Nov. 25, 2007

Final Stats

ALBANY, NY - Brian Connelly and Brian Lillis scored 12 points apiece to lead the University at Albany to a 75-57 win over visiting Sacred Heart University Sunday afternoon. It was the fourth straight win for the Great Danes, and sixth consecutive loss for the Pioneers.

The lead see-sawed for most of the first half, with the Pioneers focused early on working the ball down low. Midway through the period, the Great Danes used some strong shooting from Connelly and Jerel Hastings to widen the gap.

Albany, 4-1, took a 28-22 lead with 5:30 left in the first half, but a 7-0 run by the Pioneers capped by a Ryan Litke three-pointer gave SHU a 29-28 lead with 1:20 to go. A three by Josh Martin for the Great Danes with :46 left put them back up 31-29, but Litke answered at the other end to end the Pioneers to the locker room with a 32-31 advantage.

The two teams traded buckets to start the second half. A backdoor cut and layup by Chauncey Hardy with 18:15 left gave the Pioneers a three-point lead at 36-33. The Pioneers had a chance to extend the lead after a technical foul on Albany coach Will Brown with 16:28 left but Shubik missed both tries.

A trey by Brent Wilson with 14:39 left tied the game at 40-40. Tim Ambrose hit a jumper in the lane with 10:27 to go and was fouled. He converted the free throw to give the Great Danes a 47-44 lead. Martin was fouled with 9:26 left and extended the Albany lead to 48-44 by making the front end. A Connelly turnaround jumper with 8:30 left gave the Great Danes a 50-45.

With 7:43 left in the game, the Pioneers had managed to shoot just four of 13 from the field in the second half. Albany continued to take advantage and held a 52-45 lead with 6:50 left on two free throws by Jerel Hastings. The Albany parade to the free throw line continued with Jon Iati hitting two more with 5:47 to play to give his team a nine-point lead.

Brice Brooks hit the first SHU field goal in over six minutes with 5:15 left to cut the gap to seven. After an Albany turnover, the Pioneers failed to capitalize when Shubik's shot was blocked in the lane. Shubik compounded the mistake by committing a foul on the other end. Martin hit one of two to put Albany ahead 55-47 with 4:25 to play. A missed layup with 4:00 left by the Pioneers and one by Gifford for Albany at the other end gave Albany the first double-digit lead of the game at 57-47.

Sacred Heart finished the half shooting just seven of 25 in the second half and 34 percent for the game. Shubik led the Pioneers with 12 points, while Litke had ten, all in the first half.