Basketball Will Meet America East Regular-Season Winner in Saturday's First Quarterfinal

Cambridge, Mass. - The University at Hartford will host this week's America East Conference Men's Basketball Championship. The America East postseason tournament, held on March 4-7 at Chase Family Arena, will feature a combined men's and women's format for the first time in conference history.

UAlbany is the eighth seed and will face Stony Brook, the regular-season champion and top seed, in Saturday's first quarterfinal game at 12:00 p.m. The Seawolves, who posted a 21-8 overall record, won a pair of tightly-contested contests this season, including a 67-61 decision at home on Jan. 24 and a 68-66 last-second triumph on Feb. 19. The two programs will play for the first time in America East post-season play.

The Great Danes, who finished 7-24 overall and 2-14 in the conference, ended the regular season with Sunday's 85-79 overtime defeat at Hartford. Will Harris and Tim Ambrose are both averaging 12.6 points per game. Harris scored a season-high 26 in his last start and has netted 20-plus on seven occasions this year. Ambrose, a 6-foot junior, has tallied more than 1,000 career points. Freshman Mike Black (6.8 ppg) and redshirt freshman Logan Aronhalt (6.6 ppg) have become more involved in the offense as the season has progressed.

Stony Brook's Muhammad El-Amin, a 6-foot-5 senior, and sophomore guard Bryan Dougher are among the America East's top 10 scorers. El-Amin is scoring at a 16.8 clip. Dougher, who has made 83-of-196 from three-point range, is averaging 13.6 points.

The America East semifinals, scheduled for Sunday, March 7, will be televised on regional sports networks and will also be available on ESPN's Full Court, ESPN 360, and streamed online at AmericaEast.com. The championship will be held on the campus of the higher remaining seed on Saturday, March 13 at 12:00 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.

*********

2010 America East Conference Men's Basketball Championship
(University at Hartford, Chase Arena, West Hartford, Conn.)
Saturday, March 6 - Quarterfinal Round
Game 1 - #1 Stony Brook (21-8, AE 13-3) vs. #8 UAlbany (7-24, AE 2-14), 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 - #4 Boston University (17-12, AE 11-5) vs. #5 Hartford (8-21, AE 6-10), 2:15 p.m.
Game 3 - #2 Vermont (22-9, AE 12-4) vs. #7 UMBC (4-25, AE 3-13), 6:00 p.m.
Game 4 - #3 Maine (19-10, AE 11-5) vs. #6 New Hampshire (12-16, AE 6-10), 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, March 7 - Semifinal Round
Game 5 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5:00 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 13 -- Championship
(At higher seed's facility)
Game 7 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN2)


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information