Game stories from TU + Troy Record

[Dane Pound]

Great Danes can't toe the line: Fatigued UAlbany's errant free-throw shooting is costly -From the Troy Record.

Lack of depth foils UAlbany -From TU.

 

From UA website:

 

MEN'S BASKETBALL BEATEN BY UMBC, 67-62, IN AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE OPENER

 

Albany, N.Y. – Rob Gogerty and Kareem Washington each scored 18 points to lead Maryland-Baltimore County to a 67-62 victory over Albany in the America East Conference opener for both teams on Friday, Jan. 2 at the Recreation and Convocation Center.

 

Albany (2-8, AE 0-1) trailed by as much as seven points on four occasions in the second half, but rallied to take a 51-50 lead with 5:18 remaining on Courtney Johnson’s layup after a steal. UMBC (4-6, AE 1-0) went back ahead for good with five consecutive points. Washington’s 18-foot jumper, following an offensive rebound, gave his club a 53-51 lead.

 

The Great Danes were still in the hunt with 3:02 remaining, when Jerrad Knotts, who had a career-high 12 points, made a pair of free throws to slice the deficit to 57-56. But UMBC pulled away with six unanswered points. Washington, who came off the bench to score a season-high total, sank two foul shots and then converted a driving layup after an Albany turnover. Gogerty, a 6-foot-1 senior who had 11 second-half points, buried two free throws for a 63-56 cushion with 29.9 seconds left.

 

The Great Danes, who have lost five of their last six games, leaped to a 20-13 lead over the opening 12 minutes. Sophomore forward Levi Levine had 13 of his game-high 22 points before halftime to help build the margin.

 

However, UMBC regrouped before the break by shooting 54.5 percent in the period. Jerrell Dinkins gave his team its first lead at 27-26 on two foul shots with 2:31 to play in the period. The Retrievers, who were making their America East debut after competing in the Northeast Conference the previous six years, would later move out to a 39-32 advantage early in the final stanza.

 

"They caused some matchup problems upfront and their guards made some shots down the stretch," Albany coach Will Brown commented. "We have to have the mind set that we are not a good offensive team with not many options. We have to rely on defense and rebounding."

 

UMBC’s Cory McJimson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, recorded 10 points and 12 rebounds from his sixth-man role, as his team ended a three-game losing streak. Albany’s Aquawasi St. Hillaire had 10 points and seven rebounds.

 

"The missed free throws definitely hurt us," said Knotts, whose team made 15 of 26 from the line and missed several critical free throw attempts in the second half. "If we had shot our normal percentage it would have made a difference. The mental mistakes and turnovers were key. We’ve have to keep our heads up; we have a lot of games left."

Edited January 3, 2004 by Dane Pound