The Statesman informing stony brook university for more than 50 years
Volume LV, Issue 21
Monday, March 5, 2012
sbstatesman.com
SECOND CHANCE FOR THE DANCE Joyner tip as time expires sends Seawolves to second consecutive championship game
By David O’Connor Assistant Sports Editor
The Seawolves fans erupted, and the players rushed off the bench to surround senior Dallis Joyner. But no one was quite sure. With 13 seconds on the clock and the score tied at 55, Stony Brook had called a time-out. Head coach Steve Pikiell drew up the play. “I just wanted to make sure we got the ball up in time to get a second shot,” he said after the game. The ball went to Dave Coley, who dribbled around and eventually drove to a spot just inside the three-point arc and fired as the horn sounded. He missed, but the ball was tipped by Joyner into the basket. Then the second horn sounded. Coley had taken the shot as the shot clock expired, leading many in the arena — and on the court — to believe that the game had ended with a missed shot and would go to overtime. But Joyner’s tip which, after review, was determined to have taken place with 0.4 seconds on the game clock, was good, earning the No. 1 Seawolves a 57-55 win over the No. 4 Albany Great Danes in the America East semifinals. “When I tipped it, I didn’t think it would count,” Joyner said. “When I came down, I saw that time was still going, so I knew it was good.” The result means that Stony Brook will host No. 2 Vermont in the America East championship game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, at Stony Brook Arena. It is the first time Stony Brook has ever hosted the conference championship. And it was Joyner’s tip that got it there. “Dallis has been an anchor for us from day one,” Pikiell said about Joyner, who scored 14 points and collected eight rebounds for the game. “He’s one of the best post defenders in the league. His offense has improved tremendously. He wanted to have a special senior year, and he’s had that.” Sunday's game sends Stony Brook (22-8) to its second championship game in as many years. Stony Brook tried to take control early on in the game. After junior guard Gerardo Suero of Albany (19-14) hit the first basket of the game, the Seawolves proceeded to take over in the first few minutes. Following Suero's three, Stony Brook would go on a 14-4 run in which junior Tommy Brenton and Joyner would each score four points. Ten of those Stony Brook points would also be scored underneath the basket. For the entire game, Suero would
KENNETH HO / THE STATESMAN
Seawolves players react to Dallis Joyner's game-winning tip that sent Stony Brook to the championship. score a game-high 17 points, bring down five rebounds and make four assists. “It’s very hard to stop him,” Pikiell said about him.” He’s very quick. He’s a tough guy to stop.” But the Great Danes would not let the Seawolves coast through the half. They would respond with a barrage of three-pointers, eating chunks out of Stony Brook's lead and occasionally taking the lead themselves. Albany would hit five threes in the first 10 minutes of the half. Neither team could take a significant advantage in the score, however. The efforts of senior guard Bryan Dougher, who scored nine points on three three-pointers in the half, helped keep Stony Brook afloat. He would finish with 15 points, leaving him just two shy of the Stony Brook Division-I program record. While the Great Danes would make more than half of their three point shots in the first half, Stony Brook held a strong advantage in the game underneath the basket. For the first half, the Seawolves would outrebounded their opponents 2114 with eight of those rebounds on the offensive end. Stony Brook also scored more than Albany in the paint by a margin of 18-10. The two teams went into the break with the score tied, 33-33. Albany came out of the gate with a spark in the second half, scoring nine points to only four Continued on Page 3
NYPD targeted Town Hall covers Muslim students fairness By Nelson Oliveira Assistant News Editor
Mariam Shareef, a Muslim student at Stony Brook University, was born and raised in the United States and has only been to one other country — Switzerland. As Shareef is about to graduate in biology this year, she now wonders whether her online activities are being watched by the New York Police Department. An investigation by the Associated Press revealed that New York Police Department detectives monitored websites, blogs and forums of Muslim student groups at several colleges across the Northeast, including SBU, sparking a great deal of criticism on campus. “It’s already tough to face generalizations out there,” Shareef said. “I think this is a complete violation of our rights.” Sanaa Nadim, chaplain of the Muslim Student Association, or MSA, at SBU, said students have been “very disturbed” by the news. “Students are very sad. Some are shocked and some are disturbed by it,” she said. “This sets them
By Richard Clay
aside from their colleagues. It pushes them away from those who want to hang out with them. We already have enough trouble from the media. Imagine now that your government is after you.” Detectives visited MSA websites on a daily basis between 2006 and 2007, gathered all information and updates available and investigated the lives of individuals mentioned on those websites. According to documents obtained by the AP, no wrongdoings were found. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told AP that one of the reasons for starting the operation was that 12 former MSA members had been arrested or convicted on terrorism charges in the U.S. and abroad. He also said that Jesse Morton, a Muslim convert who pleaded guilty last month of posting online threats against the creators of "South Park,” tried to recruit followers at SBU, according to the AP.
The Undergraduate Student Government addressed funding and transparency in a town hall meeting held on Thursday evening in the Student Activities Center. USG officers were able to allay some students’ concerns about financial processes and promised to refer more intransigent issues to the senate for discussion. Club representatives asked USG President Mark Maloof and Treasurer Thomas Kirnbauer to explain the process of deciding which funding requests are granted. “It’s a question of, ‘How can we handle everything fairly?’” Maloof said. There is no easy answer, he said, in part because the senate considers funding requests on a rolling basis. Clubs holding events later in the semester might find that no funds remain. Another problem is that the USG has no method of determining attendance at club meetings and events according to
Continued on Page 6
Continued on Page 6
Contributing Writer