Sam Rowley Posts Career-High 24 Points to Cap Regular Season With 79-73 Win Over Vermont
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – Senior forward Sam Rowley celebrated senior day in style on Saturday, scoring a career-high 24 points to end the University at Albany men's basketball (21-8, 15-1 AE) regular season with a 79-73 victory against Vermont (17-12, 12-4 AE). The No. 1-seeded Danes turn their attention to the America East Playoffs on Wednesday, when they host No. 8 seed Maine at 7:00 p.m.
“We did what we needed to do in the last 12 minutes of the game to buckle down and play unselfish on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Will Brown. “We rode that out for the rest of the game, and now we look forward to Wednesday.”
Vermont came out of the gate shooting well, going 4-for-5 from the field in the opening moments. UAlbany went 0-for-3 shooting in the same amount of time, leading to a quick five-point deficit.
Ray Sanders got the Danes on track, fueling a 7-2 run with UAlbany's first field goal at the 17:22 mark. Sam Rowley scored seven of the Purple & Gold's first 12 points, helping Will Brown's squad to its first lead, 13-12 with 12:30 on the clock.
Sanders scrambled after his own miss on the ensuing possession to make the lay-up and get fouled. The junior completed the three-point play to extend the lead to 16-12 with 11 minutes left in the half. UAlbany went on a 9-0 run, holding the Catamounts to five minutes without a field goal and forcing three turnovers over four minutes.
The Purple & Gold also had the foul count working in their favor, entering the bonus with just over nine minutes left. Fouls were 7-2 at the nine-minute mark. By the time there were six minutes left in the first half, Vermont had taken just one free throw, while UAlbany was 8-for-11 (.727).
A 9-2 spurt from the Catamounts put them back in the driver's seat late in the first, 31-29. A 6-for-7 clip from the charity stripe down the stretch wasn't enough to put the Danes ahead at the break. Vermont took a two-point 39-37 edge into the locker room.
Vermont took its opportunity to open the second stanza, kicking it off on a 7-2 run. Shortly after, Will Brown got charged with his first technical of the year moments later, catapulting the Danes into a 3-for-4 clip from the field and a tie game, 48-48 with 14 minutes left.
Two free throws from Evan Singletary gave UAlbany the lead back, 50-48. Vermont temporarily went back on top, but a four-point play from Peter Hooley put the Purple & Gold in control 56-52.
Hooley made it five-straight points on the next possession, and Wheeler Baker hit a trey for a five-point lead, 59-54 with 10 minutes left.
UAlbany went 1-for-4 from the field over the next five minutes, but went 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. The Danes went 10-for-12 from the line down the stretch, securing a 79-73 victory. There were 48 fouls called in Saturday's contest.
The Purple & Gold concluded the America East regular season with a program-best 15 wins, including eight on the road. Sam Rowley had a career-high 24 points on 7-for-12 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free throw line. Peter Hooley notched 18 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
UAlbany men's basketball starts the America East Playoffs on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., hosting Maine (3-26, 2-14 AE) at SEFCU Arena.
