Men’s Basketball Score: Vermont 72, UAlbany 67

Location: Albany, N.Y. – SEFCU Arena

Records: UAlbany (18-8, 6-5 AE), Vermont (20-5, 10-0 AE)

Short Story: The UAlbany men’s basketball team led for nearly 30 minutes but fell late to reigning America East champion Vermont 72-67 on Thursday night.

Key Stats:

• UAlbany: David Nichols had a team-high 17 points, adding six assists and five rebounds. Joe Cremo nearly had a double-double off 16 points and nine assists while Travis Charles shot 6-for-9 for 12 points.
• Vermont: Trae Bell-Haynes tallied up 20 points, five assists and four rebounds. Drew Urquhart finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
• UAlbany outrebounded Vermont 33-30 and shot 51.7% in the first half. Vermont won on the free throw line, going 20-for-20.

Key Situations:

• 16:15-14:55 1st half: UAlbany notches a 6-0 run off a Travis Charles jumper, a Devonte Campbell second chance 12-footer and a Joe Cremo runner for a 15-9 advantage.
• 13:48-7:48 1st half: UAlbany’s man-to-man defense held Vermont scoreless in a six minute span, leading to a 10-0 Great Danes run and a 25-11 advantage.
• 20:00-16:00 2nd half: Vermont begins the second half on a 15-6 streak, going 5-for-6 from the field, to tie the game at 41-41.
• 16:00-12:12 2nd half: Including back-to-back threes, Nichols scored eight points in a 14-4 push as UAlbany led 55-45.
• 10:24-6:28 2nd half: A 17-2 Vermont run, finished by eight points from the Duncan brothers, sends the Catamounts ahead 62-57.
• 2:38-0:00 2nd half: Greig Stire hit two free throws to put UAlbany ahead. After an exchange of possessions, a couple of Vermont free throws put UVM up with 1:40.  The Catamounts hit four more free throws late to win the game.

Quote: “Thought it was a good basketball game, our guys were ready to play with great energy and enthusiasm.  We put ourselves in a good position in the first half, but we spent too much time putting them on the free throw line in the second half.” – UAlbany head coach Will Brown

Recap: The UAlbany men’s basketball team played a thriller in front of over 3,600 at the SEFCU Arena against the defending America East champion, but fell late to Vermont 72-67.

The game began as an offensive clinic, with each side hitting its first three baskets, including two from Travis Charles.  UAlbany scored a fourth consecutive off a run from David Nichols, then after a tie score, Charles added another, Devonte Campbell scored a second chance jumper then Joe Cremo scored a one-hand runner for a 6-0 run, pushing UAlbany ahead 15-9 just over five minutes in.

UAlbany’s defense held Vermont without scoring for a span of six minutes as the man-to-man pressure held strong.  UAlbany built a 10-0 run in that span, capped by a fast break three from Cremo, to build its lead to 25-11 with 8:14 left in the 1st.

Later, Cremo’s third three off a timeout pushed UAlbany’s advantage to 17 at 30-13 with just over seven minutes left in the period.

Using primarily the fast break attack led by Trae Bell-Haynes, Vermont cut into the UAlbany lead with a 7-0 run.  Layups by Greig Stire stopped the Vermont streak, with Bell-Haynes scoring another layup with three seconds left in the half.  UAlbany led 35-26 at the break.

Vermont’s strong shooting continued into the start of the second period, with the Catamounts going 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line to tie the game at 41-41 at the opening media timeout of the 2nd.

UAlbany called a timeout and regrouped, attacking the paint.  Alex Foster and Cremo hit back-to-back layups to put UAlbany back in front, then Nichols hit a pair of shots from downtown in a span of 23 seconds to send the Great Danes up 51-43 with 14:05 left.  Later, Nichols free throw sent UAlbany up by 10 at 55-45.

The visitors used the free throw line off fast break attacks to chip away at the UAlbany lead.  The Duncan brothers scored eight points in a row to complete a 17-2 run and put Vermont in the lead 62-57 with 6:28 remaining.

UAlbany kept attacking the basket and Nichols, Cremo and Campbell helped chip away.  With 2:38 left, Stire knocked down two free throws to put UAlbany back in front 67-66.

Both sides traded a defensive possession, then Vermont went back up with two Payton Henson free throws.  UAlbany got a couple of good looks at the basket but could not convert.  UVM hit late free throws and took the win 72-67.

UAlbany will hit the road for its next three games, starting with a rematch against Hartford in Connecticut on Sunday, February 11th at 2 p.m.