Men's Basketball Extends Home Winning Streak to 14 Games with 80-59 Victory Against Binghamton
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – With Peter Hooley's 18 points leading the way, University at Albany men's basketball (15-5, 4-1 AE) bounced back to down Binghamton (3-14, 0-4 AE) 80-59 at SEFCU Arena on Monday night. Five Great Danes recorded double digits in scoring.
“It's good to get back on track,” said head coach Will Brown. “We talk a lot about one-game winning streaks, and it's important to get as many as we can. After our effort at Maine, our guys were anxious to get back on the court. We took care of business, and we won at home.”
Hot shooting gave the Purple & Gold the jumpstart it needed, including a 4-for-5 (.800) clip in the opening five minutes. Ray Sanders scored seven of UAlbany's first 11 points to take a quick 11-5 edge.
Mike Rowley also piled on the points in the early going, notching five in the midst of a 9-2 run for the Purple & Gold. The junior put the Danes up 10, 20-10 with 12:30 on the clock. By the under-12 media timeout, Sanders and Rowley teamed up for 16 of UAlbany's 20 points. Brown's squad was 8-for-9 (.889) from the field, while Binghamton shot just 30.8% (4-13).
UAlbany extended its margin to as many as 12 mid-way through the first half, as Peter Hooley knocked down his first three of the game from Joe Cremo for a 29-17 lead. But the Bearcats crawled within five with just over three minutes to go in the opening stanza, 35-30. Binghamton went scoreless for the remainder of the half; and Hooley nailed another trey late for a 41-30 Great Danes lead headed into the break.
Through the opening 20 minutes, Sanders (11) and Rowley (10) were the only two players with 10 points or more. Brown & co., finished 16-for-24 (.667) from the field in the first half.
Sanders picked up where he left off, completing a traditional three-point play to start the second half. Tommy Dempsey's squad responded with an 11-6 spurt, narrowing the lead to six, 47-41 with 15 minutes to play.
Dallas Ennema rebounded well on the offensive glass out of Binghamton's 2-3 zone, creating two second-chance opportunities with the Danes up six. The junior eventually hit an elbow jumper to ignite a 9-2 Danes run for a 58-43 advantage.
Binghamton never managed to get back within single digits, as Ennema and Hooley drained treys on two of the next three possessions. Brown's squad went without a field goal for four minutes, but went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in that span.
Peter Hooley tallied 18 points and five assists. He has dished out 306 career assists, good for fourth in the Division I ranks. The senior is three shy of passing Tim Ambrose in the category.
Sanders (16), Singletary (11), Rowley (10) and Cremo (10) joined Hooley in double figures. Hooley notched 12 of his 18 in the second half, while Singletary scored all 11 of his points in the second stanza.
UAlbany recorded a season-high in field goal percentage (.587, 27-46) against the Bearcats, and went 20-for-22 (.909) from the free throw line.
Next up, UAlbany men's basketball pays a visit to Long Island in an America East Championship rematch at Stony Brook (14-4, 5-0 AE) on Friday. The 9:00 p.m., tip will be broadcast on ESPNU.
