Men's Basketball Uses Balanced Scoring Attack to Roll Past UMBC 69-55
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany men's basketball (12-7, 7-0 AE) continued its America East streak on Sunday afternoon, downing UMBC 69-55 to remain undefeated in league play at 7-0. Wheeler Baker led the Great Danes with 14 points.
“I thought that we were a tired group, and I was worried about this game,” said head coach Will Brown. “We made a nice run early, but we were a step slow overall all night. Our goal was to attack the paint and get to the free throw line. We did what we needed to do, which was get the win and now we move forward.”
After starting the game 0-for-3 from the field, UAlbany used a 12-0 run to get out to an early 14-4 lead. Sam Rowley had eight points in a five-minute period, while Baker sank a three to put the Danes up by double digits. Conversely, the Retrievers went without a field goal for eight minutes to open the first half.
UMBC fought back to bring the game within three points thanks to a 7-0 run and two threes from Brent Malcolm. Four free throws from Baker, along with baskets from Evan Singletary and Dallas Ennema brought the lead back to a comfortable 15 points, 28-13. Singletary and Ennema strung together three three-point baskets to end the half and cap a 10-0 run.
The Great Danes entered the locker room at the break with a lead for the seventh-straight game, 35-22. The Purple & Gold also held a 13-0 advantage in points off the bench.
A quick six-point spurt by UMBC forced UAlbany out of its slow second-half start. Greig Stire, Ray Sanders and Ennema combined for a 9-0 run to put the Danes ahead 44-28 with 15 minutes to play.
The Retrievers weren't out of the dogfight yet, as a three from Jourdan Grant and an easy bucket underneath narrowed the lead to 12.
After some back-and-forth, UAlbany opened up a 21-point lead, 64-43 after UMBC starters Wayne Sparrow and Devarick Houston played limited minutes with four fouls each. The Purple & Gold converted on three consecutive possessions to put the game away with authority.
The Danes drew its largest crowd of the season to SEFCU Arena, 3,772. With the help of donations and a silent auction, the Coaches Cure Cystic Fibrosis cause raised nearly $5,000.
Baker led the Danes with 14 points on 4-for-9 from the field. Greig Stire's career-high eight points and four from Mike Rowley gave UAlbany 26 points off the bench to UMBC's five.
Sam Rowley notched 12 points on 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The senior needs 10 more points to reach 1,000 for his career.
Dallas Ennema scored a season-high 11 points, including a 3-for-7 clip from three-point land. Ray Sanders rounded out double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Evan Singletary brought down a career-best eight rebounds. The junior also tacked on four assists.
The first-place Danes visit Vermont (11-9, 6-1 AE) on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., in a 2014 America East Semifinal and 2013 final rematch.
