ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany men's basketball team is set to host NJIT for a 4:00 p.m. showdown at SEFCU Arena on Saturday for United Way Kids Day. The game will feature $5 tickets for kids 12 and under. The matchup will be available on ESPN3 and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
 
Game Info
Saturday, Jan. 15 – vs. NJIT
SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y.
4:00 p.m. EST
ESPN3| ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team | Live Stats  | Tickets | Fan Program
 
United Way Kids Day
The Great Danes are looking to fill the stands with kids from the Capital Region on Saturday, as UAlbany hosts United Way Kids Day. The special 4:00 p.m. tip event will feature tickets on sale for just $5 for kids 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office on gameday.
 
Head Coach Dwayne Killings on NJIT
"NJIT will be a very tough challenge for us Saturday afternoon. The Highlanders feature an experienced roster, and proven scorers. We hope that we have great energy from the youth in the community as we partner with United Way thanks to Peter Gannon as we offer $5 tickets to any child that attends the game that is 12 or younger. Looking forward to a great day for our first Saturday afternoon home game."
 
Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes are averaging 60.1 ppg, with opponents averaging 66.9 ppg. The team is shooting 39.5% from the field, 29.8% from three, and 69.1% from the charity stripe.
• The Great Danes have more steals than their opponents, with 112 in favor of UAlbany and 82 in favor of their opposition. The team trails in rebounds, with opponents out-rebounding UAlbany 543-480.
• De'Vondre Perry leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg and shooting 45.7% from the field. He has shot 31.9% from three-point range and has pulled in 5.0 rebounds per game. He is averaging over 33 minutes per game on the court.
• Jamel Horton scored 20+ in back to back games last week, and is now averaging 9.6 points per game. He leads the team with 51 assists on the year, good for second in the America East.
• Matt Cerruti leads the team shooting from beyond the arc, shooting at a clip of 43.1% (minimum 10 attempts) from three and averaging over four attempts from deep per game. He is third on the team with 9.2 ppg, shooting 41.8% from the field.
• Justin Neely, a four-time America East Rookie of the Week, leads the team in rebounds with 84 on the season – averaging 6.0 per contest. In his last game against New Hampshire, the rookie pulled in 12 boards to lead the team.

 
Scouting NJIT
NJIT comes into Saturday's matchup boasting an 8-6 overall record, going an impressive 3-1 to start conference play. The Highlanders started America East play by winning three-straight over Maine at home (69-66), and UMass Lowell (77-72) and Binghamton (67-56) on the road. The streak came to an end this past Wednesday when the Highlanders were bested by UMBC at home, 56-76. In that game, NJIT's roster was depleted to players in COVID-19 protocol. From those who were available, all eight players who saw the court for NJIT found their way into the scoring column, including Da'Mir Faison, who tallied a career-high-tying six points. Redshirt junior Kjell de Graaf also added six points for the Highlanders on a pair of successful three-pointers.
 
NJIT's Dylan O'Hearn leads the conference in time on the court, averaging 36.8 minutes over 14 games. He leads the team in scoring with 16.0 points per game, followed closely by Miles Coleman with 15.9 per game. Coleman also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.4. The team itself averages 66.4 points while limiting opponents to 66.3, almost a dead even split. The Highlanders are shooting 41.5% from the field, 33.5% from three-point range, and 66.2% from the free throw line.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes' defense stepped up on Wednesday night at home en route to a 57-47 victory over UMass Lowell, the team's first America East win of the season.

• Paul Newman dominated the boards, grabbing 16 rebounds. Paired with 12 points, he was able to notch a double-double.
• Matt Cerruti scored eight of his 12 points in the second half, acting as a catalyst for the Great Danes' offense late in the game.
• Jamel Horton also finished in double-digits with 10 points. He added two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
• Chuck Champion led with three assists and tied for the lead with three steals. A late-game three put UAlbany up four points, never looking back.
• The Great Danes shot 31.9% (22-69) from the field and 26.7 (4-15) from three. UMass Lowell shot 38.0% (19-50) from the field and 18.8% (3-16) from three.
• UAlbany forced 21 turnovers from the River Hawks, giving up on eight themselves.
• The Great Danes won the rebounding battle 47-36 despite not playing with the team's leading rebounder, Justin Neely.

 
Rookie Madness
Freshman Justin Neely has been named the America East Rookie of the Week four times this year, earning back-to-back titles on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, on Dec. 13, and most recently on Dec. 27. The rookie is averaging over 18 minutes per game, fifth on the team, and leads the team in rebounds.
 
Postponements
UAlbany has had two games postponed this season due to COVID-19, a Dec. 28 matchup against Bucknell and a Jan. 2 matchup against Vermont. The America East announced yesterday that UAlbany's matchup with Vermont has been rescheduled to January 31 at 7:00 p.m. in Burlington. The Bucknell game has yet to be rescheduled.  
 
To view all America East schedule adjustments, click here.
 
#AEHoops Notes (1.10.22)

• NJIT beat UMass Lowell and Binghamton last week to improve to 3-0 in #AEHoops play. It's the first time the Highlanders have been 3-0 in conference play since 2012-13.
• Miles Coleman set a new career high with 30 points vs. UMass Lowell.
• Ben Shungu scored a career-high 29 points to lead UVM to a win over UNH on Thursday.
• Eight conference games have been postponed to date. Every effort will be made to reschedule postponed games.
• Three teams (Vermont, UMass Lowell and Stony Brook) posted eight non-conference wins.
• UMass Lowell had its best-ever record entering conference play at 8-4, including wins at Dayton and George Washington.
• Vermont is 8-4 and finished non-league play with a .667 win percentage for the fourth time under John Becker.
• Stony Brook has won five of its last six to wrap up non-league play 8-5.
• America East teams beat two ACC squads in non-league play. UMBC trounced Pittsburgh, 87-77, on Nov. 27 while UAlbany beat Boston College, 61-57, on Dec. 13.
• The Catamounts finished non-league play with a .667 win percentage for the fourth time under John Becker.
• Vermont, winners of six of its last eight, is in the top 100 of the NET again this week (96).

 
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.