Hooley’s Second-Straight 20-Point Game Leads Men’s Basketball Over Maine 74-63
ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany men’s basketball (13-13, 7-6 AE), ended a two game losing skid on Saturday afternoon with a 74-63 win over Maine (5-20, 3-10 AE). Sophomore guard Peter Hooley scored 21 points in the win.
“It was great to get off to a good start, and it started on defense,” said Hooley. “It was nice to see everyone making big plays in this game, but we need to maintain our focus and put two halves together.”
The Great Danes got out to a hot start from the field, going 6-for-12 while Maine went 0-for-7. UAlbany amassed an 18-point lead, 22-4 by the 13:20 mark in the first half on 10-for-17 shooting. Maine was just 3-for-14 from the field with 11 minutes to go in the opening period.
Will Brown’s squad kept the lead in double-digits thanks to an even scoring attack. All eight Great Danes who played in the first half had at least two points. Hooley and Gary Johnson led the Purple & Gold with nine points and four assists each. UAlbany recorded a new season-high in first half totals for points (47), field goals made (19), 3-point field goals made (7) and assists 12).
The Great Danes came out sluggish in the second half, managing just 10 points in the opening 12 minutes of the game. Maine came within one point, 57-56 after John Puk picked up his fourth foul with 8:02 remaining.
“We put together a great first 20 minutes, and a solid last six minutes. We just haven’t been able to put 40 minutes together,” said head coach Will Brown. “But this time of year, you just have to find a way to win.”
UAlbany went 4-for-12 from the field with five turnovers before back-to-back threes from Hooley and Dallas Ennema got the Great Danes back on track with 6:17 to go. Easy baskets from DJ Evans and Hooley gave the Purple & Gold a nine-point lead with just under three minutes left in the game.
A 7-for-8 clip from the charity stripe put the Black Bears away down the stretch.
UAlbany is now 11-0 when scoring 70 points or more, and held Maine to its second-lowest point total of the conference season.
Hooley scored 21 points to lead the Great Danes. The sophomore also had five assists and two steals. DJ Evans found his range for 16 points, including 5-for-10 from the field and 2-for-4 from three. Evans also tallied five assists and two steals in the win.
Johnson recorded his 10th consecutive game with 10 points or more, scoring 11 and bringing down four rebounds. He also matched his career high in assists with four. Puk led the Purple & gold with seven boards.
UAlbany makes the trip down 88 on Wednesday to face Binghamton (6-19, 3-9 AE) on Wednesday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 from the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y.
