ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's basketball team looks to extend its two-game winning streak with a trip to New Hampshire this weekend.
 
Game Info
Saturday, January 23 at New Hampshire (2:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Sunday, January 24 at New Hampshire (2:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• Antonio Rizzuto leads the America East in 3FG% and 3FG per game
• UAlbany ranks second in FG%, 3FG%, and turnover margin, and third in assists
• New Hampshire leads in rebounding
• UAlbany is seeking its first three-game winning streak since December 30, 2019 through January 15, 2020, when the team won four in a row

 
Scouting New Hampshire
The Wildcats are 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the America East, having most recently swept Stony Brook last weekend in the Seawolves' first action following their two-week pause.  UAlbany split with New Hampshire last season, with each team winning on the others' home floor, and the teams have split each of the last eight games in the series.  New Hampshire was picked to finish third in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, one spot ahead of the Great Danes, and featured junior forward Nick Guadarrama on the Preseason All-Conference Team.  UAlbany holds a 25-18 lifetime record over New Hampshire, but is 5-8 in Durham over their last 13 visits.
 
Last Time vs. New Hampshire
UAlbany hosted New Hampshire in the second of two games in three days late in the 2019-20 regular season.  After defeating the Wildcats in Durham in overtime earlier, New Hampshire returned the favor, claiming victory at SEFCU Arena.  Ahmad Clark scored 24 points and shot 13-18 from the line, but UAlbany struggled collectively from deep, shooting just 3-21 and 1-9.  The game also marked the end of Cameron Healy's consecutive made-3FG streak at 58.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes completed a sweep of NJIT, newcomers to the America East this year, over the weekend.  It was the first time UAlbany swept a conference series this year, and also the first time the Highlanders had been swept in a conference series.  NJIT had previously split each of its first three series before playing UAlbany.  Antonio Rizzuto led UAlbany with 19 points, and three other Great Danes, Jarvis Doles, Kellon Taylor, and CJ Kelly, all scored in double figures.  UAlbany scored 83 points in both games against NJIT, their first two games eclipsing both the 80-point, and 70-point, barriers this season, exceeding their season average by nearly 20 points.  In Saturday's game, head coach Will Brown claimed his 400th-career head coaching victory.
 
Around the America East
UMBC has taken over the top spot in the standings, holding a 6-2 conference record.  Vermont has surged to second on a five-game winning streak.  The previous leader, Stony Brook, has dropped to third after getting swept by New Hampshire last weekend, with the Wildcats sitting in fourth.  UAlbany is tied for sixth at .500 with UMass Lowell, with the Riverhawks having played four more conference games than the Great Danes.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• UAlbany at New Hampshire, 2:00 pm
• Binghamton at NJIT, 2:00 pm
• UMBC at Stony Brook, 5:00 pm

 
Sunday's America East Games

• UAlbany at New Hampshire, 2:00 pm
• Binghamton at NJIT, 2:00 pm
• UMBC at Stony Brook, 5:00 pm

 
Upcoming Milestones

• Cameron Healy: 971 points, 248 rebounds

 
Milestones Reached

• Will Brown: 400 head coaching victories – vs. NJIT, January 16, 2021
• Antonio Rizzuto: 500 points – at Vermont, January 3, 2021

 
Approaching 1,000
Junior guard Cameron Healy is set to become the 13th UAlbany men's basketball player to hit the 1,000-point career milestone.  Through his first two seasons, Healy has scored 953 points, averaging 15.1 points per game.  UAlbany's last 1,000-point scorer was Healy's former teammate Ahmad Clark, who eclipsed the mark on February 12, 2020 at Hartford.
 
400
On January 16, 2021, head coach Will Brown won his 400th career game in his head coaching career, in an 83-75 victory over NJIT.  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 had compiled 310 of his 400 career victories with the Great Danes.
 
Captain
Head Coach Will Brown selected junior guard Antonio Rizzuto as the team's lone captain for the 2020-21 season.  The decision, made by Coach Brown on January 12, marks a departure in the team's usual format for selecting captains.  Brown noted Rizzuto's consistency and work ethic as reasons he felt Rizzuto was particularly suited to lead the team through the unprecedented season.
 
500
In the second of back-to-back games at Vermont, junior guard Antonio Rizzuto matched his career-high with 21 points, leading the Great Danes in defeat.  The total allowed Rizzuto to eclipse the 500-point milestone for his career.  He entered the game just two points shy of 500 through four games in his junior-year season.  In two-plus years as a Great Dane, encompassing 60 appearances and 41 starts, Rizzuto is averaging 8.7 points per game.
 
Storming Back
Trailing by as many as 18 in the first half at Vermont, and by 16 at halftime, UAlbany stormed back in the second half, using a 21-3 run, including 16-0, over nearly 11 minutes to stun Vermont to clinch the team's first victory of the 2020-21 season.  The win also snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Catamounts, a nine-game overall losing streak dating back to the end of the 2019-20 season, and was the program's first victory over Vermont in Patrick Gymnasium since 2016.  CJ Kelly led the way for UAlbany, scoring 27 points, including nine of the Great Danes' first 12.
 
Double-Double
Kellon Taylor recorded UAlbany's first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points to go with 11 rebounds in the team's defeat against Niagara on December 22.  Taylor shot 6-8 from the floor against the Purple Eagles, playing 38 minutes.
 
Presidential Scholar-Athlete
Junior Adam Lulka was named one of six America East Presidential Scholar-Athletes for the Fall 2020 semester.  Lulka, who completed his undergraduate degree in Psychology in December with a 4.00 GPA, was one of three Great Danes to be recognized (men's lacrosse's Jakob Patterson and women's soccer's Hailey Summers).  To qualify as a Presidential Scholar-Athlete, an individual must be graduating with an undergraduate GPA of 3.75 or higher.
 
Preseason All-Conference
For the second-straight season, junior guard Cameron Healy was selected to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team.  Healy averaged 14.2 points per game last season, despite falling off in production over the final stretch of the year due to injury.  Healy led the America East in FT% in 2019-20, ranking fifth in the NCAA.  He also ranked second in the conference in 3FG% and 10th in scoring.
 
Picked Fourth
For the third-straight season, UAlbany has been picked fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  The Great Danes received 51 total points, behind Vermont, who claimed the top spot for the fifth-straight year, UMBC, and New Hampshire.
 
Father-Son Connection
Head Coach Will Brown's oldest son, Jackson, joined the team this season as a freshman.  Additionally, Coach Brown has a connection to transfer CJ Kelly.  Brown played with Kelly's father, Chris, in high school during clinics and summer camps on Long Island.  After transferring to Dowling College, Brown once again played with Chris.  Coach Brown describes Chris as a well-rounded, defensively-minded 6-3 wing with a high basketball IQ.  CJ, by contrast, prefers the offensive end of the floor compared to his father.  Additionally, CJ's mother, Marlene, also played at Dowling, and one of his sisters played at Siena.
 
Late Start
December 19 is the latest date on record that the UAlbany men's basketball team has played its season opener.  The previous latest date was December 6, 1975, when UAlbany defeated Cortland 75-45.
 
America East Announces Basketball Schedule Format
On October 19, 2020, the America East debuted its revised schedule format for the 2020-21 season.  The conference season will begin on December 19-20, with teams playing back-to-back games at the same site against the same opponent on Saturdays and Sundays.  There are built-in off weekends to accommodate potential postponements throughout the season.  It will also be the first year that the conference schedule expands to 18 games to account for NJIT joining the conference.
 
Iati Voted Among Top Assistants in America East
A vote by 20 America East men's basketball coaches selected UAlbany Associate Head Coach Jon Iati as the second-best assistant coach in the conference.  The vote, conducted by Stadium, saw Iati recognized among his peers as second behind only Vermont's Kyle Cieplicki.
 
Will and Jamie Brown Donate to American Cancer Society
A longtime participant in the Coaches vs. Cancer program, UAlbany head coach Will Brown and his wife, Jaime, announced a donation of $10,000 to the American Cancer Society in April to help cancer patients facing new struggles due to COVID-19.  Brown announced the donation as he received the Society's Champion Award, recognizing coaches who have shown extraordinary leadership and commitment to the Society' mission.  Coach Brown has been a participant in Coaches vs. Cancer for 15 years since UAlbany's inaugural Coaches vs. Cancer game.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts UMass Lowell on January 30 and 31.