Albany Great Danes Fall Short of Knocking Off Reigning Big East Champions in 64-60 loss

What better way to start your season than to beat the Big East Champion in their own house? I'm sure many coaches would be ecstatic to have that chance. The Albany Great Danes gave it everything they had but fell short with a 64-60 loss.

The Great Danes barged into their matchup with the Providence Friar, but both teams were off to slow start. It took until 17:25 in the first half for the first points to drop with a jumper by Sam Rowley and took the Friars almost a minute after to answer with their own two points. It was a low scoring half, ending at 27-26 in favor of the Great Danes. What really got Albany going was a beautiful teardrop from Peter Hooley who lost his shoe in the process.

Three point baskets have been the great neutralizer in the first half after the Friars went on a run to make it 8-16. While only shooting 7 of 17, it kept them alive when they needed.

Despite gaining 9 new players, Albany Head Coach Will Brown has been able to keep the team at a similar pace and talent as last year. While Hooley managed to hold the team together, there are still a few slip ups from the newbies that need to be addressed. Most of their fouls came from freshman but so did a good portion of their rebounds.

Every time the Friars looked like they're about to put on a decent run, the Great Danes answer back. Freshman Evan Singletary proved his worth with 18 points in his first collegiate game, most of those when the Danes desperately needed it. Not bad for a freshman.

While Albany didn't get the win, it's sure showed the rest of America East that they're not quite out of the running just yet. If these guys can play like that minimally for the rest of the season,