ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's basketball team returns to SEFCU Arena one final time in 2019 to host Niagara, looking to end a three-game skid.
 
Game Info
Saturday, December 14 vs. Niagara (7:00 p.m.)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
 
Leading the Pack

• Cameron Healy has hit a three-pointer in 43-straight games
• Head coach Will Brown has 299 victories at UAlbany
• UAlbany ranks third in the America East in scoring defense (64.8)
• Healy leads the America East in FT% (.946) and ranks sixth nationally
• Since last season, UAlbany is 5-3 vs. MAAC opponents

 
Scouting Niagara
The Purple Eagles arrive at Saturday's game with a 2-5 overall record under first-year head coach Greg Paulus.  Paulus was promoted to head coach from the interim position just days before the start of the season.  Niagara dropped each of its first five games this season, but have since strung together a two-game winning streak, defeating Norfolk State and Colgate.  The Purple Eagles were picked 10th in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.  Since 2010, and are led by senior guard James Towns, who is averaging 15.4 points per game.  UAlbany is 3-1 against Niagara, but Niagara leads the overall series 10-4. 
 
Last Time vs. Niagara
On December 31, 2018, the Great Danes closed out their non-conference schedule at Niagara, defeating the Purple Eagles 79-75.  UAlbany started the game on a 16-0 run, hitting six of their first seven shots, only to see Niagara claw back and tie the game mid-way through the second half, and take their first lead with 6:21 remaining.  The Great Danes regrouped and retook the lead, ultimately claiming a five-point victory.  Ahmad Clark tied a single-game program record with 10 assists while scoring 17 points to record the first double-double of his career.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany paid a visit to ACC opponent Boston College on Tuesday, falling to the Eagles 72-51.  The Great Danes led by as many as six in the first half, and held a one-point lead at halftime, before BC stepped up the pressure in the second, outscoring UAlbany 42-20 over the second 20 minutes.  UAlbany struggled to score in the second half, finishing the game shooting 1-14 from three and 5-15 from the free-throw line.  For the second-straight game, UAlbany committed 20 turnovers, leading to 30 BC points.
 
Around the America East
Stony Brook finally dropped another game, falling back into a tie for first with Vermont with each team at 7-4.  Behind the top two teams, there exists a three-way tie for third with teams who hold .500 records in New Hampshire, Binghamton, and UMass Lowell.  UAlbany and UMBC continue to hold matching 5-6 records, with both teams losing each of their last three in a tie for sixth.
 
Streaking
Sophomore guard Cameron Healy started all 32 games for the Great Danes last season, and connected on a three-pointer in each of those 32 games.  Through 11 games this season, Healy has extended his made three-pointer streak to 43 games, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.  The national leader is junior Mack Smith from Eastern Illinois, who has made a three-pointer in 58-consecutive games.
 
Approaching 300
At 5-6 in 2019-20, head coach Will Brown has won 299 games at UAlbany, leaving him just two wins away from hitting the 300-win milestone.  Since taking over as the Great Danes' head coach during the 2001-02 season, Brown has won five America East titles, two America East regular-season titles, one NCAA Tournament victory, and guided his teams to seven 20-win seasons.  Now entering his 19th season at the helm, Brown has averaged more than 16 wins per season, including high-water marks of 24 wins in three separate seasons.
 
Down but Not Out
The Great Danes won their season-high third-straight game, defeating American University at SEFCU Arena 68-64.  UAlbany trailed by as many as 19 in the first half, before storming back to take the lead in the second.  The Danes fell behind again by as many as nine, before rallying a second time to claim a four-point victory.  Cameron Healy and Antonio Rizzuto scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, with Rizzuto shooting 6-9 from the floor and 5-7 from three.
 
Bobcats Invitational Wrapup
The UAlbany men's basketball team arrived at the Bobcats Invitational, where they would play three games in three days at Quinnipiac University, with a 2-2 record.  Leaving the tournament, the Danes were 4-3, holding a winning record for the first time all season after posting consecutive wins, also for the first time this season, to close out their three games.  After falling to tournament host Quinnipiac, the Great Danes received career nights from Kendall Lauderdale and Antonio Rizzuto to defeat Sacred Heart, and then held off a stingy Presbyterian squad to finish the tournament 2-1.
 
Double-Double
For the first time in his career, sophomore Malachi de Sousa recorded a double-double.  de Sousa scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Great Danes' second game of the season, against Canisius.  It was the first double-double for a UAlbany player since February 2019 when Cameron Healy went for 31 and 10 in his record-setting performance against Binghamton.
 
Preseason Recognition
Sophomore guard Cameron Healy earned a spot on the America East Preseason All-Conference team.  After averaging 16.0 points per game last season and setting program records for three-point shooting, Healy earned a spot on the America East All-Conference Third and All-Rookie Teams a year ago, while finishing as runner-up for America East Rookie of the Year.  Additionally, senior guard Ahmad Clark was one of 50 players named to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List, which recognizes the top mid-major player in the country.
 
Picked Fourth
For the second-consecutive season, the UAlbany men's basketball team was picked fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, drawing 47 points to fall just behind Stony Brook's 48 in third.  Vermont was selected unanimously as the league favorite, marking the fourth-straight year the Catamounts have landed atop the preseason poll.  UMBC received the lone remaining first-place vote in second place with 53 points.
  
Record-Setting
Great Danes players set a handful of program records during the 2018-19 season.  Freshman Cameron Healy set or tied single-game and single-season marks for three-pointers made and attempted, and broke Jamar Wilson's freshman record for total points scored in a season with 512.  Additionally, Ahmad Clark tied the program record for single game assists with 10 at Niagara, and set a Division-I era single-season program record with 63 total steals.
 
From Deep
The Great Danes embraced the three-pointer last season, setting single-season program records for threes attempted (790) and made (274) in 32 games.  Sophomore Cameron Healy led the charge, taking 251 threes and making 104, including 55 in conference play, all of which were individual single-season program records.
 
Freshmen become Sophomores
For four of the last five games last season, starting February 21 against Stony Brook and excluding Senior Night on February 27, the Great Danes started freshman at all five positions.  The team started the season with freshmen at three starting spots, Cameron Healy, Adam Lulka, and Brent Hank, and moved to start four freshmen for the first time on December 20 against Manhattan when Antonio Rizzuto made his second career start.  All five freshman who played starting roles at some point last season return to the squad this year, including Healy and Lulka who each started every game last season.
 
Returning Depth
The Great Danes return nine players from the 2018-19 squad, including all five players who started at the end of the year.  The most prominent departure was Devonte Campbell, who averaged 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds last year, while earning America East All-Defensive Team accolades for the third time in his career.  UAlbany returns each of its top five scorers, as well as two of its three most prominent bench players.
 
The North
In August, UAlbany took a week-long trip to play exhibition games against five Canadian universities.  The team played twice in Ottawa and three times in Montréal, ending the trip on a three-game winning streak against McGill University, Université du Québec à Montréal, and Concordia. 
 
Fighting Fires
During the offseason, sophomore guard Antonio Rizzuto signed up to be a volunteer firefighter with the McKownville Fire Department.  When he's not otherwise occupied with basketball or school work, Rizzuto answers calls when a situation requires respondents.  Rizzuto is an exterior firefighter, where he retrieves items from the trucks and hooks up the hoses to fire hydrants.
 
In-House
A point of pride for head coach Will Brown, each of his staff members holds a degree from the University at Albany.  Each of his assistant coaches, Jon Iati, Josh Pelletier, and Jerrad Knotts, hold UAlbany degrees, as do his director of basketball operations Greig Stire and video coordinator Shane Hammill.  Brown's is the only staff in the country that can boast holding degrees from their coaching institution across the board.  Iati, Knotts, and Stire all played for Brown during their collegiate careers.  Further, entering their eighth season together, the Great Danes staff is tied for the second-longest tenured staff in the country.  West Virginia coach Bob Huggins' staff enters their eighth year together, while Tom Izzo's staff at Michigan State enters their 10th.
 
Captains
The Great Danes announced three players, Ahmad Clark, Adam Lulka, and Nick Fruscio, to serve as team captains for the 2019-20 season.  Clark and Lulka each enter their second-straight season as team captains, while senior Nick Fruscio was selected by his teammates to serve in his final year.
 
Decade Recap
The Great Danes finished the 2010's with a record of 188-148, the second-highest decade wins total in program history behind the 190 victories during the 1980's.  UAlbany also won 93 America East games in the 2010's, and averaged nearly 19 wins per season in the last decade.
 
Next
The Great Danes will play each of its next four on the road, starting December 18 against St. John's, before returning to SEFCU Arena to host Maine on January 11.