ALBANY, N.Y. – For the final time in 2019, the University at Albany men's basketball team will take the court, wrapping up their non-conference slate at Columbia on Monday.
 
Game Info
Monday, December 30 at Columbia (7:00 p.m.)
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Leading the Pack

• Cameron Healy has hit a three in 46-straight games
• Healy leads the America East in FT% (.935) and ranks seventh nationally
• Healy ranks second in the America East in 3FG% (.381) and threes per game (2.9)
• Ahmad Clark ranks third in assists (3.9)
• UAlbany is winless on the road this season
• Columbia is undefeated in three games at home

 
Scouting Columbia
The Lions arrive at Monday's matchup sporting a 4-9 overall record, having just snapped a four-game skid with a victory over Marist on December 28.  Columbia has faced two common opponents with the Great Danes this season, defeating Lehigh and falling against St. John's.  The Lions, who were picked sixth in the Ivy League preseason poll, are led by point guard Mike Smith, who is averaging 21.5 points per game, the only Lion averaging double-figure scoring on the season.  UAlbany is 5-2 all time against Columbia, having won each of the last five meetings.
 
Last Time vs. Columbia
In their latest meeting two seasons ago, the Great Danes bested the Lions in an offensive showcase 86-82 at SEFCU Arena.  The victory moved UAlbany to 8-1 on the season.  Joe Cremo and David Nichols combined for 54 points, with Nichols hitting the go-ahead three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining.  The Great Danes set a Division I-era program record with 57 points in the second half, surpassing their previous record of 56 points in the first half against Green Mountain in 2000.  Collectively, UAlbany shot 24-29 from the line and forced 16 Columbia turnovers.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany played its second of four-straight road games a week ago at Monmouth.  The Great Danes jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half before seeing the Hawks claw back to cut their halftime deficit to just one.  After trading baskets for the majority of the second half, Monmouth ultimately pulled away just enough to hold on to win by a two-point, 72-70 margin.  Ahmad Clark scored a team-high 18 points, and Romani Hansen recorded his first double-double as a Great Dane with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Around the America East
Vermont retains the top spot in the conference standings at 8-5 overall, one game in the loss column ahead of Stony Brook.  The Seawolves, who played early Sunday, are now 9-6 after defeating Norfolk St. Behind the top two, New Hampshire sits third at 6-6.  Hartford is fourth at 6-7, while UAlbany and UMBC remain locked in place in a tie for sixth at 6-8, with UMass Lowell dropping its last two to hold the same record.  Four more teams are in action on December 29.
 
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 14 games this season, Healy has extended his made three-pointer streak to 46 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 60-consecutive games.
 
Approaching 400
At 6-8 in 2019-20, head coach Will Brown has won 390 games as a head coach, leaving him just 10 wins away from hitting the 400-win milestone for his career.  After spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Rose, Brown earned his first head coaching position at Sullivan County Community College ahead of the 1998-99 season.  In three years at Sullivan, Brown went 90-10 before being named interim head coach at UAlbany in the 2001-02 season.  Brown was named head coach officially, and since has compiled 300 of his 390 career victories with the Great Danes.
 
Players of the Week
For the first time in 2019-20, UAlbany pulled in America East weekly awards.  Ahmad Clark and Trey Hutcheson swept the awards following their efforts against Niagara, winning Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively.  Clark averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in two games, including a 26-point and eight-assist night against Niagara.  Hutcheson scored a career-high 18 points against the Purple Eagles, making his seventh-straight start.
 
300
On December 14, 2019, UAlbany head coach Will Brown won his 300th victory as coach of the Great Danes.  In his 19th season, Brown claimed his 300th victory in his 574th game on the sidelines, overseeing his young squad earn a comeback 84-80 victory over visiting Niagara in the team's final home game of 2019.  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.  Currently in 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 eight 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
UAlbany plays one final game on the road, starting America East play on January 4 at Binghamton, before returning to SEFCU Arena to host Maine on January 11.