ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's basketball team, fresh off of a three-game road trip, returns home to SEFCU Arena on Wednesday night to host the UMBC Retrievers. Tipoff for the matchup is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+ and broadcast on ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team in Albany.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, Feb. 2 – vs. UMBC
SEFCU Arena in Albany, New York
7:00 p.m. EST
ESPN+ | ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team | Live Stats  | 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.
 
Coach Dwayne Killings on Returning to SEFCU Arena
"It's good to be back at home. I thought our three games, our 'Championship Week', I was happy coming our 2-1. I think it was a great week of growth for our team… We have to regroup. It's a quick turnaround having to play UMBC tomorrow, a great opportunity for us. It will be good to be home. I'm hoping we have people come out to support our team, we are playing very hard right now. We have to protect home court."
 
Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes come into Wednesday's game having won five of their last seven conference games, with victories coming against UMass Lowell (twice), NJIT (twice), and UMBC. The lone losses coming at the hands of Stony Brook and Vermont, who sit atop the America East. The team currently sits tied for fourth place in the conference with an AE mark of 5-4.
• The Great Danes are averaging 62.0 ppg, with opponents averaging 66.1 ppg. The team is shooting 40.6% from the field, 31.4% from three, and 70.8% from the charity stripe.
• In conference-only games, UAlbany leads all America East teams defensively – allowing just 64.8 ppg. On the offensive side, the Great Danes sit in sixth place with 66.6 points scored per game.
• Matt Cerruti and Jamel Horton lead the team in scoring. Cerruti is averaging 11.5 points per gaem, shooting at a clip of.455 from the field and .449 from beyond the arc. Horton is averaging 11.4 per game, shooting .422 from the field and leading the team in assists with 80 on the year.
• Justin Neely, now a five-time America East Rookie of the Week, leads the team in rebounds with 102 on the season – averaging 5.4 per contest.

 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes faced an undefeated (conference play) Vermont team on Monday night, falling 73-61 in Burlington after a hard-fought game in which the team held the Catamounts to the fewest points scored among any America East team this season. The matchup wrapped up a three-game road trip for the Great Danes.

• UAlbany shot 43.1% (22-51) from the field and 50% (11-22) from three-point range. Vermont shot 56.9% (29-51) from the field and 40.9% (9-22) from three.
• Vermont won the rebounding war 28-24.
• Vermont finished with 17 assists, UAlbany finished with 9. 
• Matt Cerruti led the way with 22 points, going 4-7 from three-point range.
• Chuck Champion and Jamel Horton both finished with 11 points. Champion had two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Horton had a team-high four assists and two steals.
• Trey Hutcheson finished with three three-pointers and nine points.

Scouting UMBC
The Retrievers come into Wednesday's game with an overall record of 9-10, and a 4-4 mark in conference play. They come into SEFCU Arena having won their last three games, a road win over Maine (88-46), a home win over NJIT (73-69), and most recently another road win over Binghamton (70-68) this past Saturday. In that game, the Retrievers survived a thriller against the Bearcats, getting late free throws from Darnell Rogers in the win. There were 16 lead changes in the contest. Keondre Kennedy led the Retrievers with 17 points and nine rebounds.

On the year, the team is averaging 72.5 ppg with the defense allowing 69.9. The Retrievers are shooting 42.5% from the field and 34.3% from deep. Kennedy is leading the team in scoring with 14.4 per game. Also averaging double figures is Rodgers (10.6) and L.J. Owens (10.2).

Last Time Against UMBC
UAlbany and UMBC last met on Jan. 19 in Baltimore, where the Great Danes edged the Retrievers 66-54.

• Matt Cerruti led the team with 20 points, adding three steals, three assists, and two rebounds.
• Jamel Horton finished with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal.
• Paul Newman collected a team-high eight rebounds, scoring seven buckets.
• UAlbany shot 44.1% (26-59) from the field and 27.3% (6-22) from three. UMBC shot 34.7% (17-49) from the field and 29.6% (8-27) from three.
• UAlbany won the rebounding battle, 40-26. The Great Danes collected 10 offensive boards compared to just three from the Retrievers.
• UAlbany led for 32 minutes and 32 seconds, 81.3% of the game.
• UMBC finished with 11 turnovers, UAlbany with nine.

 
#AEHoops Notes (1.31.22)

• Vermont is off to a 7-0 start in #AEHoops play for the sixth time in its program history.
• The Catamounts, winners of nine in a row and 10 of their last 11, rank 70th in the country, behind only Iona among regional peers.
• Vermont has score 80-plus points in all seven of its conference games and has averaged 84.6 ppg during the stretch outscoring foes by an average of 18.0 ppg.
• UAlbany has won five of its last six games and leads the league holding teams to 63.8 ppg during conference play.
• Vermont and UAlbany square off tonight in Burlington.
• Stony Brook sits in second place in the conference standings at 5-2 having won three of its last four games.
• Binghamton is 5-4 in #AEHoops play. The five wins are the most the program has won in any of the last 12 years – with nine more games still to play.
• UMBC has won three-straight games for the first time since Nov. 23 – Dec. 1.
• 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.

 
Rookie Madness
Freshman Justin Neely has been named the America East Rookie of the Week five times this year, earning back-to-back titles on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, on Dec. 13, on Dec. 27, and most recently on Jan. 31. The rookie is averaging over 17 minutes per game 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, which has been made up. The Bucknell game has yet to be rescheduled. 
 
To view all America East schedule adjustments, click here.
 
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 Drumgoole 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.
 
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.