Albany, N.Y. - Vlad Moldoveanu scored 11 points and Stephen Lumpkins and Troy Brewer had 10 apiece in leading American to a 57-44 road win over UAlbany on Monday, Nov. 15 at SEFCU Arena.
     American (2-0) led by as much as 15 in the opening half, but saw the lead nearly dwindle early in the final period. Freshman Luke Devlin drilled a three-point field goal from the left wing and Tim Ambrose converted a bank shot from left of the lane to close the gap to 37-31 with 16:01 to play. The Great Danes could have gotten closer, but Logan Aronhalt's three-pointer from the left corner went in and out.
     The Eagles, who are the preseason favorite to win the Patriot League title, regrouped with eight unanswered. Lumpkins, a 6-foot-8 junior, scored six in that decisive stretch. He connected on a one-hander in the lane and then finished off a high-low entry pass from Moldoveanu to complete the outburst. A first-team all-league selection last year, Moldoveanu totaled 11 points and seven rebounds.
     "We struggled to score and their frontcourt guys beat our young guys up," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, who team played without injured point guard Mike Black. "Lumpkins and Moldoveanu are tough matchups and they wore us down. Their experience and patience were the difference."
     UAlbany (0-2) trailed by double figures the rest of the way and were held to 31.5-percent shooting in the contest. Ambrose led the Great Danes with 13 points off the bench. Aronhalt added 11, but made just 4-of-14 from the floor.
     The Eagles got off to a great start led the entire first half on the strength of 50-percent shooting. UAlbany's Ambrose made a floating jumper and two free throws to slice the deficit to 17-12. But American came back with nine consecutive points. Mike Bersch hit a fastbreak layup and Simon McCormack sank two foul shots to ignite that stretch. Brewer delivered a three-point field goal from the right corner to end the run. Daniel Munoz's driving one-hander gave his team its biggest lead, at 31-16 with 2:50 left before halftime.
     "They are talented and have chemistry with three seniors and two juniors," UAlbany captain Blake Metcalf offered. "The way we played helped them. We had no energy and I am frustrated with how poorly we started."

American 57, UAlbany 44 (11/15/10 at Albany, N.Y., SEFCU Arena)

American 57

Albany 44