Olaniyi has 28, Stony Brook holds off Hartford 86-77

NEW YORK -- Elijah Olaniyi scored a career-high 28 points, Akwasi Yeboah added 16 points and 14 rebounds and Stony Brook, despite some tense moments down the stretch, defeated Hartford 86-77 on Saturday night.

The Seawolves were up 70-45 with 8:29 remaining before the Hawks went on a 23-4 tear, closing within 74-68 on a J.R. Lynch layup with 2:36 to play. Yeboah answered with a contested 3 from the right corner. He also got behind the defense for a dunk and had four free throws as Stony Brook went 7 of 9 from the line to hold on. Hartford closed 2 of 7 from the field.

Miles Latimer had 12 points for the Seawolves (18-5, 6-2 America East Conference), who ended a two-game losing streak and held on to second place.

Jason Dunne had 19 points for the Hawks (11-12, 4-4) with George Blagojevic and John Carroll combining for 32 points and 21 rebounds, and Lynch had 13 points, seven assists and three steals.

Hartford made 7 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers and was 6 of 7 from the foul line, in the comeback run. Lynch and Carroll had nine points apiece. Meanwhile, Stony Brook went 2 of 14 with a pair of turnovers.

Olaniyi had a career-high 20 by halftime. It was a good recovery for a player averaging 10.8 points. His previous three games totaled 15 points on 5-of-20 shooting, 1 for 8 from 3-point range. He was 11 of 16 against Hartford, 4 of 9 from distance.