Men’s Basketball Hosts Colgate at SEFCU Arena on Saturday Night
COVERAGE: Fox Sports 980 AM
Twitter: @UAlbany_MBB
ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany men’s basketball (5-4) returns to SEFCU Arena on Saturday night for an in-state bragging rights game against Colgate (4-4) at 7 p.m. The game will also be shown on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
The Great Danes overcame a 10+ minute field goal drought at the end of the game to down Brown 74-68 in Providence on Tuesday night. Sam Rowley made and attempted a career-high in free throws (12-15), and UAlbany made a season-high 35 from the free throw stripe. The teams committed a combined 59 fouls.
Sam Rowley led the Purple & Gold in scoring with 20 points, despite only playing 19 minutes with foul trouble. His brother Mike and Levan Shengelia stepped in to make up the difference on the glass. Shengelia had a team-high seven boards, with Mike Rowley and Shengelia combining for 15 points.
The win concluded a four-game road trip, where the Great Danes went 3-1.
ROWLEY ROLLING
Junior forward Sam Rowley recorded his second 20+ point game at Brown on Tuesday night, despite only playing 19 minutes. His first was in a 69-79 loss at Quinnipiac. It was his seventh game in double figures this season. The junior has one double-double and two 10+ rebounding efforts to his credit this season. Rowley is averaging 13.7 ppg and 7.2 rpg.
CHARITY STRIPE KINGS
The Great Danes continue to light up the charity stripe this season, ranking ninth in the nation in free throw percentage (.778). UAlbany leads the America East, and is the only team to have three players in the top-10 in free throw shooting, including Peter Hooley (4th, .862), John Puk (9th, .818) and Gary Johnson (.808).
UAlbany shot and made a season-high in free throws (35-46, .761). The 35 makes ranks tied for 20th in the nation in single-game free throws made. It is also first in Division I program history for the Great Danes.
CAREER HIGH FOR JOHNSON
Senior forward Gary Johnson returned to the starting line-up against Brown, scoring a career high 16 points. The senior led all scorers at halftime with 11 points. He also made a career high six free throws against the Bears. Johnson continues to be one of the most consistent players for UAlbany, totaling just six turnovers in seven games with an assist-turnover ratio of 2.0. He is averaging 10.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg and a 55.3% clip from the field.
HOT-SHOT AGAINST COLGATE
In the game between UAlbany and Colgate in 2011 at SEFCU Arena, the Great Danes set a Division I program single-game record in made field goals with 36. In that game, UAlbany shot a single-game Division I program-high .665 (36-55) from the field.
In 2010 at Colgate, UAlbany went 21-for-39 (.538) from the field to hand Colgate its 10th-straight loss. The Purple & Gold has won the last three meetings and four of the last five.
SCOUTING COLGATE
• The Raiders will pose a formidable threat from the three-point line. Colgate is making 11.6 3-pointers a game, while their opponents are making just 5.5 pg. All five starters are averaging better than 45% from the three-point arch, and nearly half of their field goals made this season are three-pointers (93 of 217).
• Along with their 45.6% clip from the 3-point line, the Raiders are also shooting about 50% from the field in their first eight games (.508).
• Colgate is led by two transfers, Austin Tillotson (15.0 ppg) and Murphy Burnatowski (13.9 ppg). Tillotsen has had at least three assists in seven of eight games for the Raiders.
• Langel’s squad is all-in from the three-point line. Burnatowski, a 6-7 forward, went 6-for-11 from behind the arch on his way to a season-high 24 points against St. Francis (Pa.). Fellow transfesr Ethan Jacobs, a 6-11 center, is 18-for-33 (.540) from the 3-point line.
