UAlbany vs. Stony Brook: Starting lineups

[IE]

It comes down to this, One game, and the winner gets a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The University at Albany and Stony Brook will play at 11:30 a.m. Saturday (ESPN2) for the championship of the America East Conference. The Danes (17-14) are the fourth seed; Stony Brook (23-9) is No. 2.

The Danes are going for their second straight trip to the NCAAs. Last March, the Danes, who were also a four seed, knocked off Vermont, the second seed, on the road. UAlbany coach Will Brown is 3-0 in America East championship games, all of them coming against Vermont.

?We have guys on this team who have played some good minutes for us last year in the (America East) Tournament,? Brown said. ?They have been in this situation before. We will rely on guys who have experienced it. We need them to be a calming influence on the group. We also need to realize this game will not be won in four or five minutes. It is going to take 40-plus minutes. We can?t get too high and we can?t get too low. And we can?t let the atmosphere bother us.?

Pritchard Gym, the home of the Seawolves, has a capacity for 1,630 people. The game is sold out.

Here are the probable starting lineups for both teams:

UALBANY (17-14)

G-DJ Evans, Sr., 5-9, 175 (11.0 ppg)

G-Peter Hooley, So., 6-4, 200 (15.7 ppg)

F-Sam Rowley, Jr., 6-6, 230 (11.3 ppg)

F-Gary Johnson, Sr., 6-6, 205 (11.0 ppg)

C-John Puk, Sr., 6-10, 235 (6.2 ppg)




STONY BROOK (23-9)

G-Ahmad Walker, Fr., 6-4, 180 (7.2 ppg)

G-Dave Coley, Sr., 6-2, 190 (10.6 ppg)

G-Carson Puriefoy, So., 6-0, 175 (13.0 ppg)

F-Eric McAlister, Sr., 6-8, 230 (7.7 ppg)

C-Jameel Warney, So., 6-8, 260 (14.6 ppg)

 

[IE]

During the regular season, the University at Albany men's basketball team won two of eight America East Conference road games.

Saturday, the Danes will try to win a championship in a gym where the home team, Stony Brook, hardly ever loses.

A trip to the NCAA Tournament is on the line for the Danes, who are looking to crash March Madness for the second consecutive year. To get there, the Danes will have to solve the mystique of Pritchard Gym against the favored Seawolves.

Stony Brook, the second seed in the tournament, has gone 24-1 in home conference games over the past two seasons. Pritchard, which is nothing more than a glorified high school court, is sold out. There will be 1,630 screaming fans in the tiny arena and most of them will be yelling for the Seawolves.

"It's not an easy place to play, that's for sure," said UAlbany sophomore guard Peter Hooley, who scored 56 points in two tournament wins last weekend at SEFCU Arena.

Those wins over fifth-seeded UMBC and top-ranked Vermont propelled the fourth-seeded Danes into the title game.

UAlbany won't be in awe of playing the Seawolves, who beat the Danes at Pritchard 73-68 on March 2. UAlbany could have won as Stony Brook had to come back from a 10-point second-half deficit. UAlbany beat Stony Brook 77-67 at SEFCU on Jan. 29.

"We have momentum, and we just beat the best team (Vermont) in the league," junior forward Sam Rowley said. "Just because we beat Vermont doesn't mean we will beat Stony Brook, but we have proven we can beat them when we are playing well. We know they have talented players, we know they are a good team. But we won't be intimidated."

Having the home-court advantage is not a guaranteed ticket for success. So says Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell, who, in his ninth year, will be trying to get the Seawolves to their first Division I NCAA Tournament.

"Just because you get to wear the white uniform does not give you the edge," he said. "I mean, what is the difference between a four seed and a two seed? You tell me. If you play well, you win. If you don't, you won't. We don't get intimidated when we go on the road and I'm sure they won't, either."

Stony Brook has the America East Player of the Year in 6-foot-8, 260-pound Jameel Warney. The Seawolves also have an athletic backcourt in 6-2 senior Dave Coley, who was named a first-team All-Conference player, and the speedy 6-foot Carson Puriefoy.

The Seawolves are more athletic, but the Danes are more physical.

"This is going to be a tough game," Warney said. "It's the final. Albany is very physical, they go to the glass hard and Hooley is playing very well right now."

UAlbany coach Will Brown, who is 3-0 in America East championship games, has come up with perfect game plans in games when the Danes absolutely had to win. Last year he beat Vermont in Burlington. All three UAlbany tournament titles have come against the Catamounts, two of them on the road.

He has had five days to come up with the blueprint to pull off another tournament upset. One thing he doesn't want to see happen is the game to be fast. That won't help the Danes.

"If it becomes a track meet and becomes up tempo, we could be in trouble," Brown said. "We match up well with them in the half court. It has to be a half-court game. If it becomes a grind-it-out game, I like our chances. If it gets into the 70s or 80s, it is not good for us."

Brown said the Danes will be going into the game loose and relaxed. He does not expect to see any of his players cracking under pressure when they take the floor.

"All the pressure is on Stony Brook, there is none on us at all," Brown said. "They are the most-talented team in the league and they are playing in the lovely confines of Pritchard Gym and they don't lose there. They are supposed to win, they have to win. We will go in relaxed and we'll play hard and, hopefully, we'll play well. We are also going down there knowing we can win."

 

[IE]

A closer look

The University at Albany gets its chance to go back-to-back to the NCAA Tournament Saturday when the Danes play Stony Brook in Pritchard Gym for the America East championship. For the second consecutive March, UAlbany is the fourth seed and will try to knock off the second seed. Last year, the Danes won in Vermont. This time, it's Stony Brook. Here is a look at the matchups and who has the edge.

GUARDS

UAlbany: DJ Evans, Sr., 5-9, 175 (11.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.8 apg) and Peter Hooley, So., 6-4, 200 (15.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.6 apg). Stony Brook: Dave Coley, Sr., 6-2, 190 (10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.4 apg) and Carson Puriefoy, So., 6-0, 175 (13.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.9 apg).

The Danes rode Hooley, who averaged 28 points in the first two tournament games, to the final. He made 18 of 30 shots he took against UMBC and Vermont and was 9-for-16 from 3-point range. Evans gives the Danes another outside shooting threat. Coley and Puriefoy are much more athletic than the UAlbany backcourt and Puriefoy didn't play when UAlbany beat Stony Brook 67-57 at SEFCU. Puriefoy may be the fastest guard in the league and Coley, a first-team All-America East choice, can make the big plays in crunch time. He personally won the game when Stony Brook beat the Danes 73-68 at Pritchard. He had a career-high five 3-pointers in that game. Coley will likely be assigned to try to slow down Hooley. EDGE: Stony Brook

FORWARDS

UAlbany: Sam Rowley, Jr., 6-6, 230 (11.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.7 apg) and Gary Johnson, Sr., 6-6, 205 (11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 apg). Stony Brook: Ahmad Walker, Fr., 6-4, 185 (7.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg) and Eric McAlister, Sr., 6-8, 220 (7.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.7 apg).

Rowley is healthy and that is good news for the Danes. After struggling with ankle and wrist injuries in January and February, he is back and capable of giving UAlbany a double-double. He is physical and despite not being flashy, is one of the most reliable inside scorers in the league. Johnson, the most athletic player on the UAlbany roster, had the first double-double of his career when he had 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 67-58 semifinal win over Vermont. Walker and McAlister are not asked to score a lot, but both have offensive skills. Walker is athletic and McAlister is more of a blue-collar forward who will try to match the Danes' physicality. EDGE: UAlbany

CENTER

UAlbany: John Puk, Sr., 6-10, 235 (6.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.5 apg). Stony Brook: Jameel Warney, So., 6-8, 260 (14.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.1 apg).

Warney, the Player of the Year in the America East, has nine double-doubles this season and the Danes will have to have more than one body on him inside because he has had moments this season when he has been unstoppable. Puk can't match Warney on offense, but has had a good defensive season. The program's all-time leader in blocked shots, he has 43 this season. EDGE: Stony Brook

BENCH

UAlbany: Used just two subs against Vermont until the last minute. Senior Luke Devlin has had an injury-filled career but quietly contributed two points and six rebounds against Vermont. Freshman Dallas Ennema can come off the bench and give the Danes a 3-point shooting threat. Stony Brook: Senior Anthony Jackson gives the Seawolves instant offense off the bench as he is their third-leading scorer (12.7 ppg). EDGE: Stony Brook

COACH

UAlbany: Will Brown. Stony Brook: Steve Pikiell.

UAlbany: This will be Brown's fourth America East title game and he has won the first three, all against Vermont, two of them on the road. Brown has made no mistakes in the past two America East tournaments, and if it comes down to a late-game decision, he is the guy you want making it. Stony Brook: Pikiell, in his ninth year at Stony Brook, is in his first America East championship game. EDGE: UAlbany