University at Albany sophomore Shereesha Richards won her second straight America East Player of
the Week honors on Monday.

Richards had a monster game, with career-highs of 28 points and 15 rebounds in possibly the program's biggest victory ever, against Marist, last Thursday.

Here is the league's release and the school's release.

Also, Albany native and Albany Academy grad Chris Pelcher was honored as the men's co-player of the week.

He averaged 17.0 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in two games for New Hampshire this past week.

The University at Albany advanced back to the America East championship game on Sunday afternoon, with a 71-57 win over New Hampshire.

Below senior Lindsey Lowrie talks about the win and the championship game, which will be against Hartford, next Saturday.



Senior Julie Forster talks about the victory.

ALBANY - The University at Albany women's basketball team is headed back to the America East championship game.

The Great Danes won their 18th straight game and 28th consecutive matchup against league foes, besting New Hampshire 71-57, at SEFCU Arena.

UAlbany will host Hartford next Saturday, March 16, at 7 p.m.

Lindsey Lowrie scored a game-high 18 points, while Ebone Henry chipped in 13, but made just one field goal.

The Wildcats were led by Kaylee Kilpatrick, who scored a team-high 17 points.

ALBANY - The University at Albany women's team didn't play like the top seed in the first half, but they have the lead nonetheless.

Julie Forster scored seven and the Great Danes finished the half on a 12-2 run, to go to the break with a 32-26 lead.

Cari Reed helped keep New Hampshire in it, scoring 12 points, while Kaylee Kilpatrick added eight off the bench.

The winner will meet Hartford, next Saturday at 7 p.m.

University at Albany players Mike Black and Sam Rowley talk about Thursday night's victory over New Hampshire.

ALBANY - Mike Black scored a team-high 23 points on Senior Night to lead the University at Albany to a 56-49 victory over New Hampshire.

The Great Danes (9-6, 21-9) shook off a bad first half to pull away after intermission.

The Wildcats (4-11, 8-19) were led by Patrick Konan, who scored a game-high 24 points, while shooting 9-10 from the floor, including 6-6 from beyond the arc.

UAlbany ends the season on Sunday at Stony Brook, which clinched the regular season title with a victory over Boston University on Thursday.

The University at Albany won for the first time at New Hampshire, since 2007, on  Wednesday evening.

Here is a link to the writeup of the 68-62 victory for the Great Danes (4-1, 15-4).

UAlbany's next game is at Hartford, on Saturday.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University at Albany came out and did what it had to do on Saturday afternoon.

The Great Danes got a game-high 24 points from Gerardo Suero and advanced into the America East Conference semifinals, with a 63-45 victory over New Hampshire.

UAlbany (19-13) takes on Stony Brook (21-8), on Sunday, in an America East semifinal matchup, at 5 p.m., on Sunday.

Mike Black added 11 points and nine rebounds, while Jacob Iati knocked down three 3-pointers and was a presence on defense.

The Wildcats (13-16) were led by Patrick Konan, who scored 12 points, while Alvin Abreu scored just eight.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - UAlbany didn't play its best half of the season, but they lead by nine, heading into intermission.

UAlbany's Gerardo Suero has 15 points to lead all scorers.

It was back and forth, until the Great Danes went on a 10-0 run to take a 26-16 lead.

Jacob Iati has hit a couple of 3-pointer and has six points in the first half. Logan Aronhalt and Luke Devlin have both played and contributed some, but not as much as if they were healthy.

Patrick Konan leads the Wildcats with five points, while leading scorer Alvin Abreu has struggled, going 0-for-6 from the field and has just two poiunts.

UAlbany has a huge 29-14 advantage on the glass, which includes 11 offensive rebounds.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Logan Aronhalt and Luke Devlin won't start, but they are suited up and ready to go, from the looks.

The rest of the Great Danes also seem to be ready to go, as they look to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

No. 1 seed Stony Brook held of Binghamton in the day's first quarterfinal, so the winner of UAlbany and New Hampshire, will play the Seawolves tomorrow afternoon.

Follow along here on the blog and on twitter @AndrewSantillo for updates throughout the game.

The last two nights went how UAlbany had hoped, as first Hartford lost to Stony Brook, and then last night, New Hampshire lost to Maine.

Those two results mean that before the Great Danes even take the floor this evening, against Binghamton, they are locked in as the No. 4 seed for the upcoming America East tournament.

UAlbany will play either Hartford or New Hampshire in the quarterfinals, at the University of Hartford's Chase Arena, on Saturday, March 3, at a time to be announced.

UAlbany will play Hartford, if the Hawks win their final game, at Boston University on Saturday OR if New Hampshire loses its final game, against Binghamton, on Sunday. UAlbany swept the season series with Hartford, winning earlier this season at Chase Arena, 72-60.

The Great Danes will play New Hampshire, with whom they split the season series, if the Wildcats win their final game AND Hartford loses its final contest. The two teams would finish 7-9 and New Hampshire would win the tie-breaker, due to its victory over Vermont, earlier this season.

DURHAM, N.H. — The University at Albany needed a solid performance on Thursday evening and they didn’t answer the bell.

The Great Danes followed a heartbreaking loss to Boston University, on Monday, with an equally difficult to swallow, 69-64 loss, at New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium.

UAlbany (7-6, 15-12) has now lost three straight games and the fourth place Danes dropped their first game of the conference season to a team behind them in the standings (7-1) on this night.  

“We’re a very, very tired group right now,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown.

That’s not a good sign for a team that is at a crossroads in its season, and with a game tomorrow afternoon at Maine.

“We’re tired right now,” Brown said. “That’s not an excuse. UNH played well.”

The Great Danes played the second half without sophomore forward Luke Devlin, who reaggravated his back injury during intermission.

Logan Aronhalt, who finished with only four points, also sat more than the final 10 minutes, dealing with a sore knee.

Still, UAlbany defeated New Hampshire (4-8, 9-14) 86-63, back on Jan. 11, and this game was nothing like that one.

The Great Danes trailed by 11 points, 58-47,with less than six minutes to play, before turning it on.

UAlbany went on a furious rally to tie the game at 61-61, but the Wildcats scored eight of the game’s final 11 points come away with the win.

Brian Benson put New Hampshire up 63-61, with 1:24 to play.

Gerardo Suero, who finished with a team-high 20 points for the Great Danes, then turned the ball over and it cost his team big time.

At the other end, Ferg Myrick scored and was fouled, to put New Hampshire up, 66-61.

“I’m proud that our guys fought late,” Brown said. “The last two possessions, we made poor decisions.”

Brown was referring to Suero’s turnover and then, with UAlbany down 67-64, Mike Black tried to draw contact on a 3-point attempt that caromed off the side of the rim and backboard. 

Alvin Abreu scored a game-high 21 points for New Hampshire, while Myrick and Benson each added 19.

The Great Danes can’t afford to let this losing streak continue, so they must try to turn things around against Maine, on Saturday.

“We have to see how this group rebounds and responds,” Brown said.

J.S. Carras/The Record

This game may not be vital for the University at Albany, in the America East Conference standings, but after blowing a 17-point lead to Boston University, on Monday, tonight's game is crucial.

The Great Danes are out to snap a two-game losing streak, when they face New Hampshire, on Thursday evening.

UAlbany sits in fourth place in the league standings, but they need to make sure there is no carryover effect from a very difficult loss, just three days ago.

The Great Danes are also 7-0 against teams below them in the standings and they'd like to make sure that continues.

The Wildcats have lost five of their last seven games and lost to UAlbany by 23 points, in January, at SEFCU.

UAlbany needs this game in the win column, more so for confidence, than anything else.

UALBANY AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

When: Tonight, 7 p.m. Where: Lundholm Gymnasium (3,000), Durham, N.H.  
Internet: ESPN3.com 
Radio: WOFX 980-AM2011-12 Records: UAlbany (7-5, 15-11) New Hampshire (3-8, 8-14)
Last Meeting: UAlbany 86, New Hampshire 63, at SEFCU Arena, Albany, on Jan. 11, 2012 — UAlbany leads the all-time series 13-11

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
NEW HAMPSHIRE

No./Name    Pos.    Yr.    Ht.     Avg.
25    Alvin Abreu    G    Sr.     6-2     13.4 
3    Chandler Rhoads    G    Jr.    6-4    11.9 
14    Patrick Konan    F    So.    6-6    10.0  
15    Ferg Myrick     F    Jr.    6-6    7.2
34    Brian Benson, F, Sr., 6-9, 7.0 

UALBANY

No./Name    Pos.    Yr.    Ht.    Avg.
10    Mike Black    G    Jr.    6-0    13.0
2    Logan Aronhalt     G    Jr.    6-3    15.6
20    Gerardo Suero    G    Jr.    6-4    21.8
11    Luke Devlin    F    So.     6-8    6.2
21    Blake Metcalf    C    Jr.     6-8    4.5

AMERICA EAST STANDINGS

School, Conference, Overall
Stony Brook, 11-1, 16-7
Vermont, 10-2, 16-10
 Boston U., 9-3, 13-13
UAlbany, 7-5, 15-11 
Maine, 5-6, 11-11
Hartford, 5-7, 5-19
New Hampshire, 3-8, 8-14
UMBC, 2-9, 3-20
Binghamton, 0-11, 0-23  

Today’s Games

Maine at Boston U., 7 p.m.
UAlbany at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
UMBC at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.

J.S. Carras/The Record

ALBANY - Gerardo Suero hadn't scored less than 20 points in more than a month.

The University at Albany junior guard, who entered Wednesday's game fourth in the country in scoring (22.5 ppg), struggled by his standards, but the Great Danes still had a powerful offensive night, in the 86-63 victory over New Hampshire.

UAlbany was just 1-3, when Suero was held to less than 20 points coming into the game, but they got a very balanced effort on this night.

The last time Suero was held under 20, was in the 64-60 loss to Siena, back on Dec. 5. 

Coach Will Brown had his guys practicing hard the past two days, coming off the loss to Stony Brook and Suero was visibly tired on the floor, with his hands on his knees, even in the first half. 

He shot just 4-for-10 from the field in the first half and finished 6-for-17.

When Brown took him out of the game, in the waning minutes, he said to his star that he looked lethargic. 

"I was exhausted from the past two days" was Suero's response.

Suero was the only UAlbany player who played more than 30 minutes --31 to be exact -- in part because his family was at the game. It's only the fifth game his mother, brother and sister -- all native of the Dominican Republic -- have been able to see this season. 

"I kept him in there a little too long," Brown said. 

If UAlbany can beat any team by 23 with Suero having an "off" night, watch out.

ALBANY - The University at Albany men's basketball team came out looking to avenge their first league loss of the season.

The Great Danes bounced back from the loss at Stony Brook, with a convincing 86-63 victory on Wednesday evening.

Mike Black led the way, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds. Logan Aronhalt added a game-high 21 points and Gerardo Suero finished with 17 points. 

The Great Danes (3-1, 11-7) led by as many as 32 points, 59-27, in the second half.

The Wildcats (0-3, 5-9) made a couple of runs, but couldn't trim the lead to less than 17.

Patrick Konan led New Hampshire with 13 points, while Brian Benson added 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. 

UAlbany had 19 assists for the game, getting five from Ralph Watts and four apiece from Black and Suero.

The Great Danes are back in action on Saturday night, when they host Maine, at 7 p.m.

ALBANY - The University at Albany played a solid first half on Wednesday night and it looked even better thanks to a poor half by New Hampshire.

The Great Danes scored 15 of the the game's first 20 points, to quickly take a double-digit lead.

Gerardo Suero leads the way for UAlbany, with 11 points, but he didn't have his typical dominant half.  He shot just 4-for-10 from the field.

The Great Danes were very balanced offensively, getting six points from Logan Aronhalt, Mike Black and Blake Metcalf. John Puk added five points for UAlbany. Black already has a career-high with seven rebounds and UAlbany leads on the glass, 27-15

New Hampshire shot just 6-for-24 (25%) from the field and Chris Matagrano led the Wildcats with six points off the bench.

AP

UAlbany's loss to Stony Brook on Sunday means the Great Danes won't run the table in America East Conference play.

However, the loss doesn't mark the end of the word for UAlbany, but they have to avoid any losing streaks, when they take on New Hampshire, on Wednesday evening, at SEFCU Arena.

Gerardo Suero was named America East player of the week, on Monday, for the fourth time this season. Suero entered Tuesday, the fourth highest scorer in the country, at 22.5 points per game.

New Hampshire is 1-5 on the road this season and the Wildcats have lost four of their past five games. Alvin Abreu, who missed all but two games last season, due to a knee injury, is the team's leading scorer.

Here are the standings in the America East.
Team, Conference, Overall
Stony Brook, 3-0, 8-6
Maine 2-0, 8-5
UAlbany, 2-1, 10-7
Vermont, 2-1, 8-9
Boston U., 1-1, 5-11
UMBC, 1-2, 2-12
Hartford, 1-2, 1-14
New Hampshire, 0-2, 5-8
Binghamton, 0-3, 0-15

The Great Danes dropped a tough game Wednesday night.

They had a couple of chances to win the game, including freshman Ralph Watts, missing two free throws in the waning second of regulation.

Watts was 2-for-7 from the free throw line and the team shot an awful 7-for-20 (35 percent), but of course, that's not the only reason UAlbany dropped the game.

It was not a shooting clinic, as both UAlbany (22-67) and New Hampshire (22-69) shot less than 33 percent from the field for the evening.

One positive was the play of freshman Luke Devlin, who 10 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, made two blocks and grabbed two steals.

Devlin is making a great case for an all-rookie selection.

This game hurts UAlbany in the standings and it's the first conference game they've lose to a team with a worse record than them.

Here are the America East standings
Maine 8-2, 14-8
Vermont 8-2, 17-5
Boston U. 6-4, 11-13
Hartford 4-4, 7-14
Stony Brook, 4-5, 9-12
UAlbany 4-6, 11-14
New Hampshire 4-7, 10-13
Binghamton 3-6, 6-16
UMBC 2-7, 3-19

ALBANY - It's happened a couple of times this season.

Teams have come into SEFCU Arena (where UAlbany is 3-3 on the season) and the opposing coach has said he really likes the Great Danes' team.

It happened again on Sunday, with New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion.

"I like their team," Herrion said after UAlbany posted a 59-44 victory in both school's America East Conference opener. "They're playing hard. They know who they are."

Herrion said he likes that the Danes have a senior who can score, Tim Ambrose (right) and sophomore Mike Black, who he said he thinks will have a good career.

The Great Danes have one more win than they did all of last year.

"I think Will (Brown) deserves a lot of credit," Herrion said.

Herrion said that UAlbany's trio of Ambrose, Black and Logan Aronhalt are as good as any guards in the league.

Aronhalt finished with just six points and has averaged 10.3 points over the last three games, since he injured his back against Colgate.

"He's thinking too much right now and that's fine," Brown said.

Brown said he just wants Aronhalt to shoot and then concentrate on defense and rebounding.

On the technical foul that Brown received, 1:32 into the game from referee Tim Kelly.

Brown said that Kelly told him he swore.

"He claims I did," Brown said. "I claim I didn't."

Brown couldn't remember the last time he received a technical, neither could media guru Brian DePasquale.

"It happens in this game," Brown said. "I think referees are competitive, coaches are competitive and players are competitive."

America East standings

Maine 1-0, 7-6
UAlbany 1-0, 8-8
Stony Brook 1-0, 6-6
Vermont 0-0, 9-3
Binghamton 0-0, 3-10
Hartford 0-0, 2-10
New Hampshire 0-1, 6-7
Boston U. 0-1, 5-10
UMBC 0-1, 1-13

ALBANY - It really is a new year.

The University at Albany men's basketball team played a good, solid game on Sunday.

The Great Danes took down New Hampshire in their first America East Conference game of the season 59-44 at SEFCU Arena.

Tim Ambrose led UAlbany (1-0, 8-8) with 16 points, while Mike Black added 11.

Tyrone Conley scored a team-high 15 points for the Wildcats (0-1, 6-7), but New Hampshire shot just 4-for-16 from the free throw line.

UAlbany had won only three of its last 24 conference games coming into this game.