Men's Basketball Downed 63-61 on Tough Shooting Night at USF
BOX SCORE
TAMPA, FLA. – In a game with 10 ties and 10 lead changes, University at Albany men's basketball (2-3) slipped 63-61 at USF (1-4) on Tuesday. The Great Danes return to Albany to host NJIT (3-2) Friday and Yale (3-1) Sunday.
“The bottom line is we need to knock down open shots when we have them,” said head coach Will Brown. “We can rebound well and play great defense, but if we can't make shots we're not going to be in a position to win.”
With USF posting three players over 6-8 in their starting line-up, UAlbany hit the glass early on. Ray Sanders leapt for three rebounds on the defensive end, while the frontcourt combo of Greig Stire and Mike Rowley grabbed two offensive boards each for easy second-chance opportunities.
Stire headed to the line after snatching an offensive board at the 11:20 mark. The sophomore narrowed USF's lead to one, 18-17 to register a new career high in points with 10 just nine minutes into the game. Stire's production proved even more crucial after Travis Charles picked up two fouls in 12 seconds upon entering the game with 14:30 on the clock.
The frontcourt continued to shine mid-way through the first half. Richard Peters entered the contest to score six-straight points off the bench, including a 2-for-2 clip from the charity stripe. His free throws with 9:12 to go in the first half gave UAlbany the lead back, 21-20.
The Bulls fell victim to a shooting slump, opening the door for the Purple & Gold to take a seven-point lead with just over five minutes left in the opening period. USF went 0-for-9 from the field over six minutes as the Danes went on a 10-0 run.
But Orlando Antigua's squad battled back to go 3-for-3 from the field ahead of the under-4 media timeout, closing the gap to one, 27-26. Peter Hooley responded by taking the ball to the basket, earning UAlbany a 10-for-10 clip from the line after being fouled.
Brown's squad stumbled into a field goal drought of its own against the USF 2-3 zone. The Danes went over six minutes without a field goal, before Ray Sanders hit a three in the waning moments. The senior co-captain tied the game at 33 going into the break.
UAlbany and USF combined to go 2-for-16 (.125) from three-point range in the first half. Stire led the way for the Danes with 10 points, and also grabbed five rebounds. Ray Sanders notched seven rebounds and three assists in the opening 20 minutes.
The Danes came out of the gate slow in the second half, prompting a quick timeout. After starting the first half 10-for-10 from the charity stripe, UAlbany went 0-for-4 on its first four attempts at the line in the second.
USF's Chris Perry picked up his fourth foul at the 17:16 mark, prompting a seven-point swing in the Purple & Gold's favor. Evan Singletary and Sanders took advantage of poor shot choices from the Bulls, getting out in transition for quick baskets.
After Singletary made three of four free throws early in the second half, Joe Cremo fueled a mini run for the Danes with a traditional three-point play mid-way through the period. After pushing UAlbany's lead to four, the freshman forced a turnover on the other end in the midst of a scoreless stretch for USF.
But the Bulls did not go down quietly, as Angel Nunez drained the only three of the game with 7:36 to play. After switching up its defense again to a 2-3 zone, UAlbany's largest margin 53-45 with 10 minutes to go dissipated to a tied game at 56-all. The Danes went 0-for-5 with a 2-for-10 clip across seven minutes late in the game.
Hooley made one of two free throws, and Stire brought down another offensive board to earn an extra possession up 57-56. With Sanders missing a corner three, another grab on the offensive glass for Stire still didn't generate points.
USF went down to score on the ensuing possession, but UAlbany regained the lead on a steal and bucket from Hooley with 1:30 to play. The Bulls slammed down a dunk late, and a complimentary turnover gave USF the win, 63-61.
The Bulls scored 42 of their 63 points in the paint, while UAlbany shot just 19-for-52 (.365) from the field and 3-for-20 (.150) from three-point land. Brown's squad went 11-for-13 (.846) from the charity stripe in the first half and 9-for-17 (.529) in the second.
Evan Singletary led scoring for the Danes with 14 points. Greig Stire joined the senior in double-digits with a career high 12 points. Hooley notched 11 points with eight in the second half.
Mike Rowley, Greig Stire and Ray Sanders all finished with eight rebounds each.
Next up, UAlbany hosts NJIT (3-2) on Friday at 7:00pm, followed by Yale (3-1) on Sunday for a 2:00pm tip at SEFCU Arena.
