ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany men's basketball team is set to travel to UMBC for a midweek matchup against the Retrievers. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. The matchup will be available on ESPN3 and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, Jan. 19 – at UMBC
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Md.
7:00 p.m. EST
ESPN3| ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team | Live Stats  
 
Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes are averaging 60.8 ppg, with opponents averaging 66.3 ppg. The team is shooting 39.5% from the field, 29.6% from three, and 70.2% from the charity stripe.
• The Great Danes have more steals than their opponents, with 115 in favor of UAlbany and 85 in favor of their opposition. The team trails in rebounds, with opponents out-rebounding UAlbany 583-518.
• It was announced last week that De'Vondre Perry is out for the season due to injury. He was leading the team in points per gamr (12.8), field goal attempts per game (10.8), blocks per game (0.8), defensive rebounds per game (4.5), and minutes (33.0).
• Jamel Horton and Matt Cerruti are both averaging 9.9 points per game. Horton is shooting 39.3% from the field and averages 3.7 assists dished out per game. Cerruti has been sharp from beyond the arc, shooting at a clip of 44.8% and averaging 1.9 threes per game.  
• 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. The rookie has missed two games in a row, but is expected to return against UMBC.

 
Scouting UMBC
Wednesday's game against UAlbany will be the team's fourth game in eight days due to rescheduling from COVID-19 disruptions. UMBC is coming off of two straight losses against top-tier America East competition, having lost to Vermont (69-86) at home on Saturday before falling to Stony Brook (51-65) on the road on Monday night. Last time out against Stony Brook, the Retrievers shot just 31% from the field. Yaw Obeng-Mensah was the lone UMBC player in double figures with 10, adding six rebounds.
 
Overall, the Retrievers sit with an overall record of 6-9, having gone 1-3 in conference play. The team is averaging 72.9 points per game, with opponents scoring 71.9 on average. UMBC is shooting 42.6% from the field, 34.1% from three, and 76.7% from the free throw line. The team's leading scorer is Keondre Kennedy with 13.1 per contest, followed by Darnell Rogers (10.9) and L.J. Owens (10.0). Obeng-Mensah leads the team in rebounding with 5.4 per game.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes picked up their second-consecutive America East win on Saturday night, taking down NJIT 71-56 in a game in which UAlbany led for the majority.  

• Matt Cerruti led the way with 18 points, going 4-7 from beyond the arc and collecting six rebounds.
• Jamel Horton dropped 14 points, leading the team with eight rebounds and five assists.
• Luke Fizulich scored nine points off the bench in 15 minutes of play on a career day.
• The team shot 38.7% (24-62) from the field and 28.0% (7-25) from three. NJIT shot 30.9% (17-55) from the field and 35.3% (6-17) from three.
• NJIT won the rebound war, 40-38.
• The UAlbany defense forced 15 NJIT turnovers.
• UAlbany finished going 16-19 from the free throw line.

 
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 (1.17.22)

• Vermont beat Stony Brook and UMBC last week to improve to 3-0 in #AEHoops play.
• The Catamounts, winners of four in a row and six of their last seven, improved 31 spots from last week's NCAA Net and rank 65th in the country, behind only Iona among regional peers.
• Vermont matched the conference's single-game record and set a new program standard by hitting 19 three-pointers in a 98-65 win over Stony Brook on Wednesday.
• UVM again flourished offensively on Saturday, scoring 86 points in an 86-69 victory at UMBC.
• Ben Shungu scored a career-high 29 points to lead UVM to a win over UNH on Thursday.
• Binghamton beat Maine, 73-65, on Sunday, dominating the glass in the process as it held a 42-28 rebounding edge.
• The Bearcats are 3-1 in league play and have won three of their last four overall.
• After starting 0-2 in conference play, UAlbany posted two wins last week, beating UMass Lowell and NJIT. The Great Danes were powered by their defense holding their two opponents to just 51.5 ppg in the two games.
• 10 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.

 
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).
 
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.