University of Albany Men's Basketball Defeats Binghamton And Claims America East Division Lead - UAlbany Sports

University of Albany Men's Basketball Defeats Binghamton And Claims America East Division Lead. More to come...

Albany, N.Y. – Freshman Anthony Raffa had 21 points and Tim Ambrose scored 20 as UAlbany defeated Binghamton, 72-66, in America East Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes moved into a tie for first place in the conference standings.

Binghamton (10-6, AE 3-1) trailed by eleven at the intermission and was still down 50-41 midway through the second half. The Bearcats then regrouped with eight unanswered. Dwayne Jackson, who had 12 of his 14 points after the break, made a pair of three-point field goals in that stretch, including a 24-footer that closed the gap to a single digit.

UAlbany (11-6, AE 3-1) came back with six straight points for a 56-49 lead. Jimmie Covington made two free throws after corralling an offensive rebound. Ambrose, who canned 7-of-12 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, followed with an 18-foot jumper that beat the shot clock, before Raffa finished a shot in the lane off a dribble move.

Ambrose extended his team’s advantage to 60-51 with less than four minutes left, but the visitors worked their way back into the contest. Jackson, a 6-foot-3 senior, buried two 3-pointers from deep range, and got his team within 69-66 with 34 seconds remaining. However, Raffa sank three of four attempts from the line to hold off the threat.

“We played a lot of zone which I personally don’t like to use,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team held Binghamton to 35.6-percent shooting in winning for the third straight time. “We have a young backcourt and we lost some men on the perimeter, but we were still not afraid to make plays. We have beaten the three most talented teams in our league, but we still have a long way to go.”

The Great Danes, who have struggled from the field most of the season, but shot better than 45 percent for the second straight game, trailed 19-18 in the first half after the conference’s top scorer D.J. Rivera converted a lob pass in transition. Rivera, who is among the top-20 scorers nationally, finished with 16 points.

UAlbany rallied with 17 of the period’s next 22 points to build a 35-24 halftime cushion. Will Harris put his team ahead by scoring in the lane off a feed from Scotty McRae. The 6-foot-6 junior had 18 points and 10 rebounds and has recorded a double-double in three of his last four starts. McRae, who totaled nine points and eight boards off the bench, was also heavily involved in the run. He had a tip-in and made two foul shots. Ambrose added six points in that span.

“The zone defense is something new that we have been working on in practice,” explained Ambrose, whose team in 9-2 this season when he scores in double figures. “We had to make them beat us from the outside instead of the inside. (Anthony) Raffa controls the team. He handles the ball under pressure and gets us in our offense.”

Malik Alvin, a junior college transfer who had 13 points, was the third player in double figures for the Bearcats, who had won six of their last seven entering the contest. Raffa, who scored 20-plus for the third time this season, added five rebounds and three assists.

“They were pressuring full court and trying to get the ball out of my hands,” said Raffa, whose team has its best 17-game record as a Division I program. “I had to use my speed to create space and I had the confidence to make those free throws at the end. The teams that were ahead of us (in the preseason rankings) have experience, and hopefully this win means we should be up there with them."