Men's Basketball Grinds Out 80-75 Overtime Win Against UNH to Extend Home Winning Streak to 13 Games
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – With two Evan Singletary threes in overtime, University at Albany men's basketball (14-4, 3-0 AE) captured a 80-75 victory over America East foe New Hampshire (8-7, 1-1 AE) on Tuesday night. Joe Cremo and Ray Sanders combined for 23 of UAlbany's 39 second-half points in the win.
“UNH does a really good job defensively, and they made us go small with four guards,” said head coach Will Brown. “This game is always a slug-fest, but at times we stopped defending with the intensity that we need to play with to contend in this league. I was proud of our effort, and it was nice to have a lot of guys make plays. This was a tough, hard-nosed conference battle; but good teams find a way, and we're 3-0 with a lot of room for improvement.”
Singletary kicked off the game on a high note, draining an early three to take a 3-2 lead. But UNH responded with a 9-0 run including a 2-for-3 clip from three-point land. In the first four minutes, the Wildcats shot 4-for-7 from the field with four different scorers. The Great Danes went just 2-for-7 (.286).
By the 12-minute mark, Brown's squad was shooting 2-for-12 (.167), including a six-minute scoring drought on an 0-for-5 clip. A Sanders trey finally broke the spell with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half.
But the poor shooting continued for the Purple & Gold, and UNH extended its lead to 12, 24-12 with 5:35 on the clock.
Following a timeout, UAlbany emerged anew to conclude the first half. After starting the half 3-for-15 (.200), Brown & co., shot 6-for-13 (.461) in the final five minutes to fuel a 17-3 run. Singletary notched 12 of those 17 points to finish the period with 15, including a perfect 3-for-3 clip from three.
UAlbany and UNH combined to shoot 24 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
After Singletary lined up for 15 in the first half, Sanders scored the Purple & Gold's first five points in the second. He scored 10 of UAlbany first 17 through the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza.
Following a quiet 30 minutes, Cremo came alive to record six-straight points mid-way through the second half. The freshman stretched the advantage to 55-48 with 7:30 left in regulation. Conversely, the Wildcats had three crucial players with four fouls apiece in Jacoby Armstrong, Daniel Dion and Ronnel Jordan.
But Bill Herrion motivated his squad to a 6-1 run on consecutive threes, closing the margin to just one point, 56-55. UNH re-took the lead for the first time in the second half with 4:05 to play in regulation on two Iba Camara free throws.
Coming off the bench, Dallas Ennema stepped in for the next five points, including a clutch three as the clock wound down to the two-minute mark. On the other end of the floor, the junior forced an offensive foul on UNH's top player Tanner Leissner.
The game coming down to the wire, Sanders drove the lane to tie the game at 68 with 26.9 on the clock. The Wildcats failed to take the lead on the ensuing possession, and the contest entered extra time.
UAlbany earned the lead early in overtime and never looked back. Singletary hit two three-pointers in less than one minute for a 76-73 advantage with 1:56 to go. After two Danes turnovers on consecutive possessions, the Wildcats still couldn't take advantage. A Cremo steal, rebound and pair of free throws sealed the win in the final 15 seconds. UNH committed five turnovers in the overtime period.
Evan Singletary matched his career high against the Wildcats with 21 points, 15 in the first half and six in overtime. Sanders added 17, including 12 in the second half. Joe Cremo notched 13 points, with 11 in the second period. The freshman also led the team in rebounds with nine.
The Great Danes extend their home winning streak to 13, and their conference-winning clip to nine dating back to 2014-15. UAlbany has won seven consecutive games overall.
Next up, UAlbany men's basketball treks to Bangor, Maine to face Maine (4-11, 0-2 AE) at the Cross Insurance Center on Friday at noon.
