Men's Basketball Battles to 58-54 Victory at Quinnipiac for First Road Win of 2015-16
BOX SCORE
HAMDEN, CONN.- For the first time in nearly 20 years, University at Albany men's basketball (5-3) defeated Quinnipiac by a score of 58-54 on Tuesday night. The Great Danes earned their first road win of the season along with their first Division I series victory against the Bobcats.
“Quinnipiac imposed their will on us in the first half,” said head coach Will Brown. “We needed more energy, and we can never be out-competed like that. In the second half, we were the tougher team, and I think the tougher team was always going to win this game.”
UAlbany got off to a quick 5-2 lead thanks to a three from Peter Hooley in the opening moments. With a 4-for-8 (.500) shooting clip in the first seven minutes, the Danes took their largest lead of the first half, 9-4.
After starting the game 2-for-13 (.182) from the field, Quinnipiac began to warm up courtesy of a host of second-chance opportunities. The Bobcats totaled three offensive rebounds in one possession mid-way through the half, eventually posting 12 in the first 20 minutes alone.
Shot selection became a concern as Quinnipiac began attempting to build a lead. The Purple & Gold went 6:30 without a field goal before Joe Cremo drove the lane to put the Danes within one, 20-19 with five minutes to go.
The charity stripe began to work in UAlbany's favor late, as Will Brown's squad was in the bonus with nine minutes to play in the first half. The Danes went 10-for-12 (.833) from the line in the opening stanza, crediting the free throw line for nearly half their points.
Despite shooting woes for the Purple & Gold, Quinnipiac couldn't take advantage and went into the locker room with just a three-point lead, 26-23. UAlbany went the final 10 minutes of the period with just one field goal, going 2-for-18 in 13 minutes.
Eight different Danes had scored at the half. Evan Singletary led the way with six points.
UAlbany quickly made up for lost time to start the second half, re-taking the lead in less than a minute. A Ray Sanders steal led to a Mike Rowley lay-in, and more solid defense in the open court led to a breakaway lay-up for Singletary.
Sanders entered double figures in scoring moments later, hitting a three to tie the game at 36; but defense continued to lead to offense mid-way through the half. Cremo took a charge in transition to keep the Bobcats from regaining the lead at the 13:17 mark. Mike Rowley dove on a loose ball on the next Quinnipiac possession, setting up another Sanders three for a 41-36 edge.
Cremo made his presence known to give UAlbany back its largest lead, 46-40 with under 10 minutes to play. The freshman went on to score eight straight.
Cremo also kept contributing on the other end of the floor, picking up a three-point shot block by Singletary with the Quinnipiac shot clock winding down. The freshman quickly turned to find Singletary streaking down court for the easy bucket and a 53-51 lead with 4:27 to play.
The teams went back-and-forth late, but UAlbany clung to a 55-53 lead with three minutes to go. UAlbany and Quinnipiac went 0-for-6 from the field in the last three minutes, with free throws being the deciding factor.
Cremo nearly made UAlbany's lead four on a runner, but Quinnipiac headed the other way to call timeout. After Giovanni McLean went to the basket, Singletary played straight-up defense to force a bad shot down the lane with the clock at 5. Rowley brought down the rebound and got fouled with 3.5 seconds to go.
Rowley made one of two free throws, and the Danes fouled to put the Bobcats at the line for a one-and-one. Quinnipiac's Daniel Harris made the first but missed the second. Rowley finished off the game with two free throws and a 58-54 win.
The victory at Quinnipiac is UAlbany's first in the series since 1996-97.
The Purple & Gold brought down a season-high 44 rebounds to match the Bobcats, and shot 28 free throws to Quinnipiac's seven. UAlbany made (19) nearly three times as many free throws as Quinnipiac attempted.
Ray Sanders (12), Joe Cremo (11), Evan Singletary (10) and Mike Rowley (10) finished the game in double figures. Rowley nearly posted his first career double-double with seven rebounds. Greig Stire returned to the starting line-up for the Danes with nine rebounds against the Bobcats.
Next up, UAlbany men's basketball faces Holy Cross (3-3) in Worcester on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2:00pm.
