Albany Hoops Highlights

Albany head coach Will Brown remarked after Saturday's game against Navy that Gerardo Suero might be the most efficient scorer in the country.

The transfer swingman scored 21 points in 24 minutes to lead four Great Danes in double figures and Albany grinded out a 69-62 win.

America East was courtside to bring you the sights and sounds of the home opening win.

America East Daily Word - November 22

It is the season to be thankful. Our fall sports season just wrapped up and we have plenty to be thankful here at the conference office.

We released our top 10 plays of the fall yesterday and it’s time to take a closer look at why we are thankful for those plays.

We are thankful for awesome goal celebrations. Whether it’s jumping in the air, a collection of somersaults, back flips or just straight tackling the player who scored (thank you Hartford), our goal celebrations this fall were top of the line.

We are thankful for consistency. Maine’s Riley Masters won his second consecutive cross country championship back in October. He did it in a course record time, no less. Meanwhile, the Boston U. women’s soccer team won its fifth straight conference title. The Terriers did it with discipline and with a little nifty footwork.

We are thankful for clutch performances. UMBC’s Dan Louisignau came up huge with a penalty kick save in overtime against No. 1 Maryland back in September. Shayla Bergeron scored the game-winning goal for Albany in double overtime of the women’s soccer quarterfinal s against Vermont. If you recall, that game was played in a blizzard!

And we are thankful for all the athletes who do tremendous things on the fields and courts so we can put together all these top moments and relive the excitement.

We had two basketball games on the slate last night.

Let’s start first in Virginia where the Albany men took on Monmouth in the third round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. 

Jayson Guerrier scored 28 points off the bench (a new gun for the Danes, according to the Times Union) leading Albany to a blowout victory, 85-49. Sophomore forward Luke Devlin is still on the mend from off-season back surgery. The Times Union spoke with the Aussie about his recovery process and how he’s attempts to get back on track.

Stony Brook’s Beth O’Boyle is still in search of her first win at the helm of the Seawolves after last night’s tough 54-50 loss to George Mason at home. Stony Brook led for the entire game until the last two minutes when the Patriots grabbed the win.

We’ve got a very busy schedule tonight as six women’s and four men’s teams take to the hardwood. For the complete schedule and all the live coverage links, visit AmericaEast.com.

America East Daily Word - November 21

All four conference schools which sponsor football found out yesterday that they will all participate in the Division I FCS Playoffs. New Hampshire and Maine each have second round matchups on December 3, while Stony Brook and Albany will square off with each other this weekend for a spot in the second round.

Albany and Stony Brook both received automatic bids to the postseason tourney after winning the Northeast Conference and Big South Conference titles on Saturday. UNH and Maine collected at-large bids after putting together solid seasons in the CAA.

This marks the first time that all four of the schools made the FCS playoffs in the same season. Stony Brook is making its first ever appearance as is Albany, UNH earns its eighth consecutive spot in the field (the longest such streak in the field) and Maine locks up its first bid since 2008.

The Seawolves and Great Danes kick off at 2 p.m. on Saturday live on ESPN3. The winner of that game will face Sam Houston State. New Hampshire travels to Montana St. for its second round tilt and Maine will take on Appalachian State in the second round as well.

And don’t look now, but the Vermont women’s basketball team is undefeated. A year after going 0-14 in the non-conference portion of its schedule, UVM has rattled off four straight to start the season after capturing top honors at the TD Bank Classic in Burlington this weekend. The Catamounts haven’t won four straight since the end of the 2009-2010 campaign which saw a win in the NCAA Tournament.

In other women’s basketball news, Hartford’s Ruthanne Doherty was named to the preseason WNIT all-tournament team. Doherty and company ran into No. 2 Notre Dame in the semifinals but did post wins over Manhattan and Long Island in the first two rounds. She averaged 15.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over the three-game stretch.

The Binghamton women’s squad picked up the only other win for women’s teams this weekend. The Bearcats downed Nevada 58-52 in the consolation game of the Minnesota/Subway Classic. Orla O’Reilly tallied 19 for Binghamton netting herself a spot on the all-tournament team.

Men’s basketball teams continued their early season struggles this weekend. Vermonttallied the conference’s only win with a victory over Marist in the first round of the Hall of Fame Tip-off at Mohegan Sun. The Cats fell to Long Island in the championship game yesterday. Four McGlynn earned a spot on the all-tournament team for the Springfield Bracket.

The Cross Country Division I National Championship races take place this afternoon on the campus of Indiana State University. Stony Brook’s Hayley Green, 2011 conference champion, will be the lone America East representative in the race.

We’ve only got two basketball teams in action this evening. On the women’s side, Stony Brook searches for its first win on the young season when George Mason heads to Long Island for a 7 p.m. contest. And the Albany men look to rebound from a loss to Syracuse when they play against Monmouth in the third round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.

Stay tuned to AExtra for a video of the top plays from the fall season.

 
Press and Sun Bulletin: Turnovers testing 'patient' Macon
Hartford Courant: Hartford falls to Brown
Bangor Daily News: UMaine women's coach Barron promises improvement after Bryant loss
Portsmouth Press Herald: UNH men overtaken by Loyola
Daily Free Press: Tobacco Road marks end of run for women's soccer
Daily Free Press: Cornell pulls away from men's basketball