Danes look to rebound from blowout
Ualbany meets Maine a week after getting trounced by Vermont
It isn’t uncharted waters for the University at Albany men’s basketball team.
Coming off a 29-point home loss last Saturday to Vermont, the Great Danes need to look back only to last month for a similar scenario. Ualbany lost by 30 points Dec. 18 at Providence and rebounded two nights later with a home victory over a struggling Manhattan team.
The Danes (5-11, 0-1 league) have had nearly a week to absorb the impact of their 80-51 thumping against America East favorite Vermont in the conference opener. Maine (2-15, 0-2), which has only one victory over a Division I opponent, will visit SEFCU Arena for a Saturday afternoon matchup.
“We didn’t like the outcome of the Vermont game,” coach Will Brown said Friday, “but it’s not like we lost that game and get credit for four losses. It’s one game, which we lost. We have to
learn from it.”
Ualbany was outmatched from the start against Vermont, which beat Maine 73-49 Wednesday night at Bangor. The Danes trailed 20-2 at the start, and the Catamounts never lost control.
“There’s a rise in intensity (compared) to the nonconference schedule,” said forward Adam Lulka, one of four freshmen to start for the Danes. “Teams are now competing to play in the America East championship and for a title. Every game is more valuable.”
“We played the rest of the game on our heels, like a deer in headlights,” Brown said. “I don’t know why. Maybe inexperience, not realizing the magnitude of conference play, and more important the magnitude of the Albany and Vermont rivalry and the competitiveness of the games. It was a good lesson for our team, especially our young guys, and that’s something that we’ll learn from.”
Maine, according to Brown, may have the biggest team in the America East. The Black Bears, who haven’t won in Albany since 2011, likely will start five players between 6-foot-4 and 6-8.
Brown isn’t sure if he will have Brent Hank, a 6-10 freshman starter at center, available. Hank rolled his ankle at Thursday’s practice in a collision with teammate Kendall Lauderdale. Lulka, a 6-8 forward, has practiced with a wrap on his injured hand but is expected to play.
Whether any of that affects the Danes’ playing rotation may depend on the flow of the game.
“Basketball’s a game of matchups,” said Brown, who has used four perimeter players more often in recent games. “Sometimes being undersized can hurt you, sometimes it can be advantageous for you.
“It’s a matter of the lineup they have on the floor. Can they hurt us on the glass? Can they hurt us on the interior with it? How can we expose them on the other end the floor? It’s more about matchups and situations. It’s a matter of how we do it, when we do it and for how long.” Notes: Ualbany officially announced Friday the appointment of former player Greig Stire as video coordinator. Stire, a CBA graduate, averaged 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 132 career games for the Danes . ... This is the second of three Kids Days, where fans 12 and under are admitted for $3. There will be an autograph session after the game.