scored 39 at UMBC last season.
• Withers entererd Saturday night just 3-of-15 from three over his last four games but was 7-of-13 against the Seawolves. The seven threes are a season high and his most since he sank a career-high nine against UMBC on Mar. 6, 2021.
• Withers finished in double figures for the third time this season and the 33^rd time in his career.
• Rivera finished in double figures for the second-straight game and for the seventh time this season.
• Timberlake finished in double figures for the eighth time this year and the 35^th time in his career.
• Timberlake also matched his season high with three steals.
• Gross-Bullock's six assists were a season high.

Up Next
Bryant has a quick turnaround as it heads to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Tuesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m.