Albany, N.Y. - Tim Ambrose had 17 of his 21 points in the second half as UAlbany rallied for a 76-69 America East Conference victory over UMBC on Saturday, Jan. 16 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes snapped a three-game skid.
     UAlbany (6-13, AE 1-3) ran off 10 unanswered to begin the final period after trailing at halftime. Logan Aronhalt, who equaled a career-best with 13 points, drilled a 22-footer from the right wing to put his team in front and then finished off a fastbreak for a 44-40 advantage.
     The Great Danes later strung together seven straight points to build a 55-44 cushion. Ambrose, a 6-foot junior who added five rebounds and five assists, made a jumper in transition. Scotty McRae split a pair of free throws and connected on a 10-foot shot from left of the lane to end that spurt.
     UMBC (1-16, AE 0-4) closed within five on three occasions in the stretch. Freshman Brian Weller nailed a three-point field goal, but Ambrose answered with three consecutive baskets, including a fastbreak slam dunk. Another Weller three-pointer narrowed the gap to 68-63 with 1:21 remaining. However, Mike Johnson and Aronhalt each sank two free throws in the last minute to seal the verdict.
     The Retrievers made a sizzling 61.5 percent from the field in the opening period en route to a 40-34 halftime lead. UMBC reversed a 16-14 deficit with a 13-2 run. Chauncey Gilliam, a sophomore guard who had 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, nailed consecutive three-pointers to put his team ahead. Shawn Grant buried a long-range shot and Matt Spadafora converted a reverse layup to complete the outburst.
     UAlbany trailed by as much as 11 before slicing the lead in half by the break. Freshman Mike Black, one of four Great Danes in double figures with 12 points, hit a driving bank shot and Will Harris followed with a three-pointer in transition after a steal.
     "We allowed them to get comfortable in the first half and got by double figures for the fourth consecutive conference game," said Will Brown, whose team held UMBC to 10 of 24 from the field after halftime. "We were more aggressive on offense and communicated on defense. They forced us to play small, but we got contributions from everyone."
     Robbie Jackson, a 7-foot junior, had 10 points for the Retrievers, who suffered their seventh consecutive setback. Spadafora and Neller scored nine apiece. Harris had 13 points off the bench, while freshman center Blake Metcalf grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds and scored four points in his first start as a collegian.
     "It's a relief to get our first conference win," said Black, one of three true freshmen in the UAlbany starting lineup. "We have had good practices but we just needed to carry it over to the game. We had good defensive pressure (at the start of the second half) and we didn't want to let up."

Paw Prints:  UAlbany and UMBC last met in the semifinal round of the 2009 America East Conference Tournament ... the Great Danes shot 50 percent from the field for the first time since Dec. 8th ... Tim Ambrose scored 20-plus points for the 14th time in his career ... Logan Aronhalt matched a career-high scoring total, and also had 13 points against Yale earlier this month ... the redshirt freshman is averaging 9.0 points over his last six appearances ... Blake Metcalf made his first start as a collegian and matched the highest rebound total (11) by a Great Dane this season.

UAlbany 76, UMBC 69 (1/16/10 at Albany, N.Y., SEFCU Arena)

UMBC 69

Albany 76