Albany Men's Basketball Defeats Wagner, 66-63

ALBANY, N.Y. - Having fought off a stomach bug for the past two days, senior guard Mike Black gritted his teeth and scored a team-high 19 points to lead UAlbany past Wagner, 66-63, on Monday, Nov. 26 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes 5-2 start matches their best start in Division I history. The only other time UAlbany has started 5-2 in the first seven games was during the 2008-09 season.

"It was a gutsy performance", said head coach Will Brown on the three-point victory over Wagner. "Hopefully our guys can get some rest with the day off tomorrow. I think this was a tough stretch for us and I think our guys were excited to play in this building (SEFCU Arena) and get the win."

UAlbany (5-2) had three players in double-figures, with Black leading the way with 19 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Fifth-year senior guard Jacob Iati scored 14 points and extended his consecutive games with a made three, going 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Senior center Blake Metcalf tallied his second double-digit scoring game this season with 12 points and six rebounds.

Wagner (1-3) senior guard Jonathon Williams scored a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds, shooting 10-for-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Teammates Dwaun Anderson and Eric Fanning combined for 16 points and five rebounds.

With a nine-point leading at the half, UAlbany looked to extend the lead early in the second half. The Great Danes started off with a 10-4 run through the first 4:28 of the second half for the game's largest lead of 15, 46-31. Redshirt-freshman Peter Hooley capped the run with his only three-pointer of the game from the far corner.
UAlbany kept the lead in double digits until the final three minutes of the game, as Wagner looked for a final push for its second win of the season.

A layup and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line by the Seahawk's Williams was able to bring the game down to four, 65-61, with 48 seconds remaining. A turnover by Sam Rowley in the UAlbany offensive zone gave way to a William's layup to put Wagner within two, 65-63, with 34 seconds remaining.

However, Iati handled the ball past half court and was fouled to hit one free-throw to ice the game and give UAlbany its fifth win of the season.

The Great Danes came right out of the gate with an 9-2 run to start the game with 15:42 remaining in the first. Black opened with the game's first three then was followed with a bang-bang play from John Puk to Metcalf for the layup.

The Seahawks responded with 16-8 run to grab their first lead of the game, 18-17, with 7:09 remaining. Williams paced Wagner with eight of his game-high 24 during the stretch.

Both teams traded buckets for the next three minutes until UAlbany sparked a 12-3 run to end the half with a nine-point lead, 36-27. Hooley helped the run with five points and two assists.