NEW YORK -- After months of anticipation, the Big Apple Battle is finally here. Tonight, for the first
time ever, Madison Square Garden, the “World’s Most Famous Arena”, will
host an America East men’s basketball conference game when University at
Albany and Boston University tip off at approximately 9:30 p.m. in the Big
Apple Battle. The two teams will take the court after the St. John's-UConn contest.
This will be Albany's first-ever appearance in the famed arena, while the Terriers will be making their fourth in the Garden, which also includes a win over UConn in the
1959 NCAA Tournament. Boston U., which has won four straight in the series, overcame a 16-point halftime deficit in the first meeting this season downed Albany, 70-67.
Boston University senior John Holland and Albany senior Tim Ambrose, two of the league's top scorers, will have a chance to play in front of a hometwon crowd. Holland, a native of the Bronx, leads the league is scoring with 18.8 points per game while Ambrose, a native of Brentwood, N.Y., ranks third among league leaders averaging 16.5 points per game.
“This is a
wonderful step forward for America East Basketball,” said America East Commissioner Patrick Nero when the venture was announced in October. “Madison
Square Garden has been the mecca of college basketball for over 75
years. We are thrilled that the students, alumni and fans from Boston
University and Albany will get an opportunity to experience college
basketball in The Garden. If you play college basketball or are a fan of
college basketball, you want to get the chance to enjoy the passion and
history of Madison Square Garden.”
Upcoming Action
Thursday, February 10
Maine at Hartford, 7 p.m. -- Live Stats | Live Video | Hartford Radio | Maine Radio
- Two teams looking to snap losking skids meet in Hartford Thursday when Maine (14-9, 8-3 AE) visits Hartford (7-16, 4-6 AE).
- The Hawks fell at Albany Saturday, their fourth straight defeat while the Black Bears surrendered a 17-point lead to UMBC and dropped its second straight game for the first time since early December.
- Maine, which had won seven straight before its losing skid, leads America East in FG percentage, shooting 46.2 percent from the field.
- Hartford ranks 19th nationally in 3-point field goals per game (8.4),
20th in turnover margin (+3.6) and also leads America East in steals
(8.1 spg).
- Troy Barnies averages 14.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game
ranks seventh and fourth, respectively, among league leaders.
- Morgan Sabia, who ranks eighth in America East in scoring (14.4 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.3 rpg), missed his second straight game with a knee injury.
Boston U. vs. Albany, 9:35 p.m. (at Madison Square Garden) -- Boston U. Radio | Albany Radio
- The Terriers (12-13, 7-4 AE) and Great Danes (12-14, 5-6 AE) meet in the Big Apple Battle at Madison Sqaure Garden.
- Boston U. has won back-to-back games for the first time in three weeks after posting wins over Maine and Stony Brook last week.
- Albany's Jacob Iati sank a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left to seal
Albany's win over Hartford Saturday, its fourth win in six games.
- Boston U. senior John Holland, the reigning America East Player of the Week, became the 13th player in league history to score 2,000 points last week. The league's leading scorer (18.8 ppg), he currently ranks ninth all-time with 2,028 career points.
- Sophomore Logan Aronhalt, who ranks fifth in scoring (14.8 ppg), was one of five players named to the Capital One Academic All-District I squad last week. He has a 3.78 GPA in human biology.
Recent Results
Wednesday, February 9
Vermont 80, at UMBC 67 -- Box Score
-
Freshman forward Brian Voelkel scored 19 points
and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Vermont (20-5, 11-2 America East) to an
impressive 80-67 road victory at UMBC (5-20, 4-8 America East).
- Vermont, winner of eight straight games, secured its eighth 20-win season in the last 10.
-
Sophomore guard Brendan Bald added 19 points on
8-of-20 shooting to help lead the Catamounts to the win.
-
Vermont was efficient on the offensive end, as
it shot 44.8 percent from the field as a team.
-
UMBC was led by junior guard Chris De La Rosa,
who scored a game-high 20 points and dished out six assists.
-
Graduate student guard Travis King came off the
bench to score 18 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.
Stony Brook 63, at New Hampshire 56 -- Box Score
-
Stony Brook (10-14, 5-7 America East) used an
excellent shooting performance from behind the three-point line, hitting
11-of-24 attempts, to pull out the key 63-56 win at New Hampshire (11-14, 5-8
America East).
-
Junior guard Bryan Dougher led the way for Stony
Brook, as he scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.
-
Sophomore guard Leonard Hayes added 11 points
and five rebounds in the win.
-
New Hampshire was led by senior guard Tyrone
Conley, who scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field.
Sophomore guard Chandler Rhoads added 14 points in the loss.