Men’s Basketball Posts Record Shooting in First Half, Downs UMass Lowell 73-56
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men’s basketball team (12-11, 6-4 AE) shot 73.9% (17-23) from the field and 85.7% (6-7) from three in the first half to take a 24-point lead at the break and beat UMass Lowell 73-56 on Wednesday night. UAlbany’s shooting clip in the opening 20 minutes of the game marked a Division I program first-half high.
“When we’re unselfish and share the ball, good things happen,” said head coach Will Brown. “We played good basketball in the first half. We were unselfish offensively and defensively.”
Peter Hooley got scoring started with a three out of the gate. The sophomore finished with 21 points on 7-12 from the field and 6-10 from three. Hooley also had three assists and five rebounds.
“It’s huge when we have the rotation we need,” said Hooley. “It’s good to have people step into new roles and play well, but we’re a completely different team with Luke [Devlin] on the court. “It’s crucial for us to win games coming down the stretch on the conference schedule.”
The Great Danes went 4-for-4 from the field in the next four minutes, while the River Hawks went 1-for-6 and committed two turnovers. UMass Lowell didn’t score until three minutes had gone by in the game. UAlbany tallied just three turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game and went 12-for-16 from the field in that time.
Will Brown’s squad held the River Hawks scoreless for five minutes until the three-minute mark of the first half. UAlbany extended its lead to as many as 27 on a made three-pointer by Dallas Ennema with 2:41 left in the opening half. Hooley made a three of his own going into the break to give the Great Danes a 46-22 lead, and the team’s highest first-half point total this season.
The Purple & Gold opened the second half 0-for-6 from the field in addition to committing two turnovers and two fouls. A three from Hooley ended a five-minute scoring drought in the face of a 7-0 run by UMass Lowell.
UMass Lowell narrowed the lead to as many as 14 with five minutes left in the second half, but league-only leading scorers Akeem Williams and Antonio Bivins couldn’t pull the River Hawks ahead.
Hooley finished with 21 points to lead the Purple & Gold, while Gary Johnson tallied 12, and DJ Evans and Sam Rowley scored 10 apiece. The win against UMass Lowell marked the fourth time four Great Danes have scored 10 points or more.
John Puk led UAlbany on the boards with nine. The senior center also had two blocks, and is now four away from recording 100 for his career.
Will Brown’s squad is now 10-0 when scoring 70 points or more.
The Great Danes (12-11, 6-4 AE) hit the road this Saturday to face Hartford (10-14, 4-5 AE) at 7:00 p.m. UAlbany won the first meeting this season at SEFCU Arena, 81-56.
