Stony Brook Snaps Skid At Albany

Stony Brook stopped a trio of streaks on Friday night with their 58-45 win over Albany on Friday night at SEFCU Arena. The Seawolves stopped their four-game slide and earned their first win over the Great Danes in their last seven tries. The loss was also Albany's first at home this season (6-0 coming in). SBU, who held UA to just 19 points in the second frame, were led by Muhammad El-Amin's 17 points, while Bryan Dougher had 12. Will Harris led the Great Danes with 14 points and 7 boards.

A Thriller in Vermont, Boston U. Snaps Skid

We had a pretty good idea coming into to today's Albany-Vermont matchup that it would be an entertaining game. The last three meetings had been decided by a total of 5 points with the Great Danes taking all three. That trend continued as Albany pulled out an 82-77 thriller to improve to 2-1 in league play. Anthony Raffa tied his career-high with 22 points and Will Harris added 20 for the Great Danes, who shot 48.1 percent from the floor and a season-high 72.7 percent from 3-point lant (8-of-11). Colin McIntosh tied his career-high with 25 for Vermont, which fall to 0-2 in conference play for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign.

Earlier in the day, Boston University snapped its 5-game losing skid with a 68-37 trouncing of New Hampshire. The Terriers, who held the Wildcats to 2-of-33 shooting from deep, jumped out on a 16-2 run and never looked back. John Holland scored 25 points for the second straight game and Scott Brittain added 15. Tyrone Conley led UNH with 8.

Monday is an off day in America East, but stayed tuned to the blog for the league's weekly award winners.

SUNY Forecast

Entering America East play, Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook have either matched or exceeded the best starts in their school's Division I history. Albany is 8-5, a record only matched by the 2006-07 Great Danes, which won their second-straight America East Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Binghamton has won three-staight and six of eight to improve to 7-4, the best start as a Division I program. The Bearcats, who boast wins over Rutgers and Tulane, have one remaining non-conference game at Utah Valley State on January 10. Stony Brook has won six of eight, including a 67-64 win at Air Force on New Year's Eve, and is 7-4, the best start in the Seawolves' Division I history. Stony Brook has one non-conference game remaining at Dartmouth on January 13.

Odds and Ends

We haven't known what to do with ourselves during this "dead" period. Three days with no games will extend to four as Albany's contest with Sacred Heart set for Friday has been postponed due to the snowstorm currently hitting the Northeast. The game will be played tomorrow at 2:30. Other random thoughts as teams head into their final non-conference games prior to conference play...

• Binghamton will have Gonzaga transfer Theo Davis beginning tomorrow against Manhattam. The highly touted big man transferred to the program midway through the 2007-08 season and became eligible following the final exam of the first semester, which took place today.
• The game with Manhattan is a return game from last year's BracketBusters pool. The Bearcats hope to make it two in a row against the Jaspers and help the league improve to 7-1 in games from that pool. Boston University and Vermont swept its home and home with St. Peter's and UNC-Wilmington, respectively, while Albany won its return contest with Canisius after dropping the matchup in Buffalo last February.
• UMBC faces American in a battle between two defending champions that will be televised on MASN. The Eagles won the Patriot league last season. The Retrievers are 0-2 thus far when aired on MASN this season and have allowed 22 three-pointers in those two games.
• The Terriers and Catamounts will both appear on regional TV on Sunday at 12 noon. Vermont travels to Quinnipiac on NESN, while Boston U. hosts former conference member Delaware on CN8.
• 2004 America East Rookie of the Year Jon Iati in his first season as Director of Basketball Operations at Quinnipiac.
• America East has posted 42 non-league wins in 82 games to date this season after combining for just 44 wins all of last season. The nine schools still have 35 non-conference games to go this year.

Albany Snaps Skid, Boston U. Takes Notre Dame to the Wire

Tim Ambrose led four players in double figures with 15 points to lead Albany to a 74-48 win over Canisius at SEFCU Arena. Will Harris and Anthony Raffa each had 14 points, while Mike Johnson poured in a career-high 13 off the bench. Boston University led No. 12 Notre Dame with just 3:25 remaining, but the Fighting Irish scored 10 of the game's final points to hold on for the win. Corey Lowe scored a team-high 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career, for the Terriers. Darryl Proctor tallied 13 points in UMBC's 91-56 loss at No. 3 Pitt. Tyrece Gibbs scored his 1,000th point in New Hampshire's 76-72 loss at Long Island U.

Maine Goes Over .500 With Win

Mark Socoby scored a game-high 21 points to lead Maine to its second straight win. Junior Bernal added 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Also on Monday, Will Harris scored a career-high 21 points and Tim Ambrose contributed 17, but Albany was edged by Lehigh 65-64.

This and That About Saturday's Action

A lot of intriguing angles surrounding each of Saturday's games. All six squads in action are coming off victories. In fact, conference teams have combined to go 9-1 to start the month of December. Here's a look at the matchups:

• Brown at New Hampshire kick things off at 1 at Lundholm Gym. The Bears' coaching staff is certainly familar with America East. Assistant coach T.J. Sorrentine earned Player of the Year honors in 2002 and buried Syracuse with his legendary 30-footer in the 2005 NCAA tournament. Volunteer assistant Kyle Cieplicki was a four year standout for the Catamounts and head coach Jessie Agel was an assistant for all three of Vermont championship squads.
• Binghamton, fresh off back-to-back wins looks for its first-ever win against a Big East foe when they take on Rutgers at 2
• Boston U. hosts Marshall at 3. The will be the second of at least 6 to be played at Agganis Area this season. The Terriers have won four of six to start the season after compiling a 1-5 mark through the first 6 games of last seasson.
• Hartford's tilt with La Salle will be televised on NESN at 4. Explorer's coach John Giannini was the head coach at Maine for 8 seasons.
• In the game of the day, Albany, winners of 5 straight, renews its rivalry with Siena at 7 at the Times Union Center. Over 10,600 tickets had already been sold as of 1 p.m. yesterday.
• Vermont faces the No. 3 team in the country in Pittsburgh at 7. The Cats have won 2 of their last 4 games against ranked opponents, knocking off Boston College in 2006 and the afore mentioned upset of the Orange in '05.

Albany, Binghamton Stay Hot

Anthony Raffa posted game-highs of 17 points and 5 assists, while adding a team-high 6 rebounds to lead Albany to its fifth straight win, a 57-47 decision over Bryant. Brian Connelly contributed 13 points and Tim Ambrose added 11 on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor. Binghamton won its second consecutive contest after drubbing Quinnipiac 74-58. D.J. Rivera and Dwayne Jackson led the way with 17 points each. Reggie Fuller added 12, while Malik Alvin had 11.

Vermont and Stony Brook hit the floor on Tuesday. The Catamounts host Dartmouth at 7 and the Seawolves travel to New Jersey Tech for a 7 o'clock tip.

Hartford Wins at Philly Classic

Behind a game-high 17 points from Joe Zeglinski, Hartford posted a 50-38 victory over New Jersey Tech in the Liberty bracket of the Philly Hoop Group Classic at the famed Palestra in Philadelphia. Mark Socoby scored a game-high 28 points, but Maine fell to host South Alabama in the USA Basketball Classic in Mobile.

All 9 America East teams are in action on Saturday. Vermont hosts Loyola at 1, while Hartford faces Niagara in the title game of the Liberty bracket in the Philly Classic at 2. Binghamton entertains Utah Valley State and Stony Brook goes to Columbia, both at 2, Toledo visits UMBC at 2:05 and Maine takes on Tulane in the consolation game of the USA Basketball Classic at 6. Boston University goes for its fourth straight win against Mount St. Mary's, Albany takes on Penn at SEFCU Arena, both at 7. In the final game of the night, New Hampshire travels to Marist for a 7:30 tip.

Proctor Leads UMBC to Win Over Quinnipiac

Darryl Proctor led five Retrievers in twin figures with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead UMBC to a 76-71 victory over Quinnipiac in the Tyler Ugolyn Classic. Jay Greene tallied a double-double of his own with 10 points and 10 assists. Matt Spadafora poured in 15 points, Justin Fry contributed 11 and Rich Flemming added 10. Elsewhere, Vermont took Maryland to overtime before falling 89-74 in College Park. Marqus Blakely scored a team-high 23 points and tallied game-highs with 11 rebounds, four blocks and four steals. Mike Trimboli added 17 points, while Colin McIntosh racked up 11.

A full slate of games take place on Saturday. Boston University hosts St. Peter's in a BracketBuster's return game at 1. Maine looks to move to 4-0 at Providence, while Hartford hosts St. Francis (N.Y.) and Stony Brook welcomes Wagner all at 2. Albany takes on Central Connecticut State in its home opener at 7 and UMBC faces Columbia in the championship game of the Tyler Ugolyn Classic at 8.