Late Singletary Three Seals 64-60 Win For University of Albany Men’s Basketball at Yale - UAlbany Sports 2014

Courtesy: UA Sports

NEW HAVEN, CONN. – Junior point guard Evan Singletary hit a three with a tie game and two minutes left in regulation to send University at Albany men’s basketball (4-6) to at 64-60 win at Yale (8-4) on Saturday afternoon.

“I thought our guys did a good job, especially the last six or seven minutes of the game,” said head coach Will Brown. “Our rebounding, defense and execution was really good the last few minutes against a really good basketball team. I’m proud of our guys, with nine new players I’m happy with the way they’ve bought in the last two games.”

Yale turned the ball over early in the game, with four giveaways to the Great Danes in the first few minutes. The Bulldogs took an initial 3-0 lead, but UAlbany responded with a 13-4 run. Five minutes into the game, all five starters for Will Brown had at least two points.

Javier Duren drained a three to put Yale within three, but a turnover on the other end kept the Bulldogs from gaining much ground.

With the Purple & Gold pushing the ball up the floor, Yale continued to struggle in the turnover column. A fast-paced game helped UAlbany take an early 10-2 lead in points in the paint.

The Great Danes hit a shooting drought mid-way through the first half, which ended thanks to good defense. Peter Hooley picked off a Yale pass at mid-court, and Richard Peters followed up with a tip-in to extend the UAlbany lead to 18-14 with 8:30 on the clock.

Will Brown’s squad was willing to concede outside jumpers to Yale’s forwards, but the Bulldogs began making them with five minutes to go in the half. Wheeler Baker hit a long three from Mike Rowley to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Yale tied the game late in the first, but Singletary streaked down the lane for the lay-in to regain the lead. The Great Danes entered the locker room at the break with a one-point advantage, 29-28.

The Bulldogs came out shooting well in the second half, making their first three shots. Yale took the lead for the first time since the opening moments of the game, and Brown called timeout to regroup down 35-31.

James Jones’s squad led by as many as eight points with 13 minutes left. The Bulldogs committed just three turnovers in the opening 13 minutes of the second half.

Sam Rowley began to come alive on the offensive end, converting on a traditional three-point play with just under 10 minutes to go. Hooley poured on five-straight points of his own.

Ray Sanders drew his second charge on Armani Cotton at the 7:34 mark to get UAlbany back on track defensively, and the Purple & Gold began to mount a comeback.

After Hooley made two free throws with 5:10 on the clock, UAlbany climbed within three points, 56-53. A seven-point swing on a 9-0 run over less than two minutes put the Great Danes back on top. Hooley tied the game at 56 thanks to a traditional three-point play on a steal from Sam Rowley.

Sam Rowley gave UAlbany its first lead since the beginning of the second half, 58-56 with 3:32 to go on two made free throws. The Bulldogs came down the floor to make two free throws of their own to tie the game at 58. The two freebies from Justin Sears marked Yale’s first points in three minutes. Yale went without a field goal for the final 6:10 of play.

With the game tied at 58, Sam Rowley missed the go-ahead jumper; but Sanders flew in to grab the offensive board, the ninth and most important of the contest for UAlbany.

Rowley hit the rim to reset the shot clock, setting up another opportunity to take the lead. Singletary stepped back off of a ball screen, and Yale failed to hedge and put a hand up. The junior sank the three from the top of the key to put UAlbany ahead.

“To be honest, I knew I would take the shot once [Yale] switched on the screen,” said Singletary. “He didn’t put a hand up so I just rose up and shot it.”

After Sears made two free throws, Singletary went to the other end to make two of his own. The score remained a three-point lead in favor of the Purple & Gold with 28 seconds left.

The Great Danes fouled Javier Duren outside the three point line, forcing him to the charity stripe with both teams in the double bonus. Duren missed both free throws, and the Bulldogs were subsequently forced to foul Sanders. Sanders made one of two to make it a two-possession game, 64-60 and put the game away.

Three Danes concluded the game in double figures, including Singletary (19), Sam Rowley (15) and Hooley (13). Singletary went 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from three. Over his last two games, the junior is averaging 20 points on 11-for-14 (.786) from the field, 6-for-7 (.857) from three and 12-for-13 (.923) from the free throw line.

Hooley and Rowley each had 11 second-half points, while Rowley and Singletary combined to go a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes. Rowley led the team in rebounds (6) and steals (4).

“Two games ago we were on the wrong track,” said Rowley. “After the game today, it’s nice to accomplish what we’ve come to accomplish the last two games. We’ve done a good job of altering our mindset.”

UAlbany took a 36-14 advantage for the game in points in the paint, and handed the Bulldogs their first home loss of 2014-15.

The Great Danes return to SEFCU Arena on Monday, Dec. 22 to face Fairfield (4-6, 2-0 MAAC) at 7:00 p.m.