UAlbany Men's Basketball Defeats UPenn At Sefcu Arena In Non Conference Showdown.

UAlbany Men's Basketball Defeats UPenn At Sefcu Arena In Non Conference Showdown. Freshman Anthony Raffa Leads Way With 22 points, Ambrose 19, Harris 14, Connelly 10. More to come...

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics

Freshman guard Anthony Raffa had 16 of his career-high 22 points in the second half in leading UAlbany to a 73-63 non-league win over Pennsylvania in the first-ever meeting between the programs on Saturday, Nov. 29 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes extended their winning streak to four straight.

UAlbany (4-2) led 35-33 in the second half, before rattling off 12 of the game’s next 13 points. Will Harris, who is in his first year after transferring from Virginia, made a 6-footer in the lane to ignite that outburst. Raffa canned two 3-points field goals during that span, the first off a skip pass from Harris and the second from the right corner. Brett Gifford’s baseline jumper after an offensive rebound gave his team a 47-34 cushion with 11:58 to play.

Pennsylvania (1-4) cut into the margin when Kevin Egee scored in the lane off an in-bounds pass that pulled his team within 52-45 with 5:36 left. However, the Great Danes pushed their advantage to double figures over the next three minutes. Tim Ambrose, a 6-foot sophomore who had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, jump-started that stretch with a pair of free throws and a nifty drive in the lane. Brian Connelly’s jump hook from left of the lane provided his club with a 62-50 lead with 2:23 remaining.

“They are a good team that is difficult to defend,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose squad held the visitors to 36.7-percent shooting. “They run dribble hand-offs, slips and back-doors, so I am pretty happy with the win. We responded well when they made plays and we become pretty tough to defend when we move the ball.”

The first half featured six lead changes and two ties. UAlbany pushed out to a 24-16 lead when Raffa drilled an 18-footer on the baseline. The Quakers, who have won 25 Ivy League titles and made 23 NCAA appearances in their storied history, came back with nine unanswered. Jack Eggleston, who had 13 points, converted in the lane and Tyler Bernardini followed with a reverse layup on the baseline. Freshman Zack Rosen, who had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds, put his team ahead with a three-point field goal from the top of the arc.

Still trailing 28-26 later in the period, UAlbany went back in front by the intermission. Connelly, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, made a turnaround in the lane. Ambrose, who reached twin figures for the fourth consecutive game and added four assists, delivered a three-pointer from the right wing with 18 seconds left before the break.

“We have taken some big steps since the first two games with Villanova and DePaul,” offered Raffa, who made 7-of-14 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds in 33 minutes at the point guard position. “We are still trying to figures things out with all the new faces. I play with intensity and it was easy to feed off the crowd and the excitement.”

Penn’s Bernardini, last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, finished with 19 points. Harris, a 6-foot-6 junior, totaled 14 points and six rebounds for the Great Danes, who shot 62.5 percent from the field after halftime.