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« Last post by Oakes on January 16, 2026, 09:28:18 am »
A brief aside about the team’s huge win over Hofstra:
How amazing was it to see Stony Brook looking fresh out of halftime and matching Hofstra’s 2nd half push blow for blow! Let’s see more of this please.
Imagine Stony Brook didn’t cough up that huge lead vs UNCW? We would have been walking into Charleston with two huge conference wins! That has to be the mindset heading into this one.
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Charleston: 11-7 (4-1 in CAA and notably 2-3 on the road)
Notable non conference wins: UMASS (I guess). But lost to Liberty, FAU, Drake, Yale, Belmont, South Florida
CAA Conference Play wins: Drexel, Elon, William and Mary, Hampton— but recently lost to Towson.
Charleston didn’t return a single player from last season’s starting five, but did have plenty of NIL to spend. Let’s go over who they brought in. They added PG Jlynn Counter from IUPUI/Middle Tennessee who has been their leading scorer and a strong shooter from outside. He notably put up 29 points on 11/14 FG shooting and 3/3 from deep vs Drexel on 12/29.
They also brought in last seasons leading scorer at Campbell in SG/SF Colby Duggan who is far and away their top three point threat. Duggan averages 14 pts, 3 rb and 1 ast on 41% from three as a solid running mate to Counter. The Cougars rank 11th in the CAA in three point shooting at just 29%. But I think Duggan being hurt for the first month and a half of the season is a big part of that. His return recently has helped fill that void.
They added serious size and rebound prowess in JUCO transfer Chol Machot who averages 10 pts, 6 rb and a CAA best 3 blks per game. As well as former Duke and Clemson bench dweller Christian Reeves who can give them double digit rebounds in minimal playing time off their bench (as evidenced by his 10 rebound in 14 min performance vs William and Mary on January 5th.) These two will play a huge role in tomorrow’s game.
Former Bradley starting wing-turned Cincinnati bench player Connor Hickman joins the fold too— who averages 12 pts, 4 rb and 2 ast (on very poor 25% shooting from outside— leave him open). Lastly, they added an older freshman from Germany in Martin Kalu who is their best perimeter defender who still averages 11 pts on 36% from deep.
Charleston started the season slow due to a real difficult non conference schedule and a lack of chemistry between the new group they have. But between CAA play being easier and getting more reps together as a team— I think they are starting to come together. They rebound well and have a good amount of guys who can get into double figures.
But the fact is they rank 8th in the CAA in team PPG this season and 8th in defense. Disclaimer on their defense though. I think it’s better than it’s ranked because they had a torture chamber of a non conference schedule. They notable hold opponents to 42% FG shooting this year, which is still 3rd in the CAA. A lot of that is their ability to defend the rim and rebound.
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Stony Brook: 10-9 (2-4 in CAA and notably 8-2 at home)
If there’s one thing Stony Brook can rest on is that Pratt isn’t afraid of anybody. He rises to the challenge and wants the big matchup— as evidenced by his stellar defense on CAA Player of the Year favorite Cruz Davis whom he held to 0 points until 17 minutes left in the 2nd half. When Cruz got hot after that— Pratt did as well and was matching him blow for blow. I suspect Pratt will build on that performance when he lines up vs Counter and/or Duggan on Saturday as he continues to force his way into Player of the Year conversations. I also really like to see him pass when he attacks the basket— whether to the corner or a beautiful bounce pass to Goods waiting under the rim. It’s been beautiful to see his unselfishness this season as he really knows how to turn getting doubled to his advantage. Truly superb court vision. But I imagine he may have a tougher time attacking the paint in this matchup vs Charleston’s 7-footers which includes CAA leading shot blocker in Machot. Something to monitor…
Richie Goods started off slow scoring vs Hofstra, but really asserted himself on the glass and through his highly under-appreciated court vision/passing. He had really struggled from three point range in the last month after starting off the season very hot from deep — so it was beyond encouraging to him blow up from three in the 2nd half vs Hofstra. His highlight dunk toward the end of the game was the cherry on top to what should certainly be a huge confidence boosting performance for our big man. However— he has his ups and downs and you have to believe Charleston has placed a target on his back after the Hofstra win. Let’s hope he can continue to stay hot from deep and pull these bigs out of the paint to help give Stony Brook some open looks close to the basket.
Andrej Shoshkikj’s arrow is back point up again as well after his 20 pt, 4 ast, 7/12 FG, 3/6 performance vs Hofstra. I was especially impressed by his aggressiveness to open the 2nd half, which is something he’s struggled with in multiple games. His skirmish with Pratt vs UNCW seems to be a distant memory. Stony Brook will need his production in this one vs all these guards Charleston has
Can we talk about the strides Oleg has been making the last two games? He’s not a 2nd half guy, sure. But he has been really frustrating teams who attempt to attack the basket in the last two games. There is a fire lit beneath him of late. The Hofstra game was his 6th game of the season in which he collected 2 or more blocks. He doesn’t have an offensive game, but I think he’s coming along and Geno is beginning to get the most out of him. We’ll need his help vs these bigs in this one— as well as big contributions from Valentiny and Gorman on the glass. Every extra board will go a long way.
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Conclusion:
While anything is possible, I dont think Stony Brook matches up against Charleston as well as Hofstra because of the size the Cougars have.
I think there are three keys for Stony Brook to pull off a big win vs these guys tomorrow:
1. Can the Seawolves hang with them on the glass?
2. The offense needs to get off to another strong 1st half and show they look comfortable out of the gate like we saw vs UNCW and Hofstra. If Charleston gets hit hard early, I think they struggle to get back up.
3. Lastly— I think Goods performance in this one will be vital. If he gets boxed out by these bigs and doesn’t stay hot from three, we could be in for a long night.
Despite their size, I still view them as a more beatable Charleston team then we are accustomed to seeing since we joined the CAA.
This team is better than their 2-4 CAA record. Time to prove it in what will surely be a battle vs Charleston.
Go Seawolves.
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