ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany returns to Broadview Center after three-straight games on the road to host UMBC for the 2024 Big Purple Growl.
 
Game Info
February 3, 2024 vs. UMBC (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | 104.5 FM The Team | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 5-2 at home this season; UMBC is 1-10 on the road
• UAlbany ranks third in the America East in scoring offense and eighth in scoring defense
• UMBC ranks fourth in the America East in scoring offense and ninth in scoring defense
• The Great Danes lead the America East in steals
• The Retrievers lead the America East in 3FG%
• Jonathan Beagle leads the America East in rebounding
• Sebastian Thomas ranks third in the America East in scoring and steals and fourth in assists
• Amar'e Marshall ranks fourth in the America East in steals and fifth in scoring
• UMBC's Dion Brown ranks fourth in the America East in scoring
• UAlbany is 15-10 in Big Purple Growl games

Scouting UMBC
The Retrievers are 6-16 on the season so far, and 1-6 against America East opponents.  Just one of UMBC's victories has come on the road, a five-point win over Maine.  UMBC allows over 82 points per game, but has close defeats against the top three teams in the league, five points at Vermont, and four points each at UMass Lowell and at Bryant.  UMBC was picked to finish sixth in the 2023-24 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, just ahead of UAlbany.  The Retrievers are led by Dion Brown, who averages 17.8 points per game, one of four UMBC players who average double-figures in scoring.  In 44 games against UMBC, UAlbany is 29-15.
 
Last Time vs. UMBC
February 15, 2023 | In their penultimate home game of the 2022-23 season, UAlbany claimed a victory over the visiting Retrievers, 81-74, to snap a nine-game losing streak.  The Great Danes withstood a game-opening 7-0 run from UMBC in just the first minute.  Five minutes later, UAlbany took its first lead, 10-9, before heading into halftime with a two-point advantage.  Jonathan Beagle scored 16 points with 15 rebounds, while adding four assists and two steals.  Gerald Drumgoole Jr. also scored 16 points, with Trey Hutcheson adding 14, Sarju Patel 13, and Da'Kwuan Davis 12.  The Great Danes outrebounded UMBC 41-32.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany visited defending America East champion Vermont to close out a three-game road swing, having previously split at Maine and at New Hampshire.  Within the first three-and-a-half minutes, Vermont built a four-point lead, only to see UAlbany go on a 5-0 run to briefly go ahead 7-6.  The Great Danes short-lived lead was their only of the game, and Vermont pulled away to lead by 17 at halftime, and by as many as 24 in the second half, before winning by 22, 81-59.  Amar'e Marshall led all scorers with 20 points, and Sebastian Thomas grabbed eight rebounds and dished seven assists to go with four steals.
 
Around the America East
Defending champion Vermont has won eight-straight games and retains its overall lead in the conference standings at a perfect 7-0 as the America East season approaches its mid-way point.  Behind the Catamounts, UMass Lowell and Bryant are tied at 6-1, with their two regular-season games coming just 12 days apart later this month.  New Hampshire sits fourth at 4-3, ahead of 3-4 UAlbany.  Binghamton and Maine are tied for sixth at 2-5, followed by one-win programs UMBC and NJIT.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Binghamton at Vermont, 2:00 pm
• Bryant at Maine, 3:00 pm
• New Hampshire at UMass Lowell, 5:00 pm
• UMBC at UAlbany, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Sacred Heart
  • UAlbany: 12/19 vs. Sacred Heart, W, 93-79
  • UMBC: 11/17 vs. Sacred Heart, W, 85-80
• NJIT
  • UAlbany: 1/6 at NJIT, W, 79-73
  • UMBC: 1/27 vs. NJIT, L, 74-75
• UMass Lowell
  • UAlbany: 1/18 vs. UMass Lowell, L, 76-97
  • UMBC: 1/13 at UMass Lowell, L, 82-86
• Bryant
  • UAlbany: 1/20 vs. Bryant, L, 89-98
  • UMBC: 1/6 vs. Bryant, L, 67-81; 2/1 at Bryant, L, 95-99
• Maine
  • UAlbany: 1/25 at Maine, L, 73-81
  • UMBC: 1/18 vs. Maine, W, 70-65
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 1/27 at New Hampshire, W, 86-79
  • UMBC: 1/20 vs. New Hampshire, L, 58-64
• Vermont
  • UAlbany: 2/1 at Vermont, L, 59-81
  • UMBC: 1/11 at Vermont, L, 72-77 

Charity Stripe
Junior guard Sebastian Thomas played all 80 minutes for UAlbany in consecutive road games at Maine and at New Hampshire over three days.  During that time, Thomas shot a combined 22-23 from the free throw line.  Dating back to the previous game against Bryant, Thomas hit 20 consecutive free throws over three games, before missing his 12th attempt against the Wildcats.  And in that Bryant game, Amar'e Marshall went 13-13 from the line, the second-most free-throws in a single game without a miss in the program's Division I era.  After hitting his last four free throws against UMass Lowell, Marshall boasted a consecutive free-throws streak of 17 before missing.
 
Player of the Week III
Sebastian Thomas became the third Great Dane this season to earn America East Player of the Week accolades, doing so after scoring 30 points and recording seven assists in a 20-point victory over Binghamton.  Thomas shot 12-21 from the floor and surrendered just one turnover in 36 minutes of play against the Bearcats.
 
Moving on Up
With its ninth with of the season on January 6, a six-point victory at NJIT to open America East play, UAlbany surpassed their win total from the 2022-23 season in just its 16th game.  The Great Danes eclipsed last year's win total thanks in part to a five-game winning streak in the middle of non-conference play, the longest since winning six-straight during the 2017-18 season.
 
Player of the Week II
Jonathan Beagle recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and recording 12 rebounds in a come-from-behind victory at LIU at the Barclays Center.  Beagle's performance garnered America East Player of the Week honors, the first of his career.  Last season as a freshman, Beagle set a record with nine America East Rookie of the Week accolades.
 
Double Trouble II
For the second time in three games, UAlbany saw two players record a double-double in the same game.  Against LIU, at the Barclays Center, Jonathan Beagle scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.  Amar'e Marshall scored 12 and added 10 boards, his first double-double as a Great Dane.  Marshall is the fourth player this season to record a double-double, behind Beagle, Sebastian Thomas, and Marcus Jackson.
 
Slamming the Door
Trailing 68-61 with 7:22 remaining against LIU at the Barclays Center, UAlbany ended the game on a 25-1 scoring run to win by 17 points, 86-69.  Aaron Reddish hit a three to start the comeback.  Sebastian Thomas, who scored a game-high 32 points, hit a jumper in the paint with 5:36 to go to give UAlbany a one-point lead that they would never relinquish.  LIU scored its only point in the final 7:22 with 1:54 to go, a free throw, after UAlbany had scored 21-straight.
 
Double Trouble
In UAlbany's final home game of 2023, and before a four-game road swing to close out the nonconference schedule, the Great Danes dispatched NEC rival Sacred Heart by 14 points, 93-79, bouncing back after stumbling at Drexel 71-52.  Against the Pioneers, UAlbany saw four players score in double figures, while two, Jonathan Beagle and Marcus Jackson, recorded personal double-double.  Beagle, who recorded his fourth of the season, scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading UAlbany in both categories, while Jackson, recording his first career double-double, scored 15 points to go with 10 rebounds.
 
Helping Hand
Junior guard Sebastian Thomas tied the UAlbany men's basketball single-game record, recording 10 assists in the Great Danes' victory over Boston University on November 29.  Thomas is the first Great Dane to record 10 assists in a game since Ahmad Clark did so at Niagara on December 31, 2018, and is the sixth player in program history to hit the mark, with Jamar Wilson doing so twice in his career.
 
Three-for-Three
With the victory over Boston University, the UAlbany men's basketball team has won three-straight games.  The last three-game winning streak the Great Danes had was January 12-19, 2022, when they defeated UMass Lowell, NJIT, and UMBC.
 
Opening Night
The UAlbany men's basketball team was hosted the first game in the newly renovated Broadview Center on November 29, 2023.  It was the Great Danes' first true home game since hosting Hartford on March 1, 2022.  Playing in front of a debut crowd of 3,103, The Great Danes defeated former America East rival Boston University 86-72.
 
Player of the Week
For his efforts against Siena in the 2023 Albany Cup, as well has his performance against Army West Point in the previous game, Amar'e Marshall was named America East Offensive Player of the Week.  He averaged 24.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in two wins for the Great Danes, going off for a game- and career-high 33 against Siena.  Marshall is UAlbany's first Player of the Week since Cameron Healy on January 27, 2020.
 
For the Cup
UAlbany reclaimed the Albany Cup, defeating Crosstown Rival Siena 86-51 at MVP Arena.  It was UAlbany's first win in the series since the 2017-18 season, but their third in the last four meetings, and sixth in the last nine against the Saints.  Amar'e Marshall led all scorers with 33 points, and UAlbany shot 70% from the floor in the second half, going off for 58 points after holding a five-point lead at halftime.
 
Picked Seventh
The Great Danes were picked to finish seventh in the 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  UAlbany drew 23 total points, just two behind projected sixth-place finisher UMBC, and ahead of both New Hampshire, with 18 points, and NJIT, with 10.  Defending champion Vermont was the preseason favorite, drawing 62 points and six of a possible eight first-place votes.  UMass Lowell trailed in second, with 55 points and the remaining three first-place votes.
 
Doc Sauers Classic
Created this season to honor legendary UAlbany men's basketball coach Richard "Doc" Sauers, the Classic, a multi-team event presented by the Albany Med Health System, will feature the Great Danes, Quinnipiac, and Army West Point.  UAlbany will first play Quinnipiac on the road on November 19, before returning to the Capital Region two days later for the program's first-ever game played at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
 
Barclays
The UAlbany men's basketball team will play a game this season in Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  On December 10, the Great Danes will take part in the NABC Brooklyn Showcase against Temple.
 
Broadview Center
The Great Danes are set to open the brand-new Broadview center in a Nov. 29 matchup against Boston University.  Formally SEFCU Arena, Broadview Center underwent transformational renovations over the past year, upgrading fan amenities and installing new basketball locker rooms while also rotating the aspect of the court.  The building is in the process of finishing construction, with the team's game against the Terriers marked as the first official event held in the arena.  Due to its construction, UAlbany played home games last season at Hudson Valley Community College.
 
New Look Danes
The Great Danes have an almost entirely new team, with nine new student-athletes joining the quad along with six returners.  Returning for UAlbany this year is Jonathan Beagle, Justin Neely, Marcus Jackson, Aaron Reddish, Ny'Mire Little, and Will Amica. New to the team is Marcus Filien, Amar'e Marshall, Sebastian Thomas, Jack Margoupis, Bautista Giralt, Muneer Newton, Zach Matulu, Tyler Bertram, and Zane Adnan.
 
Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops
Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops is officially back for a third season.  Coaches Dwayne Killings and Colleen Mullen, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team 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.
 
Postgame Show
The UAlbany Basketball Postgame Show returns this season to 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio.  The show will begin immediately following all games, home and away, for fans to listen to as they commute home or tune in from a distance.
 
The show is set to run for 30 minutes following the final buzzer on 104.5 The Team.  Fans will hear initial reactions and a game recap to start the segment followed by interviews with the team. Coach Dwayne Killings and select student-athletes will join ESPN Radio's Rodger Wyland and Michael Johnson Jr. to break down the contest, give insights, opinions, responses, and to discuss the team's next matchup.
 
Fans can tune in to ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team by turning the dial on their radio or by streaming on their computers or smart phones.
 
FREE with your ID
UAlbany students can attend UAlbany basketball home games all season long for FREE. Students who attend games simply need to bring their school-issued ID cards to gain admission to the brand new Broadview Center.
 
Social Central
Stay up to date with UAlbany men's basketball by following the team on X (@UAlbanyMBB) and Instagram (@ualbany_mbb) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.
 
Next: UAlbany visits Binghamton on February 8.