UAlbany men: Great Danes hit road, face Terriers tonight

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bob Weiner

After dropping an 85-82 overtime decision at Cornell Saturday afternoon, University at Albany faces a quick turnaround once again when the Great Danes travel to Brooklyn Heights to take on the St. Francis (N.Y.) Terriers tonight in a non-conference men’s basketball game at the Pope Center.

UAlbany (5-5) placed five players in double figures against the Big Red, but still couldn’t hold off Cornell. Gerard Suero poured in 22 points, and Logan Aronhalt added 19. Junior Blake Metcalf contributed his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Suero leads the Great Danes at 21 points per game, while Aronhalt, shrugging off a knee injury that puts his status as day-to-day, produces 15.3 ppg. Junior point guard Mike Black is the third UAlbany player averaging in double digits at 11.6.

St. Francis, of the Northeast Conference, is coming off a 73-71 loss to Howard. The Terriers are 1-1 in the NEC and 3-6 overall.

The Terriers, who will be playing their first home game of the season after nine road games, feature an extremely balanced lineup, with five players averaging between 8.4 ppg and 13.0 ppg.

Bill Mockord, a 6-2 sophomore guard, leads the team at 13.0 ppg and 30 three-point field goals.

Stefan Peruncic, a 6-6 senior, is next at 10.4 ppg, while 6-6 junior Akeem Johnson contributes 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Rounding out the leaders are 6-4 junior Travis Nichols (8.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and 6-0 senior Dra Calloway (8.4 ppg).

UAlbany is 3-0 all-time against the Terriers.

The Great Danes return home to host Dartmouth, their second Ivy League opponent of the season, Friday at SEFCU Arena.