University of Albany Men's Basketball Holds Off Bowling Green, 56-55, at Legends Classic's Detroit Subregional - UAlbany Sports 2010

Detroit, Mich. - Blake Metcalf made what proved to be the game-winning basket, as UAlbany held off Bowling Green, 56-55, on the third day of the Legends Classic Detroit Subregional on Sunday, Nov. 28 at University of Detroit-Mercy's Calihan Hall.

Bowling Green (1-6) led 40-38 in the second half, but then ran off a 10 consecutive points. Cameron Black, a 6-foot-10 freshman who totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds, was fouled as he scored in the lane and Scott Thomas drilled a three-point field goal from the right wing to end that outburst.

UAlbany (3-5) rallied to draw even at 49 apiece, as Logan Aronhalt made two of his four 3-pointers in that span. Mike Black, a sophomore guard who had nine points, found a cutting Luke Devlin in the lane for the tying basket. Aronhalt netted 12 of his 18 points after the break.

The Falcons went back ahead when a driving Thomas found Black in the lane for a basket. The Great Danes, who were coming off Saturday's 75-65 win over Niagara, responded when Aronhalt made a three-pointer from the right wing and Black sank two free throws for a 54-51 advantage. Metcalf's short jumper with 1:35 left kept his team three ahead.

Bowling Green's Black later closed the gap to 56-55 by converting in the paint. UAlbany's Aronhalt missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity, but Dee Brown, a career 40 percent three-point shooter, misfired on a long-range attempt from the top of the arc with three seconds remaining.

"We just gutted it out and found a way to win," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team won two of three games during subregional play. "We had little energy and shot poorly against their zone. But credit our players with their effort."

The opening half produced a game of runs with both teams playing primarily zone defense. Bowling Green reversed a 13-9 deficit with a string of seven straight points. Jordan Crawford converted off a steal before Mike Dabney made a free throw to put their team ahead.

UAlbany regrouped with 11 unanswered for a 24-16 lead. Tim Ambrose, who had 13 points, and Aronhalt canned consecutive three-pointers as their squad went back in front. Metcalf connected with an offensive rebound and Aronhalt made another long-range shot to end that stretch. The Falcons came back with a run of nine straight, Thomas hit a 3-pointer before feeding A'uston Calhoun for a fastbreak layup. UAlbany took a 26-23 lead to the intermission.

The Falcons, who are members of the Mid-American Conference, held UAlbany to 33.8-percent shooting, including 8-of-33 from three-point territory. Thomas finished with 13 points, while Brown had 12.

"It was a sluggish game," said Metcalf, a 6-foot-9 sophomore who had eight points and seven rebounds off the bench. "They had an active zone; something we had not seen. We just weren't hitting our shots. But we got stops when we needed and our defense was there when it counted."

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information