TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) —
Score: FAU 73, UAlbany 56
Location: McDonough Sports Complex on the Campus of Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y.
Records: UAlbany (3-5, 0-0 America East) | FAU (5-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Short Story: The University at Albany men’s basketball team came roaring back in the second half against a tough Florida Atlantic team, but ultimately fell on Saturday afternoon, 56-73. The Great Danes trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half before rallying out of the locker room to tie the game midway through the second. A scoring drought in the late stages of the game led to a 12-0 FAU run, putting the Owls ahead for good. Sarju Patel enjoyed his best game with the Purple and Gold, dropping a game-high 23 points.
Head Coach Dwayne Killings: “I thought we got off to a very flat start to begin the game. It just wasn’t what we wanted… We got into a deep hole, but to the kids’ credit, we climbed back into the game and get it tied at the seven-minute mark. I think the thing that has haunted us the most this year has been execution… We made a mistake and really good teams will make you pay for it.”
Key Stat Lines
- Sarju Patel led all scorers with 23 points. He shot 8-11 from the field, 3-5 from three, and a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe. He also led the team with four steals.
- Jonathan Beagle recorded his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- Malik Edmead recorded his first game in double figures, scoring 10. He added two assists and a block.
- Marcus Jackson earned his first career collegiate start. He was forced to leave the game early in the first due to injury.
- FAU won the rebounding war, 42-32.
- UAlbany shot 34.5% (20-58) from the field and 31.3% (5-16) from three. FAU shot 49.2% (29-59) from the field and 33.3% (8-24) from three.
How it Happened:
- FAU scored the first four, but UAlbany responded with five unanswered. Jonathan Beagle made his presence in the paint known before Marcus Jackson, making his first collegiate start, drained a three.
- The Owls went on their own 5-0 scoring run before the first media TO to make the score 9-5 at the break. A Jalen Gaffney three-pointer put them ahead before Nick Boyd found the land for a layup.
- Before the second media TO, Sarju Patel went on a nine-point scoring streak for the Great Danes. He collected an and-one, was fouled behind the arc, and sank an open three. He went 4-4 on free throws. FAU led 18-16 with 10:50 on the clock.
- By the five-minute mark, FAU was able to build a 30-21 lead. Both teams started the game going 3-8 from beyond the arc.
- The Owls took a 38-26 lead into the locker room at halftime. UAlbany shot just 25% (7-28) from the field and 33.3% (3-9) from beyond the arc in the first half. FAU shot 53.3% (16-30) from the field and 36.4% (4-11) from deep.
- UAlbany started the second half on an 8-5 run thanks to two three-pointers from Sarju Patel.
- The Great Danes cut the lead to just five points, 47-42, by the U12 media TO. The UAlbany defense held FAU to 30% from the field to start the second half.
- At the U8 media TO the Great Danes cut the lead to just two points, 52-50. Sarju Patel led all scorers with 19 points. Da’Kquan Davis tied the game coming out of the TO with two successful free throws.
- Following the tie game, the Owls were able to string together a 12-0 scoring run to re-establish the lead UAlbany worked to erase. The Great Danes went scoreless for over five minutes.
- UAlbany shot 43.3% (13-30) from the field and 28.6% (2-7) from three in the second half. FAU shot 44.8% (13-29) from the field and 30.8% (4-13) from three.