Score: UMass Lowell 86, UAlbany 54
Location: SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.
Records: UAlbany (8-17, 3-7 AE); UMass Lowell (14-12, 6-5 AE)
Short Story: UAlbany falls behind big in the first half and the comeback falls short, falling to UMass Lowell 86-54 to drop their second straight.
Coach Brown: “We had been playing pretty good basketball the last couple of weeks, and I'm going to chalk this up to a horrible outing. It happens. It's unfortunate, regardless of the score. We played poorly, and UMass Lowell played well. It's something for our guy to learn from. You're not going to shoot 4-26 from three, 4-10 from the line, and I don't think I've ever had a team get out-rebounded by 22. It's disappointing in that regard because I thought we've made great strides. I thought we were tremendous defensively in the first half in the Vermont game. It's disappointing, but no excuses, and we get back to work and find a way to win one up in Maine."
Key Stats
- UMass Lowell grabbed four offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of the game
- UMass Lowell shot 56.7% in the first half
- UAlbany shot 3-16 from three in the first half, and just 2-7 from the line
- UMass Lowell out-rebounded UAlbany 24-14 in the first half, and 45-23 for the game
- UAlbany opened the second half on a 9-0 run
- UMass Lowell shot 57.6% for the game
- UMass Lowell outscored UAlbany 50-37 in the paint, and 34-8 off the bench
- Five Riverhawks scored in double-figures
Recap
Returning home after a visit to Vermont that saw their three-game winning streak come to an end, the University at Albany men's basketball program returned to SEFCU Arena Wednesay night to host the UMass Lowell Riverhawks.
In the first game, UAlbany jumped out to a seven-point halftime lead behind a 70% shooting effort, only to see the Riverhawks turn the tables on the Danes and shoot 68% in the second half to claim a 12-point victory. Wednesday night, UMass Lowell fell behind early before building a double-digit lead in the first half, going on to win 86-54.
After trailing 4-2, UMass Lowell used a 9-0 scoring run to take an 11-4 lead with 16:16 left in the first half. Cameron Healy hit a three to end the run and UAlbany's drought on the Danes' next possession.
The Riverhawks built their lead to 15-7, extending their run to 13-3 over more than six minutes. Malachi De Sousa broke a four-plus minute UAlbany scoreless streak with a three, cutting UMass Lowell's lead to five, but the Riverhawks responded with a three of their own on the ensuing possession to go back up eight.
With 10:41 remaining, UMass Lowell had built a double-digit lead. UAlbany had shot 4-13 to start the game, including 2-6 from three, and had not made a trip to the free throw line. The Danes had also committed five turnovers.
With 6:34 left in the first half, UAlbany made its first trip to the line. Rayshawn Miller missed both attempts, leaving the Danes' deficit at 12.
Ahmad Clark hit a step-back three to break UAlbany's three-minute field-goal drought and cut the deficit to 11. Brent Hank scored a layup on the Danes' next possession to cut the deficit further to single digits.
Healy hit a teardrop at the buzzer off a UMass Lowell turnover to end an 0-8 field goal drought for UAlbany, leaving the Danes trailing 42-25 entering halftime. UAlbany had closed the first half shooting 1-9 from the floor, and had shot just 32.3% in the period. UMass Lowell had out-rebounded UAlbany 24-14. The 17-point halftime deficit matched the greatest UAlbany has faced all season.
UAlbany scored the first seven points of the second half, cutting the Riverhawks' lead to 10 before one minute had elapsed. The Danes' run grew to 9-0 before UMass Lowell scored again.
Clark cut the lead to seven before UMass Lowell went on an 8-0 run, including hitting back-to-back threes to go up 58-42 with 12:23 to go. The Great Danes would come no closer, and would go on to fall to the Riverhawks by a final score of 86-54.
UMass Lowell shot even better in the second half, hitting 58.6% of their shots, and ended up out-rebounding UAlbany 45-23. The Great Danes shot just 1-10 from three in the second half, finishing 4-26 from behind the arc. Adam Lulka led UAlbany with 16 points and six rebounds, while Clark finished with 12 points, eight assists, and five steals.
Next: UAlbany visits Maine on Sunday, February 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
