University of Albany Men's Basketball Takes 75-62 America East Conference Win Against UMBC - UAlbany Sports 2010

Baltimore, Md. - Scotty McRae scored a career-high 21 points and Tim Ambrose added 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in leading UAlbany to a 75-62 road win against UMBC in America East Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Retriever Activities Center. The Great Danes snapped an eight-game losing streak.

UAlbany (7-21, AE 2-11) led 44-38 in the second half, but then ripped off six unanswered. Ambrose and Brett Gifford had baskets and Mike Black converted a fastbreak layup. Still leading 57-47, the Great Danes tallied eight of the game's next 11 points. Ambrose, a 6-foot junior who made 7-of-8 from the floor and handed out six assists, ignited that stretch with a free throw and slam dunk off his steal. McRae ended that decisive outburst with a conventional three-point play when he was fouled on a fastbreak layup for a 65-50 margin with 4:07 remaining.

"It was a good team effort on both ends of the floor," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose club shot 52.9 percent from the field, the second-best figure of the year. "We rebounded consistently, controlled tempo and got easy baskets in transition. It was a much-needed win and good for our psyche."

In the first half, UAlbany took an early 13-4 lead when Black. a freshman guard who had 15 points, made consecutive 3-pointers, including one from the right side. The lead swelled to 12 as Ambrose hit a deep three-pointer from the right wing and put back a missed layup.

The Great Danes, who shot nearly 54 percent in the period, later moved out to a 34-16 advantage. Logan Aronhalt connected on a three-point play as he was fouled on a turnaround from right of the lane. McRae added an offensive rebound basket. The Retrievers put together a run of eight straight. Chris De La Rosa, who tallied 12 of his 19 points in the stanza, had a pair of baskets, including a driving layup that sliced the deficit to 34-24 in the final three minutes of the half.

UAlbany led by 14 early in the final period as Fran Urli made a three-point play when he scored off the glass in the lane. UMBC (3-23, AE 2-11) regrouped with a 12-4 run as Chauncey Gilliam, who had all 15 of his points after the break, led the way. The sophomore guard canned a three-point field goal from the top of the arc as his team closed within six with 15:34 left.

"I thought we played solid team defense," offered McRae, whose squad stopped an 11-game conference road loss skein that dated back to January 2009. "We made a decent amount of our shots, ran the floor, and played aggressively."

McRae, a 6-foot-8 senior who made 7 of 9 from the field and 7 of 7 from the line, added nine rebounds to his scoring total. His team also ended a nine-game road losing skid.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information