ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany men's basketball team travels to Western New York to take on Niagara University as part of the Big 4 Basketball Tripleheader at KeyBank Center. The game, the second of three on the tap for the day, is set to tip at 2:00 p.m. The matchup will be streamed online and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
 
Game Info
Saturday, Dec. 17 – vs. Niagara
KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
2:00 p.m. EST
Online Stream| ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Head Coach Dwayne Killings on Niagara
"Saturday presents a great opportunity to compete against a very tough Niagara team. Throughout this season we have played in some amazing venues, and to be able to take our program to a professional sports venue like KeyBank Center within our home state is a great moment for our program."
 
Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes are averaging 57.8 ppg, with opponents averaging 68.7 ppg. The team is shooting 38.8% from the field, 29.8% from three, and 66.7% from the charity stripe.
• The Great Danes have more steals than their opponents, with 75 in favor of UAlbany and 62 in favor of their opposition. The team trails in rebounds, with opponents out-rebounding UAlbany 396-306
• De'Vondre Perry leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.5 ppg and shooting 47.2% from the field. He has shot 33.3% from three-point range and has pulled in 5.3 rebounds per game. He is averaging over 33 minutes per game on the court.
• Matt Cerruti leads the team shooting from beyond the arc, shooting at a clip of 46.5% (20-43) from three and averaging 4.3 attempts from deep per game. He is second on the team with 10.0 ppg, shooting 43.2% from the field.
• Jamel Horton leads the team in assists per game (4.3).
• Now three-time America East Rookie of the Week Justin Neely is tied with Perry for the team lead in rebounds, both with 53 so far this season.

 
Scouting Niagara
Niagara comes into Saturday's contest with an overall record of 4-6, going 0-2 in conference (MAAC) play. Wins for the Purple Eagles have come against SIUE, Youngstown State, Colgate, and most recently to Buffalo State. Notably, the Niagara team stayed very close in games against top teams to start the season – Falling by just three points to Xavier (L, 60-63) and just 10 points to No. 17 Ohio State (L, 74-84). The team is averaging 68.9 ppg, holding opponents to just 64.5 ppg. The Purple Eagles are shooting 45.6% from the field, 35.9% from three, and 78.1% from the line. Senior guard Marcus Hammond leads the team and the conference in scoring with 17.3 ppg, shooting 46.1% from the field and 35.4% from three.
 
The last time out, Niagara defeated Buffalo State (Division III), 112-52. It is Niagara's largest margin of victory in the modern era as a Division I team. The Purple Eagles last defeated a team by 60 or more points during the 1914-15 season, when they defeated Canisius, 78-11. Justin Roberts led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 17 points, which is just one short of his career-high. He shot 50 percent from the 3-point line, making four 3-pointers to tie his career-best. He also dished out a season-high four assists.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes last played on Monday night, picking up a signature win against ACC school Boston College, 61-57.

• The team shot 46.3% (25-54) from the field and 50.0% (8-16) from three, the best all season. Boston College shot 38.6% (22-57) from the field and 31.3% (5-16) from three.
• UAlbany limited the turnovers to just 7, causing Boston College to cough up 13.
• Boston College owned the boards, out-rebound UAlbany 41-26.
• De'Vondre Perry led in scoring with 16, adding three rebounds, two assists, and a block.
• Matt Cerruti finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. He shot 4-of-7 from three-point range.
• Coming off of his third America East Rookie of the Week title, Justin Neely scored eight points, nabbed three rebounds, and collected two steals.
• Paul Newman led the team with seven rebounds, and Jamel Horton led with five assists.

 
Justin Neely for THREE
Freshman Justin Neely has been named the America East Rookie of the Week three times this year, earning back-to-back titles on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 and most recently on Dec. 13. The rookie is averaging over 19 minutes per game, fifth on the team, and sits tied for the team lead in rebounds.
 
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).
 
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.