University of Albany Edges Colgate, 63-61, for Third Straight Win; Tim Ambrose Scores 19 Points - UAlbany Sports 2010

Hamilton, N.Y. - Tim Ambrose scored 19 points and made two key free throws with seven seconds remaining, as UAlbany edged Colgate, 63-61, for its third straight win on Wednesday, Dec. 22 at Cotterell Court.

Colgate (0-10) trailed by as much as 44-28 in the second half before working its way back into the contest. The Raiders closed the gap to six when sophomore forward Brandon James, who had 16 points and six rebounds, put back an offensive rebound. UAlbany (7-6) looked to regain control when Luke Devlin made consecutive three-point field goals for a 52-42 advantage.

The Raiders still trailed 60-53 with 1:09 remaining after UAlbany's Blake Metcalf, who had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, sank two free throws. But that only set up a wild finish. Colgate's Mitch Rolls closed the deficit to 60-57 with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. After Mike Black split a pair of free throws, James was a fouled on a three-point attempt form the right wing and he made all three from the line.

Ambrose was fouled in the backcourt and canned both attempts from the charity stripe for a 63-60 advantage. The Great Danes elected to foul Joe Hoban with 4.6 seconds to play. Hoban, who had 13 of his 18 points after halftime, made the first free throw, but then intentionally missed the second. The senior guard tracked down the rebound on the right baseline, but failed to connect on a 16-footer that would have forced overtime.

"Give Colgate credit for fighting to the end," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose team has won six of its last seven contests. "They got to loose balls, rebounded, and made some tough plays. We got stagnant offensively over the last ten minutes."

In the first half, UAlbany snapped a 20-20 deadlock with 12 unanswered. Ambrose scored eight in that run, including the basket that broke the tie. After Billy Allen sank two free throws, Ambrose converted a fastbreak layup off a lead pass from Ralph Watts. The 6-foot senior finished off that spurt by hitting a reverse layup in transition.

Colgate opened the contest with eight straight points, when James canned a three-point field goal and Nick Pascale connected on a conventional three-point play as he was fouled on a drive. The Great Danes regrouped with 11 consecutive points and would eventually take a 17-12 lead on Black's basket. But the Raiders drew even at 20 apiece as Hoban drilled a three-pointer

Black finished with 10 points for the Great Danes, who lost the services of leading-scorer Logan Aronhalt in the first half when he bruised his lower back in a fall after a slam dunk in transition. Yaw Gyawu, a 6-foot-5 junior, was the third Colgate player in double figures with 14 points, including 12 in the final period.

"Hopefully we can learn from this win," Brown offered. "It's a tough building to play in and we have a young team. We were sloppy over the last couple of minutes, but we got a victory without the style points."

Paw Prints: UAlbany (7-6) is above the .500 mark for the first time since Feb. 22, 2009 ... the Great Danes have had four games this season decided by two points or less ... Tim Ambrose has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season ... Ambrose climbed four places on the program's all-time scoring list into the No. 12 position with 1,277 points ... Blake Metcalf scored in twin figures for the second time in his career after netting 11 against Siena earlier this month ... UAlbany won for the third time in a Colgate series that began in 1915-16 ... the Raiders had won 13 of the previous 15 contests.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information