The Siena men's basketball team wrapped up an unsuccessful trip to the Old Spice Classic on
Sunday.

AP

The Saints played well in spurts and would have felt good about coming home, had they closed the door against Purdue.

Siena led by 16 points in the second half, but the Boilermakers scored the game's final nine points, to post a 68-63 victory.

Here is postgame reaction from coach Jimmy Patsos, provided by the Siena athletic department.

It was the second time in eight days that the Boilermakers and Saints had met, with Purdue winning the two contests by a combined 13 points. 

The Saints lost to Memphis, Saint Joseph's and Purdue at the Old Spice and still have never won a game at this event.

In 2008, Fran McCaffery's eventual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, lost to Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Wichita State.

This year's bunch of Saints need to regroup quickly, as they open MAAC play on Friday, traveling to the Buffalo area to take on Niagara (Friday) and Canisius (Sunday).

On the other side of town, the University at Albany is back over .500, following Sunday afternoon's 66-55 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The win is the Great Danes' second victory this season over the Highlanders.

Senior guard DJ Evans led the way with 17 points, which is good since I wrote about him for Sunday's paper. 

UAlbany travels to Holy Cross on Wednesday evening.

J.S. Carras/The Record

The University at Albany men's basketball team won their home opener Tuesday night, against New
Jersey Institute of Technology.

Here is the game story, following a 71-65 victory for the Great Danes that bumped them to 2-0 overall, with a game at Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Siena dropped to 0-2, with a 77-66 loss at Vermont. Here is a link to the Siena write up and postgame video from coach Jimmy Patsos.

Also, Brien Bouyea checks in with the RPI women's basketball team.

Columnist Steve Amedio writes about Marist women's coach Brian Giorgis, who brings his Red Foxes to the SEFCU Arena Thursday evening, to take on UAlbany. The two teams are ranked in the Top 20, in the College Insider Mid-Major poll, with Marist at No. 3 and UAlbany at No. 17. 

ALBANY - The University at Albany Great Danes improved to 2-0, for the first time since the 2006-07 season, with a 71-65 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology.

It was the home opener for UAlbany and they revealed their America East championship and NCAA tournament banners before the game.

What it means: The Great Danes had to come from behind again, but the first 2-0 start, for the program in seven years, certainly should have people feeling good.

DJ play that music: Senior guard DJ Evans turned in another career-performance, following up 12 points against Siena, with a 20-point night on Tuesday. He scored 13 points in the first 7:27 and looked confident running the offense. 

Player of the Game: (besides DJ) Sam Rowley scored 10 of his 12 points after halftime, as the junior turned it on. He shot 6-for-8 from the floor and really gave the team a spark in the second half.

Play of the Game: Late in the second half, University at Albany coach Will Brown brought out the full-court pressure defense. That turned things around in a hurry, as NJIT had trouble handling the aggressive defense from the Danes.

“I thought that changed the flow of the game," said NJIT coach Jim Engles. "It was good coaching on his (UAlbany coach Will Brown) part.”

Coming Up: UAlbany travels to Quinnipiac for a game on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats are 1-1, beating Hartford, but losing at La Salle during the ESPN Tip-off marathon on Tuesday.  

ALBANY - Once again, the University at Albany men's basketball team comes behind.

Down nine points, with nine minutes to play, the Great Danes turned it on and came out with another victory, defeating New Jersey Institute of Technology, 71-65 on Tuesday evening, in front of a crowd of 3,141.

UAlbany was led by D.J. Evans, who scored a career-high 20 points, while Peter Hooley added 13.

The Highlanders were led by Terrence Smith, who scored 19, while Ky Howard added 15.

ALBANY - The University at Albany men's basketball team and D.J. Evans started Tuesday's game about as fast as you can.

Unlike in Friday's season-opener, the Great Danes started fast and fizzled to the halftime buzzer.

UAlbany led by as many as seven points, but trail, 33-29, at intermission.

Evans scored 13 points in the game's first 7:27, as the Great Danes broke out to a 17-0 lead. He leads all scorers.

The Highlanders were led by Terrence Smith, who has 11 points, while Ky Howard added six. 

Before the game, UAlbany lowered its America East championship and NCAA tournament banners from last season.

Mike McMahon/The Record

Both local Division I men's basketball teams are in action on Tuesday evening.

Siena travels north to take on Vermont, trying to rebound from a season-opening loss against UAlbany. This will not be an easy place to win, but coach Jimmy Patsos faces longtime friend John Becker, the Catamounts coach.

Here is the story from the Burlington Free Press, which talks about an injury to forward Ethan O'Day.

The University at Albany will open the home portion of its schedule tonight, when they host N.J.I.T., at SEFCU Arena.

The Great Danes will drop their championship banner from last year at 6:50 p.m., and then look to get off to a 2-0 start to this season.