Score: UAlbany 84, UMBC 75

Location: SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.

Records: UAlbany (11-17, 5-7 AE); UMBC (18-11, 10-4 AE)

Short Story: UAlbany celebrates Throwback Night by avenging its loss to defending America East champion UMBC while Cameron Healy sets a single-season record for made three-pointers.

Coach Brown: “I thought our guys were ready to play.  We had great energy from the get-go, and our crowd was outstanding.  The athletic department did a great and creative thing with this throwback night.  The uniforms were sharp, and the crowd was engaged.  We enjoyed it.  But we were ready to play.  UMBC had been playing great, beating Vermont twice, but we got in a great offensive rhythm.  We beat a good team.  I'm just happy we were able to play well at home in front of a crowd on a night where our athletic department put so much into making it a great environment for us to play in.  Look at the contributions: five guys in double-figures, Ahmad was great with eight assists and five steals.  There are so many ways you can impact the game as a player and he showed that again tonight.  We'll enjoy this win and then get back to work on Monday and keep getting better.  This group is just scratching the surface.  We're nowhere near where we can get, and we'll just keep plugging away.”

Key Stats

• Cameron Healy set a new single-season program record with his 95th three-pointer
• UAlbany shot 6-8 from three to start the game
• UAlbany closed the first half on a 6-0 run, and hitting five of its last seven shots, including each of the last three
• UAlbany held UMBC to just 2-6 from three in the first half
• Five Great Danes scored in double figures
• UMBC ended the game on a 13-1 run on 5-5 shooting
• UAlbany outscored UMBC 14-2 in fast break points
• UMBC managed just three steals, less than half of their season average (7.9)
• UAlbany outscored UMBC 17-5 at the free-throw line 

Recap

Opening their final home stand of the 2018-19 regular season, the University at Albany men's basketball team hosted the defending America East champion UMBC Retrievers Saturday night on Throwback Night.  After falling in an overtime heartbreaker to UMBC in Baltimore last month, UAlbany rolled the defending champs, leading by as many as 21 before going on to secure a nine-point victory.

Going by the Pedagogues for the evening instead of the Great Danes as part of the Throwback celebration, UAlbany wore special throwback uniforms featuring the old “State” wordmark across the chest, harkening back to a time when the institution went by the New York State College for Teachers.

For the second-straight game, UAlbany started freshmen at all five positions with Malachi De Sousa making his second career start.  After falling behind 2-0, UAlbany went on a 9-0 run over the next 68 seconds.  UMBC broke the run with 16:15 to go with a three to cut UAlbany's lead to 9-5.

UAlbany opened up a 13-point lead with 11:55 to go in the first following an offensive barrage, shooting 8-11 from the floor, including 6-8 from three, to start the game.  Their defense had held UMBC to just 5-13 shooting from the floor through the first nine-plus minutes.

UMBC hit five straight shots to cut UAlbany's lead to seven with 8:29 remaining.  The Retrievers' 6-0 run coincided with a 0-4 shooting drought for the Pedagogues.  

Rizzuto broke UMBC's streak with his third three of the night, giving him 10 for the game in 11 minutes of play.

UMBC cut their deficit to three before Antonio Rizzuto hit his second three of the game to put UAlbany ahead by six. 

UAlbany used an 8-0 run to take a 34-19 lead with 4:33 to go in the first, capped off by Cameron Healy's third three of the game. 

Healy hit a three as time expired in the first half, his fourth of the game, to put UAlbany up 46-28.  It was Healy's 94th made three-pointer of the season, tying UAlbany's single-season program record originally set during the 1999-00 season by Matthew Haggarty.

Healy led UAlbany at the break with 14 points on 4-4 shooting, all four of which came from behind the arc.  Rizzuto added 10 on 3-5 shooting from three.  Collectively, UAlbany shot 60% from the floor in the first half, including 63% from three.  UMBC in turn had shot 52% in the first half, but just 33% from deep.  Further, the Retrievers had attempted just one free throw, and had committed nine turnovers in the first half.

The 18-point lead at the half was UAlbany's largest of the season.

With 15:15 left in the second half, Healy hit his fifth three to take sole possession of the single-season program record, bringing his season total to 95.  Healy's three put UAlbany up 54-38.

A two-plus minute scoring drought for the Retrievers kept UAlbany's advantage at 15 with 11:45 to go, despite cooling off from behind the arc, having hit just one of five shots from deep in the second half.

Kendall Lauderdale put UAlbany up 19 with a layup and-one with 10:07 left in the second.  Devonte Campbell gave UAlbany its second 20-point lead of the night with two free throws two possessions later, answering a UMBC three.

With 6:51 remaining, Ahmad Clark hit two free throws, giving him 11 points for the game, becoming the fifth Pedagogue in double-figures on the night.

UMBC pieced together an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the game to cut the lead to 83-70 with 2:18 to go.  Clark broke the streak, hitting one of two free throws to put UAlbany up 84-70, matching the team's single-game scoring high on the season.

UMBC closed the game on a 13-1 run to make the final score a respectable 84-75.  Healy led all scorers, and five Pedagogues in double-figures, with 21 points on 6-7 shooting, including 5-6 from three.  He shared the team lead with Campbell, each grabbing five rebounds.  Clark dished out eight assists.  Both teams shot well for the game, with UAlbany connecting on 56.3% of its shots and UMBC hitting 55.6%.    The Retrievers rebounded to finish the game shooting 55.6% from three, hitting 8-12 in the second half, and outscored UAlbany 38-26 in the paint, but only managed three seals, far below their season average of 7.9.

Next: UAlbany hosts New Hampshire in the 2018-19 regular season home finale, which will feature a brief ceremony to honor the two seniors on this year's squad: Devonte Campbell and Rayshawn Miller.