UAlbany men's basketball suffers frustrating home loss to UMass Lowell

ALBANY - UAlbany men's basketball coach Dwayne Killings opened his postgame news conference following Saturday's 89-79 loss to UMass Lowell by apologizing to the 2,009 fans who braved frigid temperatures only to see a sub-par effort from the Great Danes at Broadview Center.

"Our effort was not where it needed to be to beat a really physical UMass Lowell team that competed harder than us, was more physical than us, that was tougher than us," Killings said. "I did not get our team ready for a really physical game."

In a game that felt strikingly similar to the Jan. 3 matchup between the two teams that the River Hawks won 83-71 on their home court, UMass Lowell's physicality left the Great Danes (8-17 overall, 4-6 America East) outmatched.

UMass Lowell (10-15, 5-5) finished with a 35-26 rebounding advantage and grabbed 11 offensive boards, which resulted in 18 second-chance points. Victor Okojie led the River Hawks with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but it was the physical guard play of Angela Montas Jr. and Xavier Spencer, who combined for 39 points, that gave UAlbany the most trouble.

With the Great Danes' best on-ball defenders, Zacharie Matulu (foot) and Abdoulaye Fall (knee) both unavailable, Montas and Spencer created mismatches against either smaller guards or slower forwards.

"I didn't think the stuff they were running was super hard for us to guard," Killings said, "but once we cleared their offense, our 1-on-1 defense was nowhere to be found and I thought they were just too physical."

UAlbany guard Amir Lindsey, who finished with a game-high 23 points, said the loss came down to a lack of effort.

"We just didn't compete," Lindsey said.

Down by as many as nine in the first half, UAlbany was able to take a 34-30 lead with 4:38 left in the opening stanza. However, guard Jaden Kempson picked up his third foul just 26 seconds later and had to sit the remainder of the half, which helped UMass Lowell claw back in front 39-38 at halftime.

The Great Danes struck back early in the second half, taking a 43-39 lead, but foul trouble began mounting for Isaac Abidde and Tarique Foster, leaving an already shorthanded UAlbany roster with few options.

"It was definitely a tough spot," said Kempson, who scored 18 points in his third game back from a hand injury. "We needed guys to step up. It's not all about one player, people have got to step up."

UMass Lowell took charge over the game's final 15 minutes. Down 49-46, the River Hawks unleashed a 17-4 run that turned the tide for good. They led by as many as 17 down the stretch.

UAlbany allowed UMass Lowell to shoot 55.6% from the field for the game and 60% in the second half, as well as 7-of-13 from 3-point range. When the River Hawks did miss, their offensive rebounding prowess resulted in plenty of second chances.

"They were a lot more physical than us," Killings said. "We talked about it a lot. Worked on rebounding. We really emphasized it, but they just crushed us on the glass."

In addition to Lindsey's 23 points and Kempson's 18, Okechukwu Okeke added 20 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting, but the center missed a couple of first-half dunk attempts and was just 4-of-9 from the free throw line.

After missing an opportunity to build on Thursday's comeback win over Bryant and get back to .500 in league play, the injury-plagued Great Danes have a bye on Thursday, giving the team some crucial extra time to prepare for a three-game road swing that starts this coming Saturday at Binghamton.

"We just need this time to prepare for our next game," Lindsey said. "Get it right in practice, so we're not making those mistakes again."

This article originally published at UAlbany men's basketball suffers frustrating home loss to UMass Lowell.