Bryant @ Albany

[Zalman B]

Not to step on any one's toes, but this game is tomorrow and I'd like to have this one under our belt before looking forward to $iena so I made this thread.

 

Although it might not be fair to day the Danes "eked" ( )out a win @ Bryant, at the very least we didn't put together a full 40 minutes of good basketball.

 

Since that opening game, Bryant has gone 1-2, picking up their first win at home against what seems to be a decent Quinnipiac squad (3-2 overall, 2-1 va AE; beat Maine & Hartford, lost to UMBC).

 

Cecil Gresham, held to only 12 points vs Albany, has been on a tear since, going for 25, 21, and 19 points the last three games and hitting 15-for-25 from 3-point land over that stretch.

 

Still small across the front line, Bryant's leading rebounders are 6'5" Andrew Lyell (5.8 rpg) and 6'4" Barry Latham (4.5 rpg). Since a huge game of 20 points and 11 boards in game 1 vs Albany, Latham has been held in check, both scoring and on the boards, going for only 15 points and 7 boards in his last 3 games combined.

 

Realtime RPI now has Bryant at 155; Albany is at 53.

Pomeroy has Bryant ranked 260; Albany ranked 114.

 

We should come away with a win, but with the Albany Cup looming next weekend, we have to be careful not to overlook a Bryant team that would love nothing more than to strip away the momentum we've built so far this season.

[Zalman B]

Preview from Bryant.

 

BRYANT LOOKS FOR REVENGE AGAINST ALBANY; TRAVEL TO PLAY GREAT DANES MONDAY NIGHT

 

UPDATE

The Bulldogs fell 88-58, to second ranked UConn on Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut. Cecil Gresham led the way with a game-high 19 points on six three-pointers. Bryant shot 44 percent (11-25) from behind the arc against the Huskies. Andrew Lyell added five points, five rebounds and five assists while playing in a game and career-high 38 minutes. Senior forward Ryan McLean provided a second half spark as he put in a season-high 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the second half. UConn used a balance attack that included five players finishing in double figures, led by 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet who posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Huskies used a big size advantage to outrebound the Bulldogs 48-27 in the contest.

 

University at Albany

The Great Danes have ripped off four-straight wins including a 76-67 win over Bryant in Smithfield on November 19th. Led by a career-high 23 points from freshman guard Anthony Raffa, Albany knocked-off Penn, 73-63 at the SEFCU Center on Saturday night. During their four game win-streak, the Great Danes have also knocked-off Central Connecticut and Columbia after starting of the season with back-to-back losses to two Big East squads in Villanova and DePaul. Tim Ambrose leads the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game while Will Harris has done the work on the boards with a team-leading 5.5 per game.

 

BRYANT AND ALBANY

The Bulldogs and Great Danes met earlier this season at the Chace Center with Albany taking the contest by a final of 76-67. Tim Ambrose had a game-high 24 points to go along with eight rebounds. Sophomore Barry Latham was the high man for Bryant posting a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. The Bulldogs took an early edge over the visiting Great Danes, 5-2 and went up 9-4 after junior Nick Pontes got the ball on the right side of the net, downing a jumper with pressure all the way around. Albany's Scotty McRae tied the contest early when he hit a lay-up knotting the score at 9-9. McRae's basket was part of a 7-0 Great Dane run that saw the visitors take an 11-9 advantage. The Bulldogs would lose even more ground to open the second half, giving up 9-2 run thanks to 1-for-8 shooting from the floor for a 21-point Albany lead just four minutes into the frame. Freshman Sam Leclerc made it 48-30 with the first bucket of his Bryant career - a three-pointer at the 14:54 mark of the second half - while a Latham trey at 12:24 cut what was a 23-point Albany lead to a 52-34 tally. Peter Lambert also chipped in from beyond the arc, cutting Bryant's deficit to 15 with a three with 11:03 left on the clock. Another three from junior Chris Birrell got the Bulldogs within single digits, 70-61, with 1:20 left to play, and Latham kept them there with a dunk off a great Birrell feed with just 13 seconds left, 76-67. But that was where the scoring would end, as the Bulldogs fell to a 76-67 final.

 

ON THE REBOUND

The Bulldogs have been outrebounded in each of their first three contests including surrendering offensive rebounds. Bryant allowed a season-high 17 offensive boards to UConn, while allowing 24 second-chance points.

 

GRESHAM SHOWS HOT HAND

Junior forward Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) has averaged 21.7 points per game over the last three games while going 15-25 from three-point range (60 percent). He has recorded double-figures in each of the team's first four contests. The junior grabbed All-Tournament accolades at the Columbia Classic for his 23 points per game effort.

 

LYELL EARNS A START

Senior forward Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Portsmouth) earned his second career start against Quinnipiac last Saturday. Lyell scored eight points, including a three to ice the game with 30 seconds left as the shot clock expired. The senior was solid against UConn picking up five points, five rebounds and five assists. He leads the team averaging 5.8 ebounds per game.

[Clickclack]

I'm at the game, its halftime. Very uninspired basketball!

[jimmyp]

I'm at the game, its halftime. Very uninspired basketball!

stuck at work... what's the score?

[Clickclack]

41-26 with 11 to go.

[Clickclack]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............

[B9j2j6s]

U said it kind of glad DZ isn't working

[UAalum72]

Let's hope it was playing down to the comp. Plus, when they play 40 minutes of zone, it's gonna look ugly if the jump shots don't fall. And the excruciating series of trips to the foul line in the last five minutes.

UAlbany survives its tuneup - Singelais

Nothing pretty except a victory - McGuire

 

"I thought we were shooting on carnival rims," Brown said. "I was waiting for that first basket, when it went through, for somebody to run out and give us a stuffed animal."

 

Danes' victory is no beauty - Gazette

 

Next: "We’ve got seven guys on this team who have never heard of Siena.”

[Clickclack]

This might have been the single most boring game I've ever had the privileged to sit through at Albany. Freaking brutal....I'll take the win though.

[KingDane]

“Too much is made of this game,” said Brown. “Saturday can’t come quick enough. Nobody thinks we have a shot, but we’re better than people think we are. We’ve got seven guys on this team who have never heard of Siena.”

 

 

I hope Coach Brown is simply downplaying Saturdays' game as some kind of reverse psychological preparation. If its true that half the guys never heard of Siena I think that is somewhat sad. Cross town rivalries are exciting for everyone. A player should be familiar with the schedule and the historical significance of this game.

 

Did he question every member of the team to determine that exactly seven never heard of Siena? He should name the seven, I'll volunteer to have a talk with them.

[UA_MA_2000]

I'm at the game, its halftime. Very uninspired basketball!

 

It was kinda a boring game, probably because of the low scoring (i.e., poor shooting) and high number of fouls by both teams. But, we won, and that's what is most important.

 

I am impressed by all of the players for variable reasons, but as far as last night, I noticed Billy Allen's play. He seems like he knows what to do out there, and, physically, is a presence out there. Though the stats have him at 0 for 5 shooting last night, that figure is perhaps misleading because I recall him having several attempted tap-ins on the offensive end that didn't go in, so I wouldn't be too critical of that 0 for 5 statistic.

 

As a team, however, our shooting was certainly off. Raffa, Ambrose, and Brian C. were collectively 14 for 26, a figure we can live with, of course. The rest of the team, however, was a combined 4 for 30!!! If you factor out Barraza and Convington, who were 2 for 5 and 1 for 1, respectively, Harris, Hastings, Allen, McRae, Johnson, were 1 for 24. Yikes!!

 

What contributes to a poor-shooting night like last night? Fatigue would certainly do it. Having played high school and college hoops, I learned that much of one's jump shot (and free-throws) comes from your legs (For example, try to shoot a free throw with your knees locked -- most people won't shoot as well!). Getting fouled often, without fouls called, would also do it. Carnival rims or Sith Warriors using the "Force" to dissuade the ball's entry into the basket might also explain the horrible shooting.

 

Chalk it up as just one of those games?? :-/