Men's Basketball Shoots 90% From the Charity Stripe to Lock Up 88-84 Overtime Win at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, MASS.- With a 27-for-30 (.900) clip from the free throw line, University at Albany men's basketball (6-3) extended its winning streak to four games with an 88-84 overtime victory at Holy Cross (3-5) on Saturday afternoon. Peter Hooley scored 20 points to lead the Great Danes.

“We're showing a lot of toughness and grit when necessary,” said head coach Will Brown. “I'd like for us to avoid putting ourselves in some of those situations, but this is a great win for us. Mike Rowley showed a lot of growth and maturity at the end of regulation. He made a veteran move, and I'm proud of the way he stepped up.”

The Crusaders showed a variety of defenses early on, forcing UAlbany into tough shots on the perimeter. Brown & co., went 0-for-5 from the field after taking a 5-2 lead. Hooley's second three of the game at the 14:41 mark temporarily gave the Danes a three-point edge.

Two quick turnovers and a 1-for-8 clip from the field in a six-minute span put UAlbany down 14-10, but five-straight points from Evan Singletary put the Danes back in control 15-14 with 10 minutes to play in the first half.

Shortly after Singletary's five-point burst, the Purple & Gold took its largest lead of the half thanks to a clutch three from Ray Sanders and two free throws for Joe Cremo. Holy Cross responded with a 13-0 run to capture an eight-point lead, 27-19 with less than five minutes to play in the opening stanza.

In the midst of a four-minute field goal drought for the Great Danes, the Crusaders still had not attempted a free throw.

Mike Rowley went to the hoop for two courtesy of an assist from Hooley to narrow the Holy Cross margin to six, 27-21. A 16-9 run to end the period put the Danes in striking distance at the end of 20 minutes, 36-35.

At the break, Hooley led UAlbany with eight points. Holy Cross committed just three turnovers in the first half.

With the rebounding battle working in the Purple & Gold's favor, the Danes saw two of their top rebounders get in foul trouble quickly in the second half. Greig Stire picked up his fourth foul at the 17-minute mark, while Sanders scored the first four points of the stanza but committed his third foul just two minutes into the period.

Compounding the foul trouble for UAlbany, the Danes went 0-for-4 from the field with two turnovers in a three-minute span. Providing energy and scoring off the bench, Dallas Ennema hit a three to jumpstart the Danes offense with 14:03 left in regulation.

Cremo scored five-straight points following the Ennema three, and Brown's squad seemed poised to take control of the game. But Rowley committed his fourth foul with 10 minutes to play in the second half, and Holy Cross went on to take a four-point lead.

Another field-goal drought haunted UAlbany mid-way through the second period, but Ray Sanders drained a three from Singletary to put the Danes within one. On the ensuing possession, Sanders became the third Dane on the floor with four fouls.

Despite the foul trouble, Stire, Rowley and Sanders remained in the game. Hooley scored five-straight points to extend the UAlbany lead to a comfortable five points, 61-56.

But the back-and-forth offense-to-defense problems struck again for UAlbany. Singletary fouled Anthony Thompson beyond the three-point line to set up a four-point play, quickly shooting down the Purple & Gold's edge to just one point.

Holy Cross went on a 10-1 run thanks to three treys and one free throw for a four-point advantage, 66-62 with 4:31 to go in the second half. UAlbany answered as Greig Stire scored four-straight points for the ninth tie of the game at 66.

Rowley proved heroic to end regulation, scoring six points to send the game into overtime. The junior made two free throws with 14 seconds to play, locking the game at 70 in possession of the Crusaders. Hamilton recorded two of his 11 second-half points for Holy Cross to take the lead back with eight seconds to play, 72-70.

With five seconds on the clock, Rowley caught the in-bounds pass on from UAlbany's baseline at the top of the key. The forward turned and headed down-court with time running out. Without time to dish, Rowley drove the ball to the basket for UAlbany's first overtime game of the season.

To kick off overtime, the teams combined for six three-point attempts. Holy Cross made two, as did UAlbany. But the Danes secured the win at the charity stripe, going 6-for-8 (.750) from the line, while the Crusaders attempted just one free throw.

With 20 points, Peter Hooley recorded a new season high. The senior passed former teammate Sam Rowley on the Division I career scoring list to take No. 5 with 1,206 points in just 102 games.

Mike Rowley finished one rebound shy of his first career double-double, ending up with a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds. Joining Hooley and Rowley in double digits were Joe Cremo (13), Evan Singletary (12) and Ray Sanders (11).

There were 18 lead changes and 13 ties in UAlbany's Saturday victory over Holy Cross.

UAlbany won its first single overtime game since 2011, an 81-77 victory at Maine. The Danes picked up their first non-conference single overtime win since an 88-82 win over cross-town rival Siena on Dec. 4, 2010. The Purple & Gold tallied its highest number of free throws made in a game since last season's Siena match-up on Dec. 13, making 29.

For the second straight game, Will Brown captured his first Division I series victory over the opposition. The Danes downed Quinnipiac for the first time in Division I program history on Tuesday, and repeated the trend on Saturday afternoon against Holy Cross.

Next up, UAlbany men's basketball visits Marist (1-4, 0-1 MAAC) for the first meeting since 1978 on Wednesday at 7:00pm.