| Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Boston Turns Away the Hype
ALBANY, NY-So much for a great week. After consectutive upsets over Syracuse and West Virginia, the Albany Great Danes were given the oppertuinity to FINALLY be the favorite for once. Maybe they should go back to being underdogs. In an abysmal shooting performance, the Danes could only manage 15 points by halftime, and never recovered from the deficit, losing at home to BU, 39-50. The Danes didn't play like a team that had thought a potential undefeated conference schedule was a posibility, and very few times through the night did a glimmer of it shine through. Boston University was lead by an outstanding performance from point guard Nathan Tigert, who's sharp shooting and leadership led the way for the Terriers. Tigert ended the night with 16 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals, very respectable stats. The Danes were led by Joshua Chapman, scoring 12 points, 3 points shots, and Dedrick Yango, with 12 points and 9 rebounds. In was the inabilility to perform shown by Neil Hale that cost Albany the ball game, as the nation's #2 scorer was held toa mere 4 points while playing a good time of the game. Guilherme Boatner played in his first game since his redshirt was removed, and looked a little shaky, missing his first 3 shots, but ended up hitting his other two to finish the night with 4 points. As the future of the team, we can only hope fe progresses into the player the organization thought he would be. In national news, there wasn't much change near the top of the polls, as Duke solidified their #1 ranking. However, the 13-0 Cincinnati Bearcats have charged up to the #4 spot, and if they continue their winnning ways, will find themselves near the top shortly. Albany (6-7, 1-1) now will go on the road to play New Hampshire (3-7, 1-1). Monday, April 18, 2005
Big East, Meet the Little East
ALBANY, NY-A little redeption at last. In one of the best weeks in the school's basketball history, the Great Danes showed the West Virginia Mountaineers that we can play some ball in the Northeast too. After a nice first half, leading 35-32 at the break, Albany opened the second half witha 9-0 run, and the Mountaineers never got a chance to come back., losing -65-69 to the hands of the home team. It was a masterful performance by freshman Dedrick Yango, scoring a career high 19 points, while adding 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Neil Hale, the team player that he is, scored 24 pts for the Danes, but lost his title as the nation's #1 scorer, dropping to second place by a mere .2 points. Spanky Cleland added 12 points, and his deft passing led to 12 more points, as he dished out 6 assists. The Mountaineers has their amazing power forward Marty Sherman getting plenty of looks from the outside, scoring 23 points while grabbing 9 rebounds, and point guard Deron Ames landed a double-double, with 12 points and 10 assists. However, it just wasn't enough for them to overcome the streaking Great Danes. The win was made all the sweeter, as two of Albany's three 4-star prospects were in the stands for the game With the victory, Albany (6-6, 1-0) has wrapped up it's non-conference schedule. They'll wrap up the weekend with a conference game with Boston University (5-5, 1-0). Sunday, April 17, 2005
'Nova Just Too Strong
VILLANOVA, PA-The Villanova Wildcats took the Great Danes chances of being upstarts, and turned them upside-down, defeating the the Albany Great Danes, 71-59. Had Spanky Cleland shown up earlier, the result might have been different. Spanky only could amass...oh wait, that's right. Spanky didn't score a SINGLE POINT in the first half of the vital game, leaving the Danes with very few options. His strong second half performance (16 points), left fans asking questions. Neil Hale added 15 points, while Chapman scored 15 as well. Wes "White Shaq" Archibald scored 9 points int he paint while grabbing 7 rebounds. However, 'Nova was too stong, regardless of the strong performances. Led by Matt Taybron, they left Albany struggling all night just to keep up. Taybron scored 17 points in the victory, but his passing led to 6 other baskets. Albany (4-6, 1-0) will now travel to Syracuse, New York to play the ever-tough Orangemen.
Now Boarding Upset Station
SYRACUSE, NY-The hours in the gym have payed off boys. After a tough loss to Villanova, where some fans were wondering if they really were better than last year, the Albany Great Danes stopped all the questions. In a truely beautiful performance, the Great Danes wound up defeating the Syracuse Orangemen 61-59, in a game that was close for both schools. Neil Hale went out and showed the nation why he was the leading scorer, reeling in 25 points, 12 of which came from 3 point shots. Combined witht he solid play of Spanky Cleland (18 points, 4 rebounds), and a strong showing by freshman Dedrick Yango (7 points, 5 rebounds), the Danes could not be beat. Syracuse was led by Timmy Capel, who scored 25 points. In the end, however, it was Capel inability to shoot from the line that cost them the ballgame. The Albany Great Danes (5-6, 1-0) will now make the short trip home to play West Virginia. In attendence will be 4-star prospects J.S. Halsell and Lamkin Hollis. We should be in for a good one.
Albany Rolls in First Conference Game
HARTFORD, Conn.-The Albany Great Danes still haven't loss their conference touch. Coming into the game aiming to destroy after their loss to North Carolina, the Great Danes went right for the juggular vein, defeating the Hawks 64-51. The Hawks looked like an improved team from last year, when they play very poorly in all 3 of their match-ups. Roosevelt Trotter, finally gettinga chance to show the league what he has, scored 20 points in the loss. The Danes were led by valient shooting from behind the arc. The team as a whole shot 56% from the land of far-away, and Neil Hale led the charge with 27 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman Dedrick Yango showed his prowess in the paint as well. Although he scored only 5 points, Yango managed to snatch 11 boards and swat 2 shots. Spanky Cleland added a steady contribution of 20 points, making up for the poor showing earlier in the week. Albany (4-5, 1-0) will now head to play the 11th ranked Villanova Wildcats, in what should be their biggest test of the year. |
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