Short Story:Will Brown secures his 300th victory at UAlbany as Ahmad Clark leads the Great Danes in victory over Niagara, 84-80.

Key Stats

• Will Brown has won 300 games at UAlbany
• Cameron Healy has hit a three in 44-straight games
• Trey Hutcheson finished with a career-high 18 points
• UAlbany outrebounded Niagara 15-11 in the first half
• Niagara outscored UAlbany 13-2 off the bench in the first half
• UAlbany outscored Niagara 55-40 in the second half
• The teams combined to shoot 26-29 from the line in the second half
• UAlbany shot 73.9% from the floor in the second half

Coach Brown: “I’m proud of our group.  It’s a long week with final exams.  We were really lethargic and out of sync in the first half, and Niagara played well.  Our energy was terrific in the second half.  We settled down and kept things simple offensively, and we got a couple of stops.  It was a good team win.  I’m happy for the guys, and it’s a good win for us.”

On 300: “My first couple of years here we took a lot of losses, because we were trying to build a Division I program.  It’s nice to win 300 games, and I’ve been fortunate because I’ve had some really good players, and I’ve had some really good coaches.  It’s nice that I have some coaches that played for me and helped me along the way.  I’ve had a very supportive administration, both athletically and across campus.  Everybody that’s a part of our program is invested in what we do, so anytime you have something happen that’s positive, there are a lot of people that are involved.  It’s not Coach Brown.  I haven’t scored a point.  I’m just trying to win games, help our guys and this program get better.  I’m very fortunate.  And I need to thank my family, because they are the ones who keep me sane and support me more than anyone.”

Recap

In the final home game of 2019, the University at Albany men’s team defeated Niagara 84-80, securing head coach Will Brown‘s 300th victory as coach of the Great Danes in his 19th season.  The Great Danes climb back to .500 on the season with the victory, and end a three-game slide.

Niagara hit a three with 16:43 left in the first to take their first lead of the game, 5-4.  UAlbany answered right back on the other end with a layup from Brent Hank to go back on top.  Trey Hutcheson followed up with a three-pointer to put the Danes up four.

With 15:11 left in the first, Cameron Healy hit his first three-pointer of the game, extending his made threes streak to 44 games.

The Great Danes opened up a seven-point lead after a quick 5-0 run from Healy and Ahmad Clark with just over 13 minutes remaining in the half.  Niagara broke the run with a three pointer from the top left corner to cut the Danes’ lead to 17-14 on the next possession.  A pair of free throws with 12:40 to go cut UAlbany’s lead further to one.

The Purple Eagles retook the lead with a driving layup with 11:00 remaining, building their scoring run to 7-0.  Hutcheson drew a foul with 9:55 do go and hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 18 and end Niagara’s run.

Clark scored four straight points to put UAlbany up 22-18 with 8:33 remaining, while the Great Dane defense had held Niagara scoreless for nearly two-and-a-half minutes. 

Niagara went back up by one with 6:27 left in the first with a pull-up jumper from the right side.  The Purple Eagles used another 7-0 run to take a four-point lead with four-and-a-half minutes remaining. 

Niagara’s run extended as far as 9-0 before UAlbany scored again, when Kendall Lauderdale hit a jumper to cut the Danes’ deficit back to four.

Niagara’s third 7-0 run of the first half put the Purple Eagles up 11 within the final minute before halftime.  The Purple Eagles ended up scoring the final seven points of the first half, holding the Danes scoreless for the final 2:43.  Clark led UAlbany with 11 points on 4-6 shooting in the first, but Niagara shot 53.6% from the floor and outscored UAlbany 13-2 off the bench and 8-2 in transition.

Healy hit a three immediately out of halftime to cut UAlbany’s deficit to eight.  With 16:02 to go, Clark drew a foul on a driving layup and hit the free throw to bring the Danes within five.  Malachi de Sousa converted his own three-point play with 14:46 to go to bring UAlbany within two.

Clark tied the game at 48 with 13:52 remaining following a pair of free throws.  UAlbany had outscored Niagara 19-8 since the start of the second half.  Two possessions later, Clark gave UAlbany the lead with a transition layup, 52-50, with 12:33 to go, prompting a Niagara timeout.

Following the timeout, Niagara hit a three to go back up by one, and then by three after a transition layup.  Clark next tied the game at 55 with a step-back three-pointer.  Clark had scored five of UAlbany’s last seven points.

Niagara scored five straight to go up 60-55 before UAlbany quickly tied the game at 60 following a layup from Clark and a three from Hutcheson.  Niagara hit two free throws to go up two before Lauderdale hit a jumper to tie the game at 62.

Healy hit two free throws to put UAlbany on top 66-64.  The teams continued to trade baskets until Hutcheson hit a dagger three with 1:44 to go to put UAlbany up 76-73.  After three more free throws, UAlbany led 79-73 with 59.4 seconds remaining.

The Great Danes went on to win by a final score of 84-80, having put up 55 in the second half on 73.9% shooting.  Clark finished with a game-high 26 points and eight assists, leading four Great Danes in double-figures, including Hutcheson who scored a career-best 18.

https://ualbanysports.com/news/2019/12/14/mens-basketball-coach-brown-claims-300th-victory-at-ualbany-vs-niagara.aspx