December 20, 2011, University of Albany vs. St. Francis College (NY) men's basketball game story for Albany Times-Union

Danes rally on the road

After blowing big lead, UAlbany comes back with key free throws

By DENIS GORMAN, Special to the Times Union

Published 11:25 p.m., Monday, December 19, 2011

NEW YORK — University at Albany head coach Will Brown had seen enough. His team went from having a 16-point lead to trailing by five in a span of 10 minutes and 20 seconds. So he called a timeout and offered his shaken team a message that was equal parts reassuring and brash.

"We weren't going to leave here without a win," Brown said after the Great Danes' 76-64 come-from-behind road victory over St. Francis College (N.Y.) Monday night at the Pope Physical Education Center.

The Great Danes moved to 6-5 overall with three nonconference games remaining before America East Conference play begins in 13 days at SEFCU Arena against Hartford. The Danes also improved to 31-40 against the Northeast Conference.

"Give them credit. They came in here and got the job done. We didn't," said St. Francis coach Glen Braica. "Give them credit, they made some plays."

The win was the Danes' fourth in four all-time meetings against the 3-7 Terriers, who were opening the home portion of their schedule after starting the season with nine consecutive road games.

"It's so hard to win on the road," coach Brown said. "Great crowd, great energy."

UAlbany's Gerardo Suero had a game-high 25 points. The junior guard/forward from the Dominican Republic also grabbed five rebounds and had four assists while St. Francis unsuccessfully attempted to find the right defense to match up against him.

"I have a couple things I can do anytime," Suero said. "(I can) go to the basket ... shoot the pull-up ... shoot the three, play defense and rebound."

Junior forward Travis Nichols led the Terriers with 23 points.

Boosted by 50 percent shooting from the field and 11-of-15 from the free-throw line, the Danes led 41-25 at the half. One sequence underscored their dominance of the Terriers: Mike Black was caught between two St. Francis defenders and the left sideline with eight seconds left on the shot clock. Somehow, he split the defenders without stepping out of bounds and converted the up-and-under layup as the shot clock expired.

The Danes benefited from a technical foul call on Terriers' junior forward/center Akeem Johnson. Johnson finished a fast break with a two-handed dunk and held onto the rim while two Danes surrounded him, and he was assessed a technical. Junior guard Logan Aronhalt made the free throw, which started a 38-21 run that spanned the remainder of the first half.

"If a kid is really (being) demonstrative and taunting the opposition ... I don't want to comment until I see the tape," said Braica.

St. Francis started the second half with a 26-5 run in the first eight minutes to take their first lead since 4-3. The run was highlighted by three Nichols three-pointers, senior guard/forward Stefan Perunicic's two 3-point baskets and a Johnson two-handed baseline jam.

"We like to think of ourselves like that," Braica said when asked if his team could be defined as gritty. "We hope to be like that."

St. Francis finished the game with 14-of-29 three-pointers, while the Danes hit just 4-of-13.

"(They) have so many guys who can shoot," Brown said.

Yet the fundamental difference between the Danes and the Terriers was, in fact, fundamentals. The Danes made 22-of-28 from the line while the Terriers went 0-for-7.

After Nichols missed a 3-pointer that would have increased St. Francis' lead, sophomore guard/forward Ralph Watts was fouled by Jalen Cannon. Watts made the two free throws to tie the game at 53 with 8:21 remaining.

The Danes made eight of their final nine free throws, including four in the final 33 seconds, to get the victory.

"Every free throw was must-make," said Watts, who finished with 10 points. He was 4-for-4 from the line. "(We) stayed in it with free throws, (especially the) four big free throws at the end."

Denis Gorman is a freelance writer.

UAlbany 76, St. Francis, N.Y. 64

UALBANY (6-5)

Player Min FG FT R A Pts

Devlin 19 3-5 0-0 1 0 6

Metcalf 9 1-1 0-0 3 0 2

Aronhalt 37 4-7 5-6 9 1 14

Black 25 3-10 5-8 1 0 11

Suero 33 9-16 7-8 5 4 25

Iati 4 0-1 0-0 0 1 0

Gibson 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Rowley 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Watts 19 2-3 4-4 2 2 10

Guerrier 27 2-5 1-2 6 2 6

Puk 18 1-4 0-0 5 0 2

Totals 200 25-52 22-28 33 10 76

ST. FRANCIS, N.Y. (3-7)

Player Min FG FT R A Pts

Nichols 36 8-17 0-1 7 0 23

Johnson 29 4-7 0-1 8 1 8

Douglas 10 1-2 0-0 3 0 3

Mockford 39 5-9 0-2 2 4 13

Newton 27 1-2 0-1 4 8 2

Jones 13 0-3 0-2 1 3 0

Perunicic 26 4-10 0-0 1 1 11

Cannon 13 2-3 0-0 4 0 4

Santavenere 3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0

Milk 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 200 25-55 0-7 32 17 64

Halftime—UAlbany 41-25. 3-point goals—UAlbany 4-13 (Watts 2-2, Aronhalt 1-1, Guerrier 1-3, Iati 0-1, Devlin 0-2, Black 0-4), St. Francis N.Y. 14-29 (Nichols 7-11, Mockford 3-6, Perunicic 3-8, Douglas 1-2, Santavenere 0-1, Newton 0-1). Personal Fouls—UAlbany 15 (Metcalf 3, Black 4, Suero, Gibson, Rowley, Watts, Guerrier 2, Puk 2), St. Francis, N.Y. 23 (Nichols 4, Johnson, Douglas 3, Mockford 2, Newton 2, Jones, Perunicic 3, Cannon 4, Santavenere 3). Technical Fouls—Johnson. Turnovers—UAlbany 13 (Black 4, Aronhalt 2, Puk 2, Devlin, Guerrier, Suero, Metcalf, Watts), St. Francis, N.Y. 18 (Perunicic 5, Jones 3, Mockford 2, Johnson 2, Newton 2, Douglas, Cannon, Santavenere, Milk). Steals—UAlbany 6 (Iati 2, Black 2, Watts, Gibson), St. Francis, N.Y. 5 (Nichols 2, Johnson, Newton, Mockford).Blocked Shots—UAlbany 2 (Suero, Watts), St. Francis, N.Y. 1 (Johnson). A—935.

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