University of Albany Men's Basketball Continues Winning Ways in 77-57 Victory Over Mount Saint Mary's at SEFCU Arena - UAlbany Sports 2010

Albany, N.Y. - Logan Aronhalt and Tim Ambrose each scored 19 points in leading UAlbany to a 77-57 non-conference victory over Mount Saint Mary's on Saturday, Dec. 18 at SEFCU Arena. The Great Danes have won five of their last six outings.

UAlbany (6-6) raced to a 13-3 lead at the start when Mike Black, who had 18 points, made a three-point field goal from the left side and then hit a jumper after teammate John Puk's blocked shot started the transition play. Mount Saint Mary's (3-8) would close the gap to 23-19 when Raven Barber scored on the right baseline. Barber, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, had 14 of his 20 points in the opening half.

The Great Danes, who shot 60.7 percent from the field in the period, regrouped by tallying 15 of the game's next 21 points. Black ignited that stretch with a 3-pointer from right of the key. Blake Metcalf, a 6-foot-9 sophomore who totaled eight points and six rebounds off the bench, built the lead to double figures by converting a bounce pass from Aronhalt. Metcalf connected with a spinning shot on the left baseline, before Aronhalt canned a long-range shot for a 38-25 margin.

UAlbany led by 15 at the intermission and would push out to a 59-34 advantage with 11:05 remaining. The Great Danes ran off six unanswered to build their cushion to 20-plus. Black, a sophomore guard who had five assists, four rebounds and three steals, made a jumper that beat the shot clock and two free throws in that spurt. Aronhalt converted a jumper from left of the lane and connected on a three-point play when he was fouled on a fastbreak layup to give his team its biggest lead.

"We made a nice run over the last ten minutes of the first half and had a comfortable lead," said Will Brown, whose squad has won back-to-back home games for the first time since March 2009. "They hurt us with penetration and we were able to take away the dribble-drive and limit them to one shot."

Lamar Trice added 15 points for the Mountaineers, who dropped their fourth straight. Ambrose, who made 7-of-12 from the field to extend his double-figure scoring streak to 12 games, added eight rebounds and four assists. The Great Danes shot 50 percent from the floor.

"This was a confidence booster," said Black, whose scoring total was one point off his career-high set earlier this season. "We came out hungry and didn't force shots. The pressure got to us (in the last game), but this time we kept our composure."

Paw Prints: UAlbany shot 50 percent or better from the field for the fourth time this season ... the Great Danes last recorded consecutive home wins on Feb. 22 and March 7, 2009 ... UAlbany has won five of its last six contests ... Blake Metcalf is averaging 7.2 points and 5.3 rebounds off the bench during that span ... Tim Ambrose has scored in double figures in every game this season and 62 times during his career ... Ambrose, who has 1,258 points as a collegian, need 17 to move four spots up the all-time scoring list into the No. 12 position ... John Puk, a redshirt freshman, leads the team with 18 blocked shots ... UAlbany is 29-39 all-time against Northeast Conference opponents.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information