The University at Albany entered the America East tournament as the favorite to repeat as champions. But New Hampshire made that goal anything but easy.
UAlbany watched a long 3-pointer from UNH guard Jaleen Smith rim out at the buzzer, allowing the No. 1 seed Great Danes (23-8, 16-1 America East) to escape with a 60-58 win over the No. 4 seed Wildcats (19-12, 11-6) in the America East semifinals.
UNH led by three points at halftime, and the teams were tied with six minutes left. Yet UAlbany poured in six straight points over the next two minutes to take a 57-51 lead and was able to withstand a late Wildcats surge to hang on for the victory.
Great Danes guard Peter Hooley led all scorers with 21 points off the bench, while starting point guard Evan Singletary added 18 points.
UAlbany will look to punch its third straight ticket to the NCAA tournament when it takes on No. 3 seed Stony Brook in the America East finals next Saturday. The Great Danes won their first-ever NCAA tourney game last season with a victory over Mount Saint Mary’s in a play-in game.
America East Semifinals Results
No. 3 Stony Brook 79, No. 2 Vermont 77
Thumbnail photo via Facebook/UAlbany Athletics