ualbany mbb MBB Game 30/Conference 15 vs. Maine Black Bears, Broadview Center, Albany, NY, Saturday, March 2, 2024. 4:00 PM

[cwdickens]

Mar 2 (Sat) 4:00 PM

AE

vs 

Maine

Senior Day

Albany, N.Y. Broadview Center

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[cwdickens]

Two game winning streak would be nice going into the final game of the year...

ALBANY MEN’S BASKETBALL

 

UAlbany trio set for Senior Day

 

By Pete Dougherty

Stephen Weaver/Times Union archive

UAlbany’s Will Amica, a 6-foot-2 guard and Syracuse native, will be honored on Saturday before the game against Maine on Senior Day.

ALBANY — Three players will be honored, two for a second time. The third will be recognized for a first time on Senior Day, which traditionally celebrates a basketball player’s final career home game, although Will Amica hopes to keep playing, preferably for the University at Albany.

Such is the climate after COVID-19 and transfer portals disrupted college basketball conventions.

UAlbany (13-16 overall, 5-9 America East) closes its home schedule Saturday afternoon against Maine. Before the 4 p.m. tipoff, Amica will join graduate transfers Tyler Bertram and Marcus Filien in a ceremony commemorating their Division I careers.

For Amica, a Syracuse native recruited four years ago by former coach Will Brown, it may be a tribute, but not necessarily the final one.

“Even though it’s my first full year playing, it’s still cool to be honored,” Amica said. “I’m a senior. It’s a big accomplishment that I’m the first man in my family to graduate college.”

Various injuries limited Amica, a 6-foot-2 guard, to10 games over his first three seasons. He was slowed further this season by hip and hamstring injuries, but he has played16 games. He is on schedule to receive an undergraduate degree in communications in May.

Because of the injuries and a COVID-19 exemption, Amica still has two years of eligibility.

“I want to come back here,” he said. “I do.”

“His health has been hard for him over his college basketball career,” UAlbany coach Dwayne Killings said. “It’s a huge statement to graduate college, and we said to Will, hey, let’s celebrate that. Let’s get through the year, and then figure out where he’s at and let him reset himself.”

Bertram, a Cooperstown native, has had one of the more traveled careers in college basketball. UAlbany is his fourth school, following Charlotte, Binghamton and Alabama-Birmingham.

Heading into Saturday, he has played 101 career games, 41 starts, under five head coaches.

“I loved coming here for my last year,” said Bertram, a 6-3 guard who was not honored on Senior Day at UAB but was two years ago at Binghamton. “The fans were awesome, and being able to play close to my home, it was nice. They all got to come and watch me play a lot of games. Being able to do that for my last year of eligibility was just amazing. I loved it here.”

“Tyler’s been a super positive kid to have around,” Killings said. “He’s an elite shooter. When he’s shooting the ball, especially in our home games, he’s an easy guy to cheer for. He’s got the 3-point goggles thing that he does that my kid (6-year-old Tristan) does now. He’s been good for us. He’s helped us win some games, and the experience level that he’s had — being at Charlotte, Binghamton, UAB and now here — he’s been good for some of these younger guys.”

All of the players said it will be an emotional day, but perhaps none more than Fi-lien, a 6-7 forward from Rensselaer who played at Albany Academy. His late father, Pat, was a UAlbany assistant from 2005 to 2011, and Marcus spent much of his childhood hanging around campus. Pat Filien died in 2021.

“Marcus has been great because he’s been a professional about it,” Killings said. “He’s never late. He’s always here. He appreciates it. At the end of the day, he’s playing to honor his father, which is a huge thing for he and his family.”

Filien was recognized as a graduating senior last year at Cornell, where he spent four years as a student and three as a player. He came to UAlbany as a walk-on but was awarded a scholarship in January. Because of Jonathan Beagle’s departure from the program, Filien has started the past seven games and 12 overall.

“Senior Night’s always special, especially being here, with family history and having been here in the stands on Senior Night when I was 5, 6, 7 years old,” Filien said. “It’ll be emotional for my mom (Tiffani), seeing championships being won when I was just a little kid running around the locker rooms and stuff, and now I’m 23 years old, having a Senior Day here. It’ll be really cool.”

MAINE AT UALBANY

When: 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Broadview Center, Albany

TV/Radio: ESPN+ (streaming), WTMM 104.5 FM

[nysteve661]

I'm tired of banging my head 🤕🤕 against the wall with this team. Jekyll and Hyde.  Last game vs UNH, Marshall, Thomas, and Bertram scored 57 points.  Today in 1st half, they have totalled 6 pts.  Night and day and we are at home vs a very mediocre Maine squad.  

[UA1882]

We are such a small team now I don't understand why they continue to hedge on the high ball screen.  JUST SWITCH. 

They are a terrible defensive team.  Switching will slove a lot of those problems.  

[UA1882]

Good try..... unfortunately need a coaching change. 

[jimbo]

0 for Saturday. WBB, MBB, MLAX. Waste of time…………….

 

[nysteve661]

Nice that Thomas helped bring the team back but two ill-advised threes by him is typical of his frustrating decisions.  A loss to Bryant means UVM in 1st round.  Season over.  Love to move on to Lax, but they are winless.  

Edited March 2 by nysteve661

[alum73]

4 hours ago, jimbo said:

0 for Saturday. WBB, MBB, MLAX. Waste of time…………….

 

Women's lax won.

[jimbo]

9 hours ago, alum73 said:

Women's lax won.

Nice. Unfortunately I’d rather watch paint dry than WLAX. If they let them play by men’s rules I could maybe get into it. 

[cwdickens]

13 hours ago, jimbo said:

Nice. Unfortunately I’d rather watch paint dry than WLAX. If they let them play by men’s rules I could maybe get into it. 

A very sad commentary, a worse type of disrespect to the Women LAX athletes and their coaches.  Further, if not worse, a great disrespect to the families, who allow their daughters to come here and grace us with their presence.

[cwdickens]

On 3/2/2024 at 6:26 PM, jimbo said:

0 for Saturday. WBB, MBB, MLAX. Waste of time…………….

 

 

22 hours ago, alum73 said:

Women's lax won.

Softball went 2-0 on Saturday.

Edited March 4 by cwdickens

[cwdickens]

On 3/2/2024 at 4:56 PM, nysteve661 said:

I'm tired of banging my head 🤕🤕 against the wall with this team. Jekyll and Hyde.  Last game vs UNH, Marshall, Thomas, and Bertram scored 57 points.  Today in 1st half, they have totalled 6 pts.  Night and day and we are at home vs a very mediocre Maine squad.  

Prior, to yesterday, in the last 12 games, 3 wins and 9 losses.  Did you just now realize Jekyll shows up more than not? 

[godanesgo99]

22 hours ago, cwdickens said:

A very sad commentary, a worse type of disrespect to the Women LAX athletes and their coaches.  Further, if not worse, a great disrespect to the families, who allow their daughters to come here and grace us with their presence.

LMAO. It's not disrespect to state you don't enjoy watching a sport or like the rules the way they are in a version of a sport. I hope our Men's and Woman's soccer teams do well, win, and help develop student athletes so that they are successful in life after college - but I'd rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central station with my tongue then watch one minute of a soccer game. 

https://youtu.be/yWhpk-8QLFQ?si=8WQDNpx5Q-LEoIMw

Edited March 5 by godanesgo99

[jimbo]

20 hours ago, cwdickens said:

A very sad commentary, a worse type of disrespect to the Women LAX athletes and their coaches.  Further, if not worse, a great disrespect to the families, who allow their daughters to come here and grace us with their presence.

Aw, CW….pushed the wrong buttons? For the record, I hope every single UA team plays great and wins championships. That doesn’t mean I like to WATCH it. I don’t watch MLB either….or the NHL or the NBA. So what?? It’s my choice. And just to show you I’m not a totally bad guy, I will watch soccer….especially women’s…unlike 99. I must admit though that you can spend two plus hours watching soccer, get up to use the loo and come back to find out that the only score of the game happened while you were indisposed. Bugs the hell out of me but that’s the way it is. So take a chill pill….I guarantee you that if their daughters were not playing WLAX the parents would not be watching it either.

[cwdickens]

18 hours ago, jimbo said:

Aw, CW….pushed the wrong buttons? For the record, I hope every single UA team plays great and wins championships. That doesn’t mean I like to WATCH it. I don’t watch MLB either….or the NHL or the NBA. So what?? It’s my choice. And just to show you I’m not a totally bad guy, I will watch soccer….especially women’s…unlike 99. I must admit though that you can spend two plus hours watching soccer, get up to use the loo and come back to find out that the only score of the game happened while you were indisposed. Bugs the hell out of me but that’s the way it is. So take a chill pill….I guarantee you that if their daughters were not playing WLAX the parents would not be watching it either.

Well, here is your chance to watch UAlbany WSOC @ Siena on April 6, 2024, at 6:00 PM, the women's first spring match on the pitch!  Alumni Game on April 6, 2024, at 1:00 PM and Syracuse at Casey Stadium, April 13. 2024 at 5:00 PM.