Albany, NY — It was ugly. It sure was physical. It was a hard-nosed, body-banging battle.
Just another UAlbany-Vermont game.
However, the result would be different this time then in recent meetings.
After UAlbany won the previous five matchups before tonight’s game, the University of Vermont prevailed with the victory over the Great Danes 60-49, breaking Albany’s three game win streak while remaining a perfect 7-0 in America East action.
“It was an extremely physical game,” UAlbany Head Coach Will Brown said postgame. “We struggled to put the ball in the basket. We missed an awful lot of shots within five or six feet of the basket.”
Albany shot only 29.7% in the game, by far the lowest percentage on the season. The Danes made only nine field goals in the second half, and the ten made field goals in the second half wasn’t much of an improvement.
“We did not have a third offensive threat set up,” Brown admitted. “We weren’t patient enough and were too willing to take a tough shot.”
Albany’s lack of offensive production paired with a deeply talented Vermont squad made it almost impossible for the Danes to pull out the victory, but then the Danes got into foul trouble early with Devonte Campbell, Mike Rowley, Greig Stire and Travis Charles all registering two fouls in the first 20 minutes.
“They’re exactly who I’d thought they’d be,” Brown said. “They’re not going to beat themselves. There’s no drop-off when they sub. You have to give Vermont credit. They did a good solid job overall.”
David Nichols and Joe Cremo, who combined averaged almost 34 points a game coming into tonight, managed only 25 points on 9-of-33 shooting and 1-of-6 from three. Greig Stire was the next highest scorer with eight points while also pulling down eight rebounds.
As ugly and hard to watch as the 40 minutes of game action were, things got heated afterwards. Following the handshakes between the teams, the Danes circled at half court, like after home games, they always do. This time, however, it ended with an arguing match between Nichols and Charles. Charles had to be restrained and led off the court by Dallas Ennema and a couple of other teammates while Rowley tried to calm Nichols down.
Brown refused to comment on the matter postgame, stating that he had his back to the incident while he was doing his customary postgame radio interview.
Brown was the only person that made it to the press conference even though multiple players were requested. Brown said his tri-captains- Ennema, Cremo, and Rowley- asked Brown if they could hold a just players meeting. Brown obliged.
“They wanted to discuss some things, so let them discuss,” Brown said. “This is a young, inexperienced team and they’re genuinely disappointed. They’re not happy with the way they played.”
Cremo, who finished with a game high 13 points and 11 rebounds, spent a extended amount of time in SEFCU Arena afterwards, frustrated with how the game went.
UA’s 49 points on the night ties for the lowest the team has scored in a game all year when they up the same amount in a loss to Holy Cross back in November.
Vermont is the only unbeaten team in the league at 7-0 (17-5 overall). UAlbany, with the loss, drops 3-4 in the league and 12-10 overall. The Danes will travel to Hartford when they play the Hawks on Saturday at 7 PM.
