Shot-clock problem dooms Great Danes
ALBANY — The University at Albany men's basketball team seems to be haunted by the ghost of shot clock operators past and present.
In the waning moments of Friday's game against Quinnipiac, the horn sounded for a shot- clock violation, but play continued and an easy layup gave the Bobcats a 59- 57 victory.
The referees signaled, immediately, that the shot clock shouldn't have gone off and counted Ike Azotam's basket with 12 seconds to play, leaving the Great Danes out in the cold.
A similar situation ended UAlbany's season last year, when they lost at the buzzer in the America East semifinal.
“You think we would have learned from last year against Stony Brook,” said sophomore Sam Rowley. “As the coaches say, you have to play to the whistle, not the buzzer. It was an unfortunate situation to be put it, but what the referees say goes.”
UAlbany coach Will Brown and Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore both were unsure if the shot, from sophomore Evan Conti, had indeed hit the rim.
Azotam rebounded the miss and put in an easy basket for the game- winning points.
Last year, it was Dallis Joyner who's tipped shot sent the Seawolves to the America East championship game.
“That's hard because kids are excited when they hear that shot clock go off,” said Brown.
The Great Danes ( 9- 3) still had a chance to win, but Mike Black's 3- pointer was off the mark, ending the team's six- game winning streak.
“It's just one game – one tough loss,” said Black, who earlier in the day was among those nominated for the Bob Cousy Award. “I feel like we could have won, but it's a learning experience.”
The Bobcats ( 4- 6) played without two of their starters, Dave Johnson and Garvey Young, but still proved to be a very tough opponent.
Brown said it would come down to the who was the tougher team and Quinnipiac outrebounded UAlbany 39- 30 and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
“I think they played like ( the tougher team), especially in the first
‘You think we would have learned from last year against Stony Brook. As the coaches say, you have to play to the whistle, not the buzzer. It was an unfortunate situation to be put it, but what the referees say goes.’ Sam Rowley UAlbany sophomore
half,” said Rowley, who finished with a careerhigh 15 points and seven rebounds.
Coming off a nine- day layoff, the Great Danes looked rusty in the first half, as they fell behind by as many as seven. Black was also coming off a case of laryngitis and Iati has an Achilles issue and those two finished just 5- for- 17 from the field.
“I was worried about our team's rhythm because of the nine- day layoff and final exams,” Brown said. “And then I was more concerned with what we were going to get from Mike and Jacob tonight.”
The Bobcats did the best job of the season defensively on Iati, who finished with just five points and only attempted three shots.
“We've done a really good job, the last four games, of taking out the other team's best two players,” said Moore.
Quinnipiac, a team that defeated Iona and lost to UConn in double overtime, presented some tough matchups for UAlbany.
“We don't match up well with the quick, athletic, strong teams,” said Brown.
The Great Danes wore warmup t- shirts honoring the victims of last week's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while Bobcats coaches wore ribbons on their suits. Quinnipiac is located in Hamden, Conn., less than 30 miles from Newtown.
UAlbany is hoping to start another winning streak, when they take on Navy, on the road, next Friday.
“We're fortunate enough to be in the position where one game doesn't make a season,” Rowley said. “Our run wasn't going to last forever.”