Daily Word: The Tip-Off Marathon

Early morning warm-ups at Rider.

The Stony Brook men's basketball team had a real early wake up call this morning. For the second time in three years, the Seawolves were set to play a 6 a.m. game as a part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon, which slots college basketball games for 24 consecutive hours to celebrate the beginning of the season. If you think that's as awesome as it sounds, well you're absolutely right. Here at the office we've been watching basketball since the 6 a.m. tip. And the Seawolves treated us to great win.

Dave Coley and Anthony Jackson both had 12 points as Stony Brook had (in Fran Fraschilla's words) a "grind-it-out" victory over Rider. The trademark Seawolves defense was at it again this morning, holding their opposition to 46 points on 30.8% shooting. It is just a continuation of last season's success for Coach Steve Pikiell and his team, which allowed just 59.1 points per game in 2011-12 and boasted the America East Defensive Player of the Year in Tommy Brenton. In addition, the Seawolves are now 3-0 for the first time since November 2009, with a chance to go 4-0 for the first time since 1990 when Sacred Heart comes to town on Sunday.

And what did the guys think of the opportunity to play on ESPN with the early start time? "If you need something extra to get excited for an ESPN game, I don't know what to tell you," said Brenton in this Newsday article.

Wake up time!

From the Stony Brook game recap, Coach Pikiell added: "The guys did a real good job with less than 48 hours to prepare for a big basketball game. This is a great game for us -- we're happy to be on ESPN in a great environment. It's great for our progam, and it's exciting to get a win".

As Coach Orion said in D3: The Mighty Ducks: "You gotta get up early if you wanna hunt goose eggs".

(Pictures courtesy of the @SBAthletics Twitter account.)



Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Basketball

Boston U. rallied from down 15, but couldn't get past Canisius: Box/Recap/Highlights

Coach Aki Thomas got his first victory, as UMBC beat Eastern in its home opener: Box/Recap/Highlights

Women's Basketball

Chantell Alford dropped 30 points, but it wasn't enough as Boston U. lost a heartbreaker to nationally ranked West Virginia: Box/Recap/Highlights

Linked Up

The New Hampshire women's basketball team is getting ready for a new year (video).

Daphne Elliot is Hartford's Mooyah Player of the Week (video).

America East school and CFES are partnering for a mentoring project.

Stony Brook softball will host a pair of hitting clinics in December.

Former UMBC women's basketball player Michelle Kurowski has signed a contract to play overseas.

What's Next?

Men's Basketball

Vermont at Connecticut, 7 p.m.
Hartford at Mt. Saint Mary's, 7 p.m.
New Hampshire at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
Albany at Washington, 9:30 p.m.

Women's Basketball

Syracuse at Maine, 7 p.m.
Marist at Hartford, 7 p.m.
LIU Brooklyn at Albany, 7 p.m.