TROY — The University at Albany men’s basketball team won for the first time in over a month, ending a nine-game losing streak with an 81-74 decision against UMBC at Hudson Valley Community College.
“You can’t even explain the feeling of getting a win after a while,” senior forward Gerald Drumgoole Jr. said.
The Great Danes (7-21, 2-11 America East) used a balanced scoring effort — five players scored in double digits — to build a slim lead at the end of the first half and expand it in the second.
“We did everything we needed to do to find a way to win the game,” coach Dwayne Killings said.
After UMBC (17-11, 7-6) jumped out to a 7-0 start, senior guard/forward Trey Hutcheson got the Great Danes on the board with a 3-pointer, then put UAlbany on top with another 3 and a pair of free throws. He finished with 14 points, topping his season high of 10 with 11 points in the first half alone.
Graduate guard Craig Beaudion fed junior guard Matteo Picarelli for a 3 that put UMBC up 19-16, but UAlbany freshman forward Johnathan Beagle went on a 6-0 run by himself to put the Great Danes back up by three. Beagle recorded the fourth double-double of his career, pouring in 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to go along with four assists and two blocks.
UAlbany led by as many as seven points in the first, but the Retrievers ended the half with an 8-3 run to close within 37-35. Picarelli, who led UMBC with 24 points, missed an open 3 out of a timeout, but freshman guard Dion Brown was there for two offensive rebounds and the putback.
Brown, a Great Barrington, Mass. native, had plenty of support in the crowd. Fans wearing UMBC shirts with his number made up a significant portion of the 1,104 fans at Hudson Valley Community College.
Drumgoole and fifth-year guard Sarju Patel, who scored two and zero…
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