Tim Ambrose Leads University of Albany Past Stony Brook, 58-43, in America East Men's Basketball - UAlbany Sports 2011

Albany, N.Y. - Tim Ambrose scored 22 points in leading UAlbany to a 58-43 victory over Stony Brook in America East Conference play on Monday, Feb. 14 at SEFCU Arena.

UAlbany (13-15, AE 6-7) tallied the opening eight points of the second half. Luke Devlin netted a pair of baskets and then set up John Puk with a pass from the left baseline. Devlin finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. Jacob Iati added another basket for a 31-22 advantage. Stony Brook (11-15, AE 6-8) missed its opening six field goal attempts in period and was limited to 30.9-percent shooting overall.

Still leading 37-30, the Great Danes pulled away with 11 of the game's next 13 points. Ambrose, who made 7 of 12 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line, followed Logan Aronhalt's missed three-point attempt and converted a drive in the lane to ignite that stretch. Mike Black canned a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and Ambrose drilled a long-range jumper in transition to extend the lead to 48-32 with 7:05 remaining. The Great Danes, who also won the first meeting of the season between these teams, led by as much as 18 points in the stretch.

"Our defense was solid and it was a great team effort," said UAlbany coach Will Brown, whose club took both regular-season games in the series for the first time since 2007-08. "We got a lift from our bench. In the second half, we rebounded well and ran which allowed us to get some easy baskets."

In a tight-fisted first half, UAlbany took a 23-22 lead to the locker room. The period featured six lead changes one tie and each squad led by as much as four points. The Great Danes reversed a 15-14 deficit when Ambrose connected in the lane off the dribble and Ralph Watts made a 3-pointer from the right wing. Stony Brook drew even at 19 apiece on Eric McAlister's tip-in. Watts sank two free throws to put his team back in front.

"That's the best twenty minutes we have put together in a couple of games," explained Iati, who had five points, two assists and two steals as a reserve. "We played well defensively and did a good job in the matchup. We were able to locate (Bryan) Dougher and keep a high hand on him."

Leonard Hayes, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, led the Seawolves with 18 points, the second-highest total of his career. Bryan Dougher, the team's leading scorer, was held to five points on 1-of-10 from the floor.

"It felt like I could throw the ball into the ocean," offered Ambrose, who toppled the 1,500-point mark as a collegian. "We shared the ball, played great team basketball, and got deflections and steals that led to fastbreaks."

Paw Prints: UAlbany takes both regular-season games from Stony Brook and ties Division I series at 13 wins apiece ... Tim Ambrose scored 20-plus points for the 22nd time as a collegian ... the 6-foot senior moved past the 1,500-point mark (1,516) for his career ... the Great Danes held an opponent under 50 points for the fourth time this year ... Luke Devlin has grabbed 10 or more rebounds seven times this winter ... sophomore captain Blake Metcalf made his first start of the season, as John Puk came off the bench for the first time ... the Great Danes climbed into fourth place in the America East Conference standings and are just ahead of New Hampshire and Stony Brook.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information