UAlbany hoping for re-run against Bryant

ALBANY — If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

That was the plan for University at Albany head coach Will Brown as he prepared to meet Bryant for the second time in 13 days tonight at SEFCU Arena.

The 4-2 Great Danes, who are riding a four-game winning streak, defeated the Bulldogs, 76-67, in Smithtown, R.I., on Nov. 19. It was Bryant’s first-ever game at the Division I level.

“I think one of the keys to playing Bryant is to stick to their defensive tendencies,” said Brown. “With Bryant, they’ll play a lot of zone defense, and we know that now.

“This will be another opportunity for us to play at home, and our students will be back for this one.”

Many of UAlbany’s student body were off for the Thanksgiving holiday when the Danes played their last game, a 73-63 victory over Pennsylvania Saturday night. Brown said having the students back should give the Danes a little more energy.

Since there was only one day between games this week, Brown took it easy on his players.

“With a short turnaround, the players know I take care of them,” Brown said. “We’ll watch some film [on Sunday], take some shots and look at the Bryant scout notes.

After that, I’ll let the guys go. They’ll be well rested, believe me.”

Senior forward Brian Connelly said there shouldn’t be much of a problem playing Bryant again.

“It feels just like conference play,” he said. “There shouldn’t be any surprises.”

Bryant is coming off a 88-58 loss to second-ranked Connecticut on Saturday. The Bulldogs are 1-3.

Cecil Gresham, a 6-foot-5,

215-pound forward, tops the Bulldogs in scoring at 19.3 points per game. He scored a game-high 19 points and canned six three-pointers against the Huskies.

Junior guard Chris Birrell is one of four starters returning from last year’s team. The son of a former Boston Red Sox draft choice is averaging 9.5 points and a team-best 4.5 assists. Barry Latham, who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the season opener against UAlbany, produces 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game, while 6-7,

230-pound Jerrann Wright adds 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds. Another key players is 6-5 forward Andrew Lyell (5.5 ppg).

Tim Ambrose scored 24 points against the Bulldogs in the first meeting. The sophomore guard leads the Danes in scoring at 14.7 points per game, and he has scored in double figures in four consecutive games.

Joining Ambrose in the starting lineup should be 6-6 junior forward Will Harris (10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg),

6-1 freshman point guard Anthony Raffa (10.8 ppg), the 6-8 Connelly (7.5 ppg) and 6-11 junior center Brett Gifford. (2.2 ppg).

Raffa scored 16 of his career-high 22 points in the second half against Pennsylvania. Ambrose scored 19 points against the Quakers, while Harris (14) and Connelly (10) also scored in double digits.

UAlbany shot 50 percent from the floor against Pennsylvania. Last season, the Danes won all five games in which they shot 50 percent or better from the floor.

The current four-game winning is UAlbany’s longest since last November.

After tonight’s game, UAlbany takes on crosstown rival Siena Saturday night at Times Union Center.