UAlbany Seeded Third for America East Conference Men's Basketball Championship

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Cambridge, Mass. -- UMBC is the top seed for next weekend’s America East Conference Men’s Basketball Championship. The Retrievers won the conference’s regular-season crown and finished 21-8 overall.

The America East championship tournament’s first three rounds will be held at Binghamton University’s Events Center on March 7, 8 and 9. The championship final will be played at the highest remaining seed’s home arena on Saturday, March 15. The America East champion receives an automatic NCAA berth.

UAlbany (15-14, AE 10-6) is the third seed and will meet No. 6 Boston University (13-16, AE 9-7) in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m. The Great Danes, who have won the last two conference tournament titles in 2006 and 2007, took both games from BU during the regular-season series.

Brian Lillis, one of 10 players at the Division I level to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists, is the Great Danes’ top scorer at 15.8 points per game. Brian Connelly (10.1 ppg) and Brent Wilson (9.7 ppg) are proven scorers on the baseline. Jon Iati, one of three seniors on the team, averages 8.9 points off the bench and has made 52 three-point field goals.

The Terriers rebounded from a tough start to the season by winning eight of their last 10 games. Sophomore Corey Lowe, who netted 23 against UAlbany in the regular-season finale, is the conference’s second-leading scorer with an 18.5 average. John Holland, one of the league’s top freshmen, adds 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds.

***********

2008 America East Conference Men’s Basketball Championship

(Binghamton University’s Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.)

Friday, March 7

Game 1 - #8 Stony Brook (6-22, 3-13) vs. #9 Maine (7-22, 3-13), 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 8

Game 2 - #1 UMBC (21-8, 13-3) vs. Game 1 winner, 12 noon

Game 3 - #4 Vermont (15-14, 9-7) vs. #5 Binghamton (14-15, 9-7), 2:30 p.m.

Game 4 - #2 Hartford (16-15, 10-6) vs. #7 New Hampshire (9-19, 6-10), 6:00 p.m.

Game 5 - #3 Albany (15-14, 10-6) vs. #6 Boston U. (13-16, 9-7), 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 9

Game 6 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 12 noon (AE-TV)

Game 7 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m. (AE-TV)

Saturday, March 15

Game 8 – America East Conference Championship (at highest remaining seed), 12 noon (ESPN2)