Men’s Basketball Looks to Hand Duquesne its Third-Straight Loss in Pittsburgh on Wednesday Night
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Twitter: @UAlbany_MBB
ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany men’s basketball (2-1) looks to rebound from its first loss of the season with a game at Duquesne on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The all-time series is tied 1-1.
UAlbany suffered its first loss of the season 79-69 to Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon at the TD Bank Sports Center, despite recording a season-high field goal percentage of .527. Sam Rowley scored a team-high 20 points in the loss, one point shy of matching his career high.
For the third consecutive game, the Great Danes had three or more players in double figures, including Rowley, Gary Johnson (11) and John Puk (12). Puk had his first double-digit scoring effort against the Bobcats for the first time since February of last season against Fairfield.
The Purple & Gold went 0-for-4 from the three-point line, recording the first game without a trey since 2008.
Sam Rowley leads all Great Danes on offense, averaging 16.3 points per game on 21-of-28 (.750) from the field. Rowley’s field goal percentage tops the league and ranks tied for 19th in the nation.
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
UAlbany continues its trend of making life easier from the charity stripe this season. The Great Danes rank tied for 18th in the nation in free throw percentage at 79.4%, and top the America East. At Quinnipiac on Saturday, UAlbany went 11-for-12 (.917) from the line, recording its fourth-best single-game free throw percentage in the Division I era. The Purple & Gold is making an average of just over seven more free throws per game than the opponent so far this season.
PUK BLOCK PARTY
With one block against Quinnipiac, John Puk is now tied with former teammate Blake Metcalf in career blocks with 72. The pair rank tied for eighth all-time and third in the Division I era. Puk started in his 67th career game against Quinnipiac and made his 101st career appearance.
I MUSTACHE YOU A QUESTION
Several UAlbany players are growing mustaches in support of the Movember movement in the month of November. “Movember” is a term combining “mustache,” and “November.” Men participating in the Movember movement shave on Oct. 31, and grow mustaches throughout the month of November to show support for men’s health causes, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. The participants on the roster include Luke Devlin, Peter Hooley, Mike Rowley, Sam Rowley and Reece Williams. Thirty men in Melbourne, Australia began Movember in 2003. In 2012, 1,127,152 people worldwide registered as “Mo Bros.” As of 2012, 21 countries participate in Movember, helping raise over $ 147 million dollars last year alone.
SCOUTING DUQUESNE
Duquesne has lost two straight, including an 81-84 loss to America East foe New Hampshore last Wednesday. The Dukes return home to face UAlbany after falling 83-96 at West Virginia this past weekend.
The Dukes are averaging 86 points per game behind five players averaging double-figures. Ovie Soko (16.7 ppg), Tra’Vaughn White (16.0 ppg), Dominique McKoy (13.0 ppg), Derrick Colter (12.3 ppg) and Micah Mason (10.7 ppg) lead Duquesne on offense.
Despite scoring 86 per game, Duquesne is giving up 85 per game, including a field goal percentage of .486 and a three-point shooting percentage of .457. In Jim Ferry’s first season last year, his squad scored an average of 67.6 points per game.
Starting guard Derrick Colter scored 17 points in last year’s meeting. The sophomore led Duquesne in scoring (13.4 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg) last season.
The Dukes lost 10 players from last season, and were picked to finish last in the Atlantic 10 in the preseason coaches poll.
