3 hours ago, Clickclack said:

Beagle is one of if not the worst defenders on the team. This team would be far better with a bruising, defensive, rebounding 5 and Beagle moving to the 4 where he can score and pass. He's a complete zero on the defensive end. 

I could not agree more, however, the rest of the team is not far behind.

On 1/13/2024 at 7:28 PM, UAalum72 said:

Of course there will be many more concession areas around the concourse for men’s games when the students are back. Won’t help the selection/ quality though

There seems to be less concessions as the season progresses, I would use the term concessions lightly, if at all.

Inside Lacrosse has D3 transfer as a impact player on our team:

Chris Crapanzano, M, Scranton to UAlbany
Crapanzano feels like an Albany guy in the way he does everything. He can take face-offs or help out on the wing. His ability to play both ends and get up and down the field to create instant offense fits the Danes’ M.O. He has a box background, too. Coach Scott Marr isn’t afraid to run a lot of guys, so he will get time and make an impact in every phase.

I see this game as the only possible win out of this three game road trip into New England.

Saturday, January 20, 2024 Men's BasketballAwayHomeResultLocationLinks

New Hampshire64

UMBC58

Baltimore County, MD (Conf.)Box Score Full Game Archive

UMass Lowell80

Binghamton60

Vestal, NY (Conf.)Box Score

Maine70

NJIT64

Newark, NJ (Conf.)Box Score

Bryant98

UAlbany89

Albany, NY (Conf.)Box Score Full Game Archive

Our coach has preached mentality from his team, as fans in the stands and those who need to watch a stream of the games, we must demand accountability from Killings. A 32-8 run by the opposing team is unacceptable and no matter how much "better" UAlbany MBB played, could not overcome that start.  Only the misplaced egos and stupidity of Bryant allow us to close the gap.

From my vantage point, I see no progression in Killings game plans or coaching skills.

At least, the UAlbany WBB knows how to finish a game and win.

Inside Lacrosse's "One Sentence" for each America East WLAX team:

• UAlbany
  The Great Danes are coming off their first conference championship since 2012 and an NCAA First Round win, and Katie Pascale returns after securing the title of UAlbany's all-time leader in points leader.
• Binghamton
  Coming off the program’s best conference record (5-1), most overall wins (11) and most consecutive wins (7), the Bearcats are back with Hayley Weltner to show her stuff at the draw (102) again.
• Bryant
  Coach Eileen Ferry takes over a competitive Bulldog squad that returns points leader Kenna Kaut, who ranked fourth nationally in goals per game with 3.86, has back-to-back 50-goal seasons and was NEC Offensive Player of the Year.
• New Hampshire
  The Wildcats return their second-leading scorer, Allie Connerty, as they aim to make moves up the America East ranks in 2023.
• UMass Lowell 
  The River Hawks will look to improve upon its winless conference season last spring under the leadership of five captains: grad students Caroline Klim, Julia Napolitano, seniors Megan Brockbank and Emerson Laundry and junior Elsa Skinner.
• UMBC
  Coming off an 8-6 record in 2023, Amy Slade enters her 11th season as the Retrievers' head coach and she has a strong goalie as a steadying force in Isabella Fontana.
• Vermont
  America East Co-Attacker of the Year Ava Vasile returns for her final season with the Catamounts; she’s among the most decorated athletes at UVM, with three first-team all-conference honors to her name and 162 career goals.

This suburban school district, outside of Rochester, has provide UAlbany, numerous quality athletes over the years.  Hoping for the same here.  Thanks, Sam for choosing UAlbany.

The other MBB scores in the America East:

Thursday, January 18, 2024 Men's Basketball

	Away	Home	Result	Location	Links
	Vermont82	Binghamton62	Final	Vestal, NY (Conf.)	Box Score
	New Hampshire70	NJIT62	Final	Newark, NJ (Conf.)	Box Score
	Maine65	UMBC70	Final	Baltimore, MD (Conf.)	Box Score Full Game Archive
	UMass Lowell97	UAlbany76	Final	Albany, NY (Conf.)	Box Score Full Game Archive

8 hours ago, McFan said:

Bizarre stat of the night.  Beagle w zero fouls.  

Considering how Jonothan played defense last night, no surprise.  During the preseason, much discussion by Killings on the importance of defense.  Last night, our defense never left the locker room.  There was little or no weak side defense. 

The Inside Lacrosse view on the America East:

America East

Storyline: No Dominance
UAlbany dominated the America East in the 2010s, winning five of six tournaments. (The other was Hartford in a wild AE weekend.) It felt like Vermont took the reins of the dominant force, winning back-to-back championships post-COVID, as well as last year’s regular season. Last season, Bryant won the conference championship, beating UAlbany.

There is no “dominant” team in the America East right now, which means a stretch of awesome lacrosse. The league’s preseason poll actually gave first-place votes to three different teams (Bryant, UAlbany, Vermont), but would you be surprised about UMBC or Binghamton winning it?

Winner: Bryant
It’s hard to pick against veteran leadership, and the Bulldogs have it. They have their five leading scorers back, and entire attack, the Hackett brothers and tons of seniors and grad students. Add in the familiarity with Year 2 of the staff, and that’s just a recipe for success. I wrote up UAlbany as an under-the-radar team, and there is something brewing that you saw the last quarter of 2023 and into the postseason. Expect the Danes to make it difficult, and don’t expect the winner of this conference to go wire to wire undefeated.

Wildcard: Merrimack’s Status
Merrimack is now eligible for postseason play. While I outlined the top teams above, think of this scenario: The Warriors play UAlbany and Bryant to end the season, and they are in the mix for a top-four spot. I could imagine them willing their way into the playoffs with an upset win over a top team (not unlike how they finished last season).

I wonder if we are scrimmaging $iena in February....

Final: Great Danes 65 - Riverhawks 49

48 minutes ago, McFan said:

Will be a good test for the team tonight.  We'll know a little more coming out of this one.

I think we will know a lot more about UAlbany MBB team, their mentality, their heart and soul.  For UMass-Lowell, as an important of a game on the road as they come.

From Inside Lacrosse, one line about each America East MLAX Team:

• UAlbany
  With Jake Piseno creating chaos and some swag back on offense, UAlbany can be America East title contenders again with a little bit stronger goaltending.
• Binghamton
  A team whose success has flown under the radar until they can get over the league championship hump, they’ve got the ingredients in lefty Matthew Keegan, Liam Ferris and big goalie Connor Winters.
• Bryant
  Few teams are as veteran-laden as Bryant with 24 grad students and seniors, which means the entire attack is back (grad student Kevin Groeninger, senior Aidan Goltz and sophomore Jack Lonsinger) plus the exciting Hackett brothers at midfield and a guy who will get them the ball a lot in Nathan Laliberte.
• Merrimack
  The Warriors are out of purgatory, so they can qualify for the America East Tournament; they showed that potential last year with a 3-0 start.
• NJIT
  With 19 seniors, the Highlanders’ veteran group has shared a lot of minutes and adversity together, so they want to turn the corner after going 3-10 in Eric Wolf's first season (on the heels of going 0-13 the year prior).
• UMass Lowell
  A youthful group has 23 newcomers and 16 returners, with Khairi Sears the best known offensive player after shining with Jamaica this summer.
• UMBC
  It’s an expectation that UMBC will be well-coached and defensively sound, and with returners like Ethan Robinson, there is no reason to think otherwise.
• Vermont
  Now in his eighth year as head coach, Chris Feifs’ foundation is strong with Brock Haley, Jonas Hunter returning looking to get past the America East Semifinals — a finish that might satisfy other programs, but not good enough for the Catamounts.

UAlbany Picked To Defend #AEWLAX Title

I am not taking much stock in this coach's poll:

Bryant Selected First in 2024 #AEMLAX Preseason Poll

Let the Spring practices begin, even if the snow is falling:

Pictures posted on Instagram account:

❄️❄️ #bethebest

1 hour ago, GreatDanes06 said:

Not gonna lie, I have no clue who will win this conference. This season may have one of the best competitions for the title in a really long time. Vermont isn't gonna cake walk to anything this year.

By next Saturday, we may have a better idea how competitive our team will be in the America East, UMass-Lowell and Bryant this week.  Two wins will give us an edge when we hit the road for Maine, New Hampshire and finally Vermont.

Standings .... some teams already  games back ....