ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany men's basketball team will play on the road for the first time this season when the team travels to Philadelphia to play La Salle. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
 
Game Info
Saturday, Nov. 13 – at La Salle
Tom Gola Arena at Trumark Financial Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
4:00 p.m. EST
ESPN+ | ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team | Live Stats
 
Leading the Pack

• De'Vondre Perry led the Great Danes in scoring on opening night with 11 points.
• All 13 student-athletes who were healthy saw time on the court.
• The Great Danes took advantage of the free throw line – going 13 for 14 in the game.
• Justin Neely led with five rebounds, two on offense and three on defense.
• SEFCU Arena was sold out in the home opener, with 4,215 fans coming out to witness the newest era of UAlbany basketball.

Head Coach Dwayne Killings on Playing in Philadelphia
"A bunch of the guys on our roster are familiar [with Philadelphia]. Going down to play a Big Five team in Philadelphia is huge for our program. Ashley Howard and I are actually really good friends, we used to be roommates when I was at Temple and he was at Drexel. We were in each other's weddings, so very familiar with each other's programs… It will be good to get back to Philly, it will be a good test for our program."
 
Scouting La Salle
La Salle hosted Sacred Heart in Philadelphia this past Tuesday for their season opener, dropping the contest 81-86 to the Pioneers in overtime. After taking a 30-26 advantage into the locker room, the Explorers opened the second half with a 12-5 run to put the team up 42-31. However, a 15-0 run from the Pioneers saw that lead quickly vanish. The end of regulation saw heartbreak for the La Salle sideline when Sacred Heart's Aaron Clarke drained a three at the buzzer to force overtime, which the Pioneers would go on to edge the Explores in 19-14. Josh Nickelberry led the Explorers with 22 points on 6-11 shooting from range, scoring 19 of them in the first half. Jack Clark ended the night with a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to his 12 points. Anwar Gill filled the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. The sophomore guard eclipsed his previous high in swipes and tied a career high in assists. Before the season began, La Salle was picked to finish 12^th in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll.
 
First Time Against La Salle
Surprisingly, Saturday's game will be the first time the Great Danes and Explorers ever face off against each other. In fact, UAlbany has only played Philadelphia's "Big Five" (La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, Villanova) schools a total of two times – collecting a 78-60 win against Penn in 2009 and falling to Saint Joseph's last season, 64-67.
 
Hear from the Great Danes
"Going back to Philly is always a great time, especially being from there and going back to your hometown fans is big, especially for me. Getting to see my family for the first time in a long time is big. Just looking to get a better outcome than on Tuesday. We just need to fix some things up and get back to work." - #24 Paul Newman
 
Last Time Out
The team opened its season this past Tuesday at a sold-out SEFCU Arena. Over 4,200 fans packed the venue, welcoming Dwayne Killings and his staff to Albany for the first time. After a strong first half, the Great Danes ended up falling to Towson, 56-77. De'Vondre Perry led the team in scoring with 11 points, followed by Justin Neely (8), Ny'Mire Little (7) and Matt Cerruti (7). All 13 available players saw action in the game.  
 
Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops
It was recently announced that UAlbany had expanded its partnership with ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team and City Line Bar & Grill. Coaches Dwayne Killings and Colleen Mullen, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team's Charlie Voelker and Dan Bahl every Monday from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. live from City Line Bar & Grill for a weekly segment entitled 'Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops'. 
 
Fans are invited to come out to City Line Bar & Grill to join Coach Killings, Coach Mullen, student-athletes and the ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team crew. Food and drink specials will be available on a weekly basis as the teams embark on their new seasons and talk hoops every Monday. 
 
Meet Coach Killings
Dwayne Killings, a native of Amherst, Mass., begins his journey as Head Coach of the Great Danes after previously serving at Marquette University, where he spent the previous three seasons. While at Marquette, Killings served under Head Coach Steve Wojciechowski. In Killings' three years in Wisconsin, the Golden Eagles posted two winning seasons and made one appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 2020, his recruiting class ranked in the top-20 nationally and he coached 2019-20 BIG EAST Player of the Year and AP All-American Markus Howard.
 
Roster Changes
The coaching staff isn't the only thing that's new for the Great Danes. The roster has had a complete transformation from last year's squad, which made it to the America East Quarterfinals as the No. 5 seed. Nine new student-athletes are suiting up in the purple and gold for 2021-22 - De'Vondre Perry, Matt Cerruti, Gerald Drumgole Jr., Paul Newman, Ny'Mire Little, Justin Neely, Aaron Reddish, Luke Fizulich, and Tairi Ketner. Returning for UAlbany is Will Amica, Trey Hutcheson, Jarvis Doles, Jamel Horton, Sam Shafer, and Chuck Champion.
 
Along with the coaching staff, these 22 men officially make up the 2021-22 UAlbany Great Danes. In total, 16 of these individuals are new to UAlbany.
 
Coaches' Poll
A completely new team, the Great Danes were picked to finish seventh in this year's America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 34 points. Stony Brook came in atop the list with 77 points and five first-place votes, just ahead of Vermont with 74 points and four first-place votes. New Hampshire rounded out the top three with 64 points and a single first-place vote.
 
Defending champion Hartford placed fourth with 56 points, UMBC placed fifth with 49 points, and UMass Lowell placed sixth with 43 points. Following the Great Danes' seventh-place spot was NJIT (23 points), Maine (16 points) and Binghamton (14 points).
 
Non-Conference Opponents
The Great Danes are scheduled to play13 non-conference games this year, four of them being at SEFCU Arena. After starting the season hosting Towson (L, 56-77), the team heads to La Salle to take on the Explorers on Nov. 13. The Great Danes then return home on Nov. 17 to host Harvard before playing their next five on the road.
 
The road trip starts off with a visit to the state of Kentucky. The Great Danes will take part in the Eastern Kentucky Invitational, playing Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 20) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 24) in Richmond. In between those two games, the team will travel down the road to Lexington to matchup against John Calipari and the powerhouse Kentucky basketball program. That marquee matchup is scheduled for Nov. 22 at Kentucky's Rupp Arena. The road trip concludes with stops at Kansas State (Dec. 1) and Yale (Dec. 7).
 
UAlbany then hosts Columbia (Dec. 11) before traveling to Boston College (Dec. 13), Niagara (Dec. 18), and Lehigh (Dec. 21). Non-conference action wraps up on Dec. 29 with the Great Danes hosting Bucknell.
 
America East Lineup
Conference action kicks off after the new year with the great Danes traveling to face Vermont on Jan. 2. The team plays their first America East game at home that same week with a matchup against Binghamton slated for Jan. 6. Other home conference matchups include UMass Lowell (Jan. 12), NJIT (Jan. 15), Stony Brook (Jan. 22), UMBC (Feb. 2), Maine (Feb. 9), Vermont (Feb. 12), New Hampshire (Feb. 19), and Hartford (Mar. 1).
 
Secure Your Tickets
This year marks a new chapter in history for the Great Danes, don't miss out! Season tickets for UAlbany basketball can be purchased by calling the UAlbany Ticket Office at (518) 442-DANE or by visiting UAlbanySports.com/Tickets.
 
FREE with your ID
UAlbany students are welcome to SEFCU Arena and get in FREE with their student ID! Coach Dwayne Killings and the entire hoops team encourage the UAlbany student body to come out and support the Great Danes all season long.
 
Social Central
Stay up to date with UAlbany men's basketball by following the team on Twitter (@UAlbanyMBB) and Instagram (@ualbany_mbb) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the season.