Danes split weekend set
Reserves come through to help Ualbany turn tables on Lowell squad
One mission was accomplished as soon as the basketball was tipped off Saturday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. The University at Albany officially has qualified for the America East Tournament.
In these days of COVID -19 disruptions, nothing is guaranteed, and Ualbany knows that as well as anyone. The program had to maneuver through three disruptions this season before reaching the 12-game requirement to be eligible.
Now, after an 81-69 victory over the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the Great Danes (5-7, 5-5) are wondering if they have the pieces to make a run at the conference championship, something they haven’t done since 2015.
This latest triumph, which gave Ualbany a split of their two-game series with the River Hawks (8-10, 7-7), came without starters C.J. Kelly and Jarvis Doles, both of whom were held out of team activities because of COVID protocols. Both are expected to be available for next weekend’s games against Stony
Brook.
“A lot of guys stepped up today,” said senior forward Kellon Taylor, who had a seasonhigh 16 points, “Sam (Shafer, four points) especially, and Cam (Healy, 10) and Adam (Lulka, nine points, eight rebounds) did their job. Adding C.J. and Jarvis adds two starters with guys coming off the bench contributing, we’re going to be a great team. It’s going to give us a lot of confidence going into next week.”
Lowell also was short-handed, playing without Obadiah Noel, the conference’s scoring leader, for a fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed ailment. That didn’t seem to matter Friday night, when the River Hawks shot 80 percent in the second half en route to a 79-71 victory,
It was a different story Saturday after Lowell took a 42-40 halftime lead. The Danes scored the first 11 points of the second half and never trailed thereafter, extending the margin to as many as 17.
“Credit to Albany,” Lowell coach Pat Duquette said. “There’s no backing down. They came in and played tough, physical for 40 minutes.”
Remarkably, the Danes dominated the second half despite Antonio Rizzuto, who had a career-high 25 points Friday night and 17 in the first half Saturday, getting held scoreless after the intermission. He attempted only three shots in the second half.
Taylor was a force inside, collecting 14 points and five rebounds in the second half. He and Lulka each contributed four points to Ualbany’s second-half run, which included Jamel Horton’s 3-pointer. Horton finished with 14 points, 12 after halftime.
“With two guys being out right now, we need some more scoring from some of our guys,” Rizzuto said, “and we did a good job with that. I’m more focused on getting a win at the end of the day. I shot well in the first half and I don’t think I made a basket in the second half.”
“We had a nice talk at halftime,” Ualbany coach Will Brown said. “Our guys were upset, and we had a nice honest talk. They got the message, and we played with the sense of urgency defensively in the second half.”
The Danes got 21 points off the bench, and a lot of that came in the first half. Healy posted his first double-figure scoring game since the season opener. Freshman Will Amica, who had been sidelined by a concussion, made his collegiate debut, getting six points, three fouls, a rebound, an assist, a turnover and a steal in just 81⁄2 minutes.
Amica’s highlight came when he stole the ball from Allin Blunt, dribbled the length of the court and made a layup.
“I was yelling, ‘Don’t dunk it,’ because he can go armpits above the rim and dunk it with ease at his size,” Brown said of Amica, listed 6-foot. “He is an explosive athlete, but I thought he would try to dunk it, and I just wanted him to get the two points for us. He has a chance to be really good.”