By: Cameron Cupp
The University at Albany Great Danes fell to the Hartford Hawks Wednesday, 66-60, in a game that saw star point guard Ahmad Clark score his 1,000th career point.
"Scoring 1,000 points means a lot to me. I've never scored 1,000 at any level or with any team or program,” Clark said. “I was blessed to come here for three years, and it's a testament to God and the work I've put in. I'll take it for now, but if we win a championship it will mean a lot more."
In addition to Clark’s milestone, forward Romani Hansen grabbed a program, single-game record 18 rebounds for UAlbany.
"It's an honor setting the record, coming in, I never thought I'd be breaking a record or anything like that,” said the forward when asked about his record-setting night. “I'm just happy that the coaches believe in me and that they gave me the opportunity to do that.”
As for Head Coach Will Brown, he was more focused on the issues the team faced in the loss than the personal achievements of his star players.
"We didn't have enough offensive firepower, and we didn't score the ball. We had 16 offensive rebounds and we don't have a lot to show for it, so that's disappointing,” Coach Brown Said. “We played hard and put ourselves in a position to win, but when one team goes 14-16 from the line and you go 7-16 in a two-possession game, that kind of sums it up."
The game started off slowly for both teams, as both seemed to not find their shots falling.
UAlbany’s Antonio Rizzuto led the team in the early first half, scoring seven of their first 13 points. Thanks to that stellar performance, the Great Danes found themselves up 13-12 with around 10:00 left to go in the first half.
Scoring would remain close, as UAlbany would take a slim 25-22 into halftime.
Much of the second half would be the same, with UAlbany buckets always being answered quickly by the Hawks.
With 6:23 to go in the game, Hartford found themselves up by five and would never again yield their lead to the Great Danes.
The Great Danes will play their next game at America East rival Maine, on Sunday, Feb. 16.