march 2, 7 & 12, 2016 AMERICA EAST MEN’S BASKETBALL #AEPLAYOFFS INSIDE...INSIDE... FEATURE: YOU CAN PLAY 2016 AEC PLAYOFFS 2015 RECAP POSTSEASON AWARDS OFFENSIVE LEADERS TOURNAMENT RECORDS DEFENSIVE LEADERS CONNECT WITH THE AEC AMERICAEAST.COM IF YOU CAN PLAY, By Nicole Auerbach USA Today National College YOU CAN PLAY Basketball Writer he warmup shirts on the court match It’s Stony Brook’s You Can Play night — the scoreboard, which is lit up like the well, one of them. This is its men’s basketball T rainbow to match the LGBT pride flag. incarnation for 2015-16, and the night is part The America East-leading Stony Brook of the America East’s partnership with the men’s basketball players are in layup lines as You Can Play Project, an organization that they normally would be, about 45 minutes works to improve safety and inclusivity for before tipoff against Binghamton on Feb. 3. LGBT athletes, coaches and fans. It also The only difference is their attire, shirts which hopes to publicize allies and change locker spell out #OUR HOUSE RULES on the front, room culture. and You Can Play on the back. The premise of the project is this: If you can Inside the main concourse, athletes from play, you can play. Sports should be about skill other Stony Brook athletic teams run booths and effort, not an athlete’s gender or sexual explaining the night’s theme — inclusiveness preference. America East, which has nine and awareness — and offer a pledge that members, has partnered with You Can Play students can sign promising to promote since December 2012. It was the first acceptance of all teammates and peers as collegiate conference to do so. well as speak out against slurs of any sort in All nine America East members host You any environment on campus. Many athletes Can Play nights throughout the fall, winter and sign their jersey numbers alongside their spring sports seasons. During the winter, names on the poster board; others use an men’s and women’s basketball teams iPad to input their pledge. participate — the schools’ most visible The visibility extends to the band and dance athletes showing support for the cause. teams, who also wear T-shirts or pins with “Whether it’s fair or not, reasonable or not, pride symbols. One of the tuba players drapes athletes are leaders in colleges, in pros, in herself in rainbow flag. high schools,” Patrick Burke, co-founder of 2016 AmericA eAst conference BAsketBAll chAmpionship You Can Play, told USA TODAY Sports. “People Burke’s project works with both look up to them. People look to them for professional and collegiate teams to educate guidance on various social issues. Having the them on LGBT issues and make videos men’s basketball team wearing shirts that expressing the importance of inclusivity. say, ‘You Can Play,’ seeing a stand set up Powerhouse athletic programs, from Ohio talking about the America East partnership, State to UCLA, have produced videos that are having student leaders there providing housed on You Can Play’s website. Including education on LGBT issues — it’s something professional organizations, too, Burke that can really transform a culture on a estimates You Can Play and various teams college campus. have made “well over 100” videos total. “Having the Stony Brook men’s basketball team hosting a You Can “Our student-athletes have been leading this Play night, saying we believe in equality, we believe LGBT effort from the start and I'm so impressed teammates, coaches and fans with how they have continued to lead and should be treated with respect and dignity, they should be able to spread the message of respect each year across play or coach or cheer free of all sports and platforms.” harassment, intimidation and AMY HUCHTHAUSEN degradation, that’ll have an effect AMERICA EAST COMMISSIONER on people in the stands, students in their dorms. It’ll have an effect on kids on the campus who don’t even go to the What impresses him the most, however, is games or don’t even like basketball. It’s a when athletic programs (like the America East feeling of belonging on campus.” schools) take the matter into their own hands. 2016 AmericA eAst conference BAsketBAll chAmpionship No representatives from You Can Play attended leading scorer, said after the Seawolves’ 76-51 Wednesday’s (Feb. 3) game; all activities and win that he loves promoting inclusiveness by coordination were handled by the Seawolves’ participating in You Can Play night, saying it’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. one of his favorite days of the year — besides Christmas, of course. Warney’s coach agreed. “It’s exciting for me and our basketball “It’s a great cause, and I’m program because we’re about diversity, glad our league has taken it we’re about inclusion, we’re about accept- up,” Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said. “It’s exciting for me ance, all those great things You Can Play and our basketball program stands for.” because we’re about diversity, STEVE PIKIELL we’re about inclusion, we’re STONY BROOK HEAD COACH about acceptance, all those great things You Can Play stands Says Amy Huchthausen, the America East for. commissioner: “Our student-athletes have been “If you can play, you can play — I mean, leading this effort from the start and I'm so that’s a great saying. We have guys from impressed with how they have continued to lead different backgrounds, different countries, and spread the message of respect each year guys who have different likes. Guys who are across all sports and platforms. It's important to different. If you can play, you can play. That’s them and I'm blown away with how they've all they care about. They’re accepting of embraced this in such a positive and public way.” everyone, and our university has really Senior Jameel Warney, Stony Brook’s embraced this, too.” 2016 AmericA eAst conference BAsketBAll chAmpionship NCAA.com/MarchMadness TM & © 2016 Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. NCAA and March Madness are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. #AEPLAYOFFS 2015 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP 2015 CHAMPIONSHIP: ALBANY 51, STONY BROOK 50 Albany won its third consecutive America East men’s basketball championship and fifth all time in 2015, capping its tournament run with a thrilling win over Stony Brook in the title game. Peter Hooley’s three-pointer from the top of the key with the Great Danes trailing by two and just 1.6 seconds left lifted them to a 51-50 victory on March 14, 2015. By virtue of his game-winning shot, Hooley earned Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player honors for the second-straight year, becoming the fifth player to win the award in consecutive years. Hooley was joined on the All-Championship team by teammate Sam Rowley, Stony Brook’s Carson Puriefoy and Jameel Warney and New Hampshire’s Jaleen Smith. Mike Rowley was named the men’s basketball Elite 18 winner. A sellout crowd of 4,468 attended the game bringing the total attendance for the America East Playoffs to 21,292, the league’s best since 2005. HIGHLIGHTS PHOTO GALLERY BOX SCORE RECAP AMERICAEAST.COM #AEPLAYOFFS AMERICA EAST PLAYOFFS THE ROAD TO THE TITLE QUARTERFINALS SEMIFINALS TITLE GAME Wednesday, March 2 Monday, March 7 Saturday, March 12 Tournament will re-seed following the quarterfinal games PLAYOFF CENTRAL No. 1 7 P.M. No. 8 7 P.M. No. 4 7:30 P.M. No. 5 11 A.M. CHAMPION No. 2 7 P.M. No. 7 7:30 P.M. No. 3 7:30 P.M. No. 6 **All games played at highest remaining seed. AMERICAEAST.COM #AEPLAYOFFS ALBANY GREAT DANES No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown 0 Evan Singletary G 6-1 195 Sr. Baltimore, Md. 1 Ray Sanders G 6-4 210 Sr. Tuscaloosa, Ala. 2 Jamir Andrews G 6-3 205 Jr. Livermore, Calif. 3 Joe Cremo G 6-4 190 Fr. Scotia, N.Y. 10 Mike Rowley F 6-8 230 Jr. Sydney, Australia 12 Peter Hooley G 6-4 200 Sr. Adelaide, Australia 13 Reece Williams G 6-1 200 Sr. White Plains, N.Y. 21 David Nichols G 6-0 185 Fr. Chicago, Ill. 22 Richard Peters C 6-11 280 Jr. Toronto, Ontario 24 Dallas Ennema F 6-6 210 Jr. Sheldon, Iowa 30 Travis Charles F 6-6 235 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y. 34 Kyle McKinley F/C 6-10 210 Fr. Stillwater, Minn. 43 Greig Stire F 6-7 240 So. Albany, N.Y. Head Coach: Will Brown Assistant Coaches: Jon Iati, Josh Pelletier, Jared Knotts STATISTICS ATHLETICS SITE TEAM SCHEDULE SCHOOL SITE AMERICAEAST.COM WATCH WHAT YOU WANT. WHEN YOU WANT. 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