ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's basketball team returns to action for the first time since January 24 to host a two-game series against UMass Lowell.
 
Game Info
Friday, February 12 vs. UMass Lowell (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Saturday, February 13 vs. UMass Lowell (3:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany ranks second in the America East in scoring offense, FG% offense, and turnover margin
• UMass Lowell leads in 3FG% offense
• Antonio Rizzuto leads in 3FG per game
• UMass Lowell's Obadiah Noel leads in scoring, averaging 21.2 points per game
• UAlbany is 3-0 when scoring more than 70 points

 
Scouting UMass Lowell
The River Hawks are 7-9 overall this season, and 6-6 against America East opponents.  They are led by the conference's top scorer, Obadiah Noel, who is averaging 21.2 points per game, nearly two points more than second-leading scorer Ryan Davis from Vermont.  Noel also ranks second in the America East in assists and third in FG% and steals.  UMass Lowell was picked to finish seventh in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, between Hartford and America East newcomer NJIT.  Lifetime against the River Hawks, UAlbany is 14-11, but has lost three of the last four matchups, and split the last six.
 
Last Time vs. UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell avenged a loss at SEFCU Arena earlier in the season that saw UAlbany score 101 point, and Cameron Healy score a single-game program record 41.  In the rematch, the River Hawks pulled away in the second half to defeat UAlbany by 19 points.  UMass Lowell led by four at halftime but outscored UAlbany 49-34 in the second half.  Ahmad Clark scored 23 points but five River Hawks scored in double figures, and UMass Lowell shot 66.7% from the floor after halftime.  Additionally, UMass Lowell outrebounded UAlbany 37-24.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes bounced back after stumbling in the series opener at New Hampshire to overwhelm the Wildcats with a 19-point victory to close their two-game series.  UAlbany matched its season-high 83 points, hitting the mark for the third time in four games.  The Great Danes used a 9-10 shooting stretch mid-way through the first half to take a 16-point lead.  Five Great Danes scored in double-figures, led by CJ Kelly's 23 on 7-8 shooting.  UAlbany's defense held New Hampshire to just 2-12 shooting from three in the first half, and collectively the Great Danes outrebounded the Wildcats 34-32. 
 
Around the America East
UMBC has taken over the top spot in the standings, sweeping their series at Stony Brook to now hold a record of 9-3.  Idle Vermont is second at 7-3, with the Catamounts still riding a five-game winning streak.  Hartford also has seven wins, alongside five losses in third.  New Hampshire, Stony Brook, and UMass Lowell, each have six conference losses, ahead of UAlbany at 4-4.  Behind the Great Danes sit NJIT, Maine, and Binghamton.  Seven of the teams in the conference have hit the 12-game threshold for participation in the America East Tournament, as well as the 13-game threshold for postseason consideration.  Vermont (10), UAlbany (10), and Maine (9), have not yet done so.
 
Friday's America East Games

• UMass Lowell at UAlbany, 7:00 pm

Saturday's America East Games

• Stony Brook at Vermont, 2:00 pm
• NJIT at Hartford, 2:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at UAlbany, 3:00 pm

Upcoming Milestones

• Cameron Healy: 974 points, 248 rebounds

 
Milestones Reached

• Will Brown: 400 head coaching victories – vs. NJIT, January 16, 2021
• Cameron Healy: 250 rebounds – at New Hampshire, January 23, 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 Stony Brook on February 20 and 21.