Men's Basketball Tops Highlanders, 65-48, For Season's First Win

BOX SCORE (PDF)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Using a well-balanced attack Wednesday night at SEFCU Arena, the University at Albany men's basketball team overcame the visiting NJIT Highlanders, 65-48. The victory marked the Great Danes' first of the 2014-15 season, as they improved to 1-1 overall, while NJIT fell to 1-2 on the season.

“It's good to get the first win of the season under our belt,” said Head Coach Will Brown. “I was impressed with our defensive intensity. I thought we played solid defense throughout. I thought we were a little anxious offensively especially early in the game -- took some quick shots -- but then we settled down a little bit and I thought we did a good solid job.”

Freshman guard Wheeler Baker was the spark of the night, leading UAlbany with 15 points off the bench, including a trio of three-pointers, as well as a one-handed slam dunk that made the arena erupt in the waning minutes. Senior Sam Rowley followed with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds and two blocks, while junior Peter Hooley also reached double figures, logging 10 points and six boards. In addition, Evan Singletary added eight points and six rebounds, and Dallas Ennema contributed seven points, as nine UAlbany players got on the board in the victory.

NJIT's Damon Lynn led the Highlanders with a game-high 20 points, followed by Ky Howard's 13 points and team-best six rebounds.

A feel good story from start to finish, the Great Danes dropped their America East Conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance banners prior to the ceremonial jump ball featuring 2015 signee JP Honsinger -- an 11-year old battling Niemann-Pick disease Type C.

“He's literally a part of our team now,” said Hooley. “He's a terrific kid and seriously every time you see him smile, it just lights up your day. He's as much a part of our team as anybody else.”

With an attendance of 2,583 and extra energy and emotion surrounding the court, the start of Wednesday's clash began with a fast tempo but with little to show on the scoreboard. At the first media timeout with 15:53 on the clock, the score was even at 2-2. 

However, sparked by a reverse layup by Rowley, a pair of free throws by junior Ray Sanders, and a drive to the hoop by Hooley, the Great Danes took the lead for good and began to stretch the margin, 8-2, with 13:58 to go in the opening stanza.

UAlbany used a 12-2 run to take a 15-point lead, 20-5, with 8:18 left, featuring Baker's first three of the night, a put-back by Rowley and a pair free throws by the Sydney, Australia native.

On Vlad Shustov's jumper, the Highlanders cut the deficit to 10, 24-14, with 5:14 to go. However, the Great Danes took advantage of NJIT's 17.9 field goal percentage (5-28) in the first half, and used scrappy play to balloon their lead to 19 points, 36-17, at the break. In the 12-3 run, Baker knocked down a jumper and followed it up with a three that forced NJIT to burn a timeout with 1:41 remaining. Richard Peters capped the half with an and-one three-point play with five ticks on the clock.

Out of the break, Hooley caught fire, scoring eight points on a three, a layup, and a three-point play at the free throw line to give the Great Danes a 23-point advantage, 46-23, with 14:10 remaining.

While UAlbany held a commanding lead throughout, the Highlanders battled back to get within 16 with 9:44 left after Lynn heated up with eight straight points of his own, including a pair of threes. However, that would be as close as NJIT would get the rest of the way.

UAlbany built its advantage back up to 21, 63-42, on Ennema's layup with 3:49 to go, before the Highlanders knocked it down to the final margin of 17, 65-48.

On the night, the Great Danes shot 39.3 percent (22-56) from the floor, 25 percent (5-20) from three, and 84.2 percent (16-19) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, NJIT recorded a 28.3 field goal percentage (15-53), 21.4 three-point percentage (6-28), and shot just 57.1 percent (12-21) from the charity stripe.

Up next, the Great Danes host Quinnipiac Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at SEFCU Arena. Fans are also encouraged to attend the UAlbany football season finale at 3:30 p.m. at Bob Ford Field. Available at the box office Saturday, fans can buy a 2-for-$20 package that will include a reserved ticket to each event.