Men's Basketball Sees First-Half Lead Slip Away in 69-64 Loss at Boston University
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BOSTON, MASS. – Despite a three-point lead at the half, University at Albany men's basketball (0-2) fell victim to a shooting slump in a 69-64 loss at Boston University (1-1) on Monday night. The Great Danes scored two points in the final six minutes of the contest, and went 9-for-32 (.281) from the field in the second half.
“If we have a terrible shooting night like we did tonight, we have to play great defense and rebound the ball,” said head coach Will Brown, “We were too inconsistent, but this is early in the year. It was a winnable game, and we'll learn from it.”
The Purple & Gold started out the game on a roll from the field, as Mike Rowley had six of UAlbany's first eight points. Against Boston U.'s 2-3 zone, Rowley and Travis Charles stepped out of the paint early on to sink mid-range jumpers.
Peter Hooley drained the first and only three of the game for UAlbany with 15 minutes to go in the first half. Combined with two free throws, the senior tallied five points in the first five minutes.
Game flow played in the Purple & Gold's favor both offensively and defensively mid-way through the first half. Eight minutes into the game, Ray Sanders had already brought down eight boards. With Sanders leading the break, the Danes went on a 10-2 run before the Terriers called timeout to regroup at the 10:24 mark. UAlbany had its largest lead of the game, 21-10.
BU emerged to go 3-for-3 from 3-point range, fueling a 9-2 run on the trey. As the Terriers went 4-for-4 from the field, the Danes 1-for-6 over the next three minutes.
Charles came through down low to put UAlbany up by three with 6:51 to play in the first half. In his second game for the Danes, the junior college transfer had 12 points in the first stanza on 6-for-6 shooting.
Despite four turnovers in the final five minutes of the opening period, UAlbany held on to the lead thanks to a 7-for-10 clip from the charity stripe. Hooley went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to finish the half just shy of double-digits with nine points.
The first 20 minutes of play saw four Terriers with two fouls; the Danes attempted 16 free throws to BU's three. The teams combined to go 5-for-21 (.238) from three-point range.
Greig Stire continued to dominate the offensive glass early in the second half, but a quick second and third foul put the sophomore on the bench at the 12:09 mark. Stire had three offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes of the second period.
With the Danes going 3-for-9 from the field halfway through the period, the defense stepped up to force two consecutive turnovers after the under-eight media timeout. Sanders would go down to the other end to sink two free throws, giving Brown & co., a 58-54 cushion.
The edge didn't last long, as the Terriers took their first lead of the game with 6:44 to play, 61-60. As the game went back-and-forth late, Evan Singletary tallied his first field goal of the contest to regain the lead, 64-63 with 3:40 to go.
UAlbany would go scoreless for the rest of the game with two untimely turnovers to fall 69-64.
Greig Stire recorded a career-high nine rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Mike Rowley went for 15 & 8 to notch a new career high in points and match his career best in rebounds. Peter Hooley extended his double-digit scoring streak to nine games with 15 points. Travis Charles finished with 14 points on 7-for-10 from the field.
The Purple & Gold return to SEFCU Arena on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:00pm to face in-state rival Colgate (1-1) for its first home contest of 2015-16. The Danes will debut their third consecutive America East Championship and NCAA Tournament banners against the Raiders.
Season tickets and event tickets are still available for the 2015-16 men's basketball campaign.
