Men's Basketball Takes Spot Atop America East Standings with 64-51 Victory at UMass Lowell
BOX SCORE
LOWELL, MASS. – University at Albany men's basketball (8-7, 3-0 AE) extended its perfect conference record to three games on Saturday afternoon, downing UMass Lowell (8-8, 2-1 AE) 64-51 on the road. Senior forward Sam Rowley became the Division I UAlbany career rebounding leader in the victory.
“I knew it was going to be a battle today,” said head coach Will Brown. “UMass Lowell is extremely tough. This was a game we had to come here and take…by 4:00 p.m., there were going to be two teams in first place in the league and we needed to be one of them. I thought our defense was good, and we've got enough talented guys that we'll find ways to score.”
Ray Sanders kicked off the contest against UMass Lowell with two early threes. The junior had all of UAlbany points at the under-16 media timeout, giving the Great Danes a 6-4 advantage.
Three early turnovers, three fouls and poor shooting over four minutes for the Purple & Gold went relatively unnoticed, as the teams combined to go 3-for-12 (.250) from the field early on.
The River Hawks chipped away at the lead mid-way through the half, tying the game at 11. Evan Singletary hit a clutch three to regain the lead, 14-11. The junior went down to the other end and drew an offensive foul on Matt Harris.
UMass Lowell went on a 5-0 run, but UAlbany responded with a 5-0 run of its own with five minutes left in the half.
The solid team defense continued for the Great Danes, as Peter Hooley took a charge on Marco Banegas-Flores to send him to the bench with his third personal foul.
The fouls began to stack up against Pat Duquette's squad, as the Great Danes went to the line for 10 made free throws on 12 attempts in the first half.
Despite five minutes without a field goal to end the half, Singletary and Greig Stire sparked an 11-0 UAlbany run to close the period. Stire came in for the flush after a rejection on the defensive end. Singletary supplemented Stire with his third trey of the half moments later.
UMass Lowell's leading scorer Jahad Thomas was scoreless at the break. The River Hawks were just 2-for-10 from three and 8-for-28 (.286) from the field.
The three-point party didn't end for the Great Danes in the first half, as Singletary and Sanders hit treys immediately to start the second period.
But Jahad Thomas snuck into six points in the early going, as UMass Lowell came within nine, 43-34 with 13:46 on the clock.
Freshman Stire capped a 7-0 run by the Danes with a steal and a dunk thanks to a heads-up defensive play by Mike Rowley. Stire converted on the and-one to put the Purple & Gold ahead by 16, 50-34 with 12:23 to play.
Another scoring drought allowed the River Hawks back in the game. Sam Rowley sank two free throws at the 7:19 mark to end a five-minute period without scoring.
Moments after going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, Rowley brought down his 611th career board, making him the UAlbany Division I career rebounding leader. The senior passed Levi Levine.
After Duquette's squad whittled the lead down to single digits late, Sanders forced a jump ball on a rebound to change possession with 5:31 to play. The play set up a Hooley three, giving UAlbany its double-digit lead back, 55-43.
Two minutes later Sanders took a charge on Lance Crawford. The junior finished with a game-high four assists, two steals and 11 points.
In the 64-51 victory, Singletary led UAlbany with 21 points on 4-for-7 from three and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. The junior tallied his third game with 20 or more points in the last seven contests.
Sam Rowley joined Singletary with a 9-for-10 clip from the charity stripe. The senior netted 11 points and six rebounds. Hooley (14) and Sanders (11) gave UAlbany four double-digit scorers in the victory.
The Purple & Gold went 22-for-25 (.880) from the free throw line, marking its sixth game this season shooting 80% or better at the charity stripe. Saturday's win also marks the third straight game the Great Danes have shot 40% or better from the field.
Hooley's 14 points puts him 20 points away from 1,000 for his career. The junior has made 83 appearances and 57 starts, and ranks sixth in Division I program history in assists with 231.
The Great Danes are out to their first 3-0 league start since 2006-07, when they went 5-0 to kick off America East play. UAlbany has won six of its last seven games.
Head coach Will Brown goes for career win No. 200 on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., against Binghamton (2-16, 1-2 AE) at SEFCU Arena.
The Great Danes will be supporting the Undies Run for Colon Cancer, set for Jan. 18 in Australia against the Bearcats on Jan. 14. Colon Cancer awareness navy wristbands will be sold for $5.00, with proceeds going to the “Hooley Dooleys” team.
