Score: Towson 77, UAlbany 56
 
Location: SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.
 
Records: UAlbany (0-1, 0-0 America East) | Towson (1-0, 0-0 CAA)
 
Short Story: The University at Albany men's basketball team welcomed fans back to a sold out SEFCU Arena on Tuesday night to kick off the 2021-22 season, falling to Towson in the matchup. The game, the first of the Dwayne Killings era, featured a back-and-forth first half to start before the Tigers used a 17-4 run in the second half to fully secure the win.  
 
Key Stat Lines

• De'Vondre Perry led the team with 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block.
• Matt Cerruti led the Great Danes in time on the court with 32 minutes. He finished with seven points and three rebounds
• All available student-athletes for UAlbany found their way onto the court throughout the game, with 11 recording points.
• Ny'Mire Little was a spark off the bench, playing 21 minutes and going 3-8 from the field.
• Little, Aaron Reddish, Tairi Ketner, Luke Fizulich, and Justin Neely all scored their first ever collegiate points.

Coach Dwayne Killings: "This is the reality of college basketball. The fun and the excitement, putting yourself out there, we didn't perform the way that we wanted. We were really intentional about playing Towson. I wanted to see who we were as a team, and who I was as a coach, right away. Now I want to address the things we can get better at, and the things I can get better at."

How it Happened:

• The first basket of the 2021-22 season was a forceful slam home from Paul Newman – welcoming the Albany crowd.
• Within the first 12 minutes of the game, 12 different Great Danes found their way onto the court.
• Towson used a 9-2 run to end the first half, taking a 39-32 lead to the locker room.
• De'Vondre Perry led the Great Danes halfway through the game with seven points, three rebounds, and a block. Also with seven points was freshman Ny'Mire Little off the bench. The Great Danes excelled from the line (10-10) but struggled from the field (10-27) and from three (2-11). Towson finished the first half going 15-32 from the field.
• After a short run to start the second half, the Great Danes fought back to make the scoring even at 10 a piece by the first media timeout.
• Towson was able to stretch the lead out to 20 points with just over five minutes left in the game, shooting 52% from the field at that point in time with a 17-4 run to back it up.
• The Great Danes finished shooting 35.8% from the field (19-53) going just 5-24 from three-point range.

Next: The Great Danes travel to La Salle this weekend for their first road contest of the season. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 4:00 in Philadelphia. 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.