UAlbany Falls to Colgate

ALBANY, N.Y. – Junior forward Sam Rowley recorded his sixth career double-double (21 points, 11 rebounds), and his second this season, but it wasn’t enough for UAlbany (5-5), as they fell 69-60 to Colgate (5-4) at SEFCU Arena on Saturday night.  

Colgate got out to an early 10-point lead on two 3-pointers and two jumpers in the first three minutes. The Raiders came into the game making 11.6 threes per game, and left SEFCU Arena having made 13.
The Great Danes charged back with a 12-0 run of their own. A three from Peter Hooley gave UAlbany a 12-10 lead with 13:30 left in the first half. The Purple & Gold started the game 1-for-6 from the field, but went 6-for-8 heading into the second media timeout. DJ Evans scored nine points early on 3-for-4 shooting from the field, one made three and two made free throws.

Both teams shot well in the first half, and eight fouls between the teams kept the pace of the game moving. Gary Johnson went in for the flush off a steal at half court to give UAlbany a 36-34 lead to end the period. The Great Danes entered the locker room with a lead, after fouling four times on Colgate’s final possession to keep the Raiders from getting into a rhythm. Rowley had 12 points and five boards at the break.

UAlbany only committed two turnovers in the first half, and the Raiders did not attempt a free throw.
Colgate’s Austin Tillotson exploded for 14 points in the second half, going 3-for-3 from three-point range and 5-for-5 from the field. He made a three to open the second half and give Colgate the lead.

The Raiders opened the second half going just 3-for-11 from the field in the first seven minutes, but UAlbany went on a nearly-five minute scoring drought mid-way through the second 20 minutes of play.

The Great Danes showed some life after Colgate center Ethan Jacobs picked up his fourth foul with 7:18 to play. Johnson and Rowley went in for easy baskets to narrow the lead to three, 57-54.

But Colgate surged back to hit four-straight threes in two minutes. The Raiders finally got to the line in the final minute of the game, going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe to put the game out of reach.


“It’s all about match-ups,” said head coach Will Brown. “They’re a tough match-up for us. They have three or four guys on the floor at a time that could shoot the three, and that really bothered us. It spread us out and we didn’t communicate.”

“There was a 10-minute period in the second half where we just had too many breakdowns,” said Rowley. We knew they were a good shooting team, and especially for that 10-minute period, we let them shoot.”
Rowley led UAlbany with 21 points and 11 rebounds, matching a career-high in points. It was his second-straight 20-point game and his third of the season.

Starting center John Puk had 10 rebounds, recording his first double-digit rebounding effort since bringing down a career-high 11 boards against Hartford on Jan. 2, 2012.

Johnson went 6-for-8 from the field on his way to 14 points. The senior had 10 points or more for the second-straight game and for the fifth time this season. He also had four assists.

The Purple & Gold committed a season-low six turnovers. The UAlbany Division I program single-game record for fewest turnovers is five, set against Maryland on Dec. 28, 2011.

The Great Danes return to SEFCU Arena to face Yale on Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.