Commanding Performance on the Glass Sends Men's Basketball to America East Semifinals
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – With an even scoring attack and a dominant performance in the rebounding column, University at Albany men's basketball (22-8) downed Maine (3-27) 83-66 in the America East Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The Great Danes advance to host New Hampshire (14-16) on Sunday at 2:00 p.m., in the semifinals. The Sunday 2:02 tip will be broadcast on ESPN3.
“I think it was important for us to get off to a good start,” said head coach Will Brown. “We cruised in the second half a little bit, but I thought we had good balance today. Game one is under our belt, and now we've got to get ready to play UNH on Sunday.”
Kicking off the game on a 9-0 run, UAlbany maintained a 50% shooting clip in the first six minutes. Maine went 0-for-3 with two turnovers thanks to steals from Ray Sanders in the opening moments of the half.
Despite going without a field goal for nearly four minutes, the Purple & Gold maintained a comfortable lead mid-way through the half. Peter Hooley drove the lane to extend the lead to 11, and back-to-back threes from Evan Singletary put the Danes up 17 with 10 minutes to go in the first.
Singletary tallied 14 points in the first 10 minutes, on a 5-for-7 clip from the field, including 3-for-4 from three. Maine went 2-for-11 from the field over five minutes, helping the Danes to a 22-point lead, 36-14 with six minutes to play.
The Black Bears slashed the lead to less than 20 two times late in the first half, but treys from Dallas Ennema sealed a 46-25 edge at the break for the Danes.
At halftime, UAlbany had nearly as many offensive boards (7) as Maine had total rebounds (8). The Purple & Gold also shot 60% (15-25) from the field, 7-for-13 (.538) from three and went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Will Brown's squad maintained a 20+ point lead until the 13-minute mark of the second half. Despite opening the second stanza shooting 30% from the field, Maine went just 2-for-8. Zarko Valjarevic hit a three, followed by a trey from All-Rookie pick Kevin Little to narrow the lead to 15 for UAlbany with just over 12 minutes to play.
Sanders and Singletary stepped in for 10 straight points to fuel a 10-2 Dane run with less than 10 minutes to play. UAlbany coasted to the finish line before Max Twyman and Mike Wells notched their first points in the Great Dane uniform.
Evan Singletary scored a game-high 19 points on 4-for-6 from three. Ray Sanders totaled 15 points, four rebounds and four steals. Sam Rowley recorded his ninth double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Wheeler Baker (13) and Hooley (10) also recorded double figures in scoring.
UAlbany out-rebounded Maine 40-19, in addition to scoring a season-high 83 points. The Danes also made a season-best 11 three-point field goals. Sam Rowley's six offensive boards bested the Black Bears on the offensive glass, who totaled five.
The March Madness continues for UAlbany men's basketball on Sunday at 2:00 p.m., against New Hampshire (17-11). Tickets are on sale for Sunday's match-up at SEFCU Arena through the box office.
