Men Win First-Ever Meeting with St. Rose, 78-69
by Brian DePasquale
Sophomore Todd Cetnar had 19 points and Tom McGoldrick, the tournament�s most valuable player, added 16 points and 12 rebounds in leading Albany to a 78-69 victory over St. Rose in the championship of the Capital Key Classic at Pepsi Arena on Jan. 4.
The Great Danes used an early barrage from the three-point arc to earn bragging rights in this first-ever match-up between the two Capital Region programs. Albany hit six three-pointers in the opening six minutes to race to a 22-6 lead.
"We came out with a lot intensity, we�ve been waiting for this game for a long time and I think we proved a lot," said senior guard Darrin Jahnel, who is averaging 13.8 points on the season, and leads the team with 53 three-pointers. A big part of our offense is the 3-point shot and we hit a lot of them. We got on a roll."
Petr Burda, a freshman from Czech Republic, made his club�s 10th long-range jumper of the first half, and staked the Great Danes to a 43-29 lead at the break. Albany led by as much as 23 points in the second half en route to the victory.
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Capital Key Classic MVP Tom McGoldrick
"This really feels good. This means a lot to me and the team that we came out and played a great game," said McGoldrick, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the second round against Assumption, an 83-70 triumph.
Albany captured its first in-season tournament title since December 1993, when the program won Staten Island�s Dolphin Holiday Tournament.
Dane Notes: Albany is off to its best start since 1993-94 with a 13-4 overall record ... the Great Danes have won 11 of their last 13 contests ... Andre Duncan, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds against St. Rose, became the school�s all-time shot-blocker on Dec. 13, and currently has 172 rejections ... Todd Cetnar was a Capital Key Classic all-tournament selection ... Darrin Jahnel and Bob Markel were on the tourney�s all-academic team ... the entire Albany basketball schedule can be heard on WROW Radio (590 AM) ... selected games are aired by WCDB (90.9 FM) on campus ...
Women Hoopsters Avenge NECC Loss
Albany improved its record to 10-6 with a convincing 91-56 New England Collegiate Conference victory over Southern Connecticut State in mid-January at the Recreation and Convocation Center. The win avenged a nine-point loss to the Owls in early December.
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Key Classic all-academic team member Kelly Paolino
The Great Danes connected on their opening four 3-point field goals to grab a 14-4 lead, and never looked back. Junior co-captain Kelly Paolino, who had 16 points and six assists, hit three shots from beyond the arc in that outburst.
Freshman Robin Rink scored a career-high 17 points to pace five other Great Danes in double figures. Melissa Schoonover, a 6-foot-1 center, added 13 for Albany, which shot 51 percent from the field to build a 46-19 halftime advantage.
"This is a young team whose best days are ahead of them," said head coach Mari Warner, who recorded her 261st career win. "Our success is based upon a defense played with intensity."
Albany, which is ranked 18th nationally in scoring defense, held its sixth straight opponent to less than 60 points.
Dane Notes: Kelly Paolino was named to the Capital Key Classic all-academic team ... Paolino recently moved to ninth on UA�s all-time assist list with 190 ... Dawn DiMicco scored a career-high 25 points in an NECC victory over Stony Brook on Jan. 8 ...
Duncan Gets ECAC Honors
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ECAC Player of the Week Andre Duncan
Senior forward Andre Duncan was chosen as the ECAC-North Division II Player of the Week on Jan. 11. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 23.0 points and 9.7 rebounds in three games. Duncan has scored 20-plus points in six of his last eight starts, and has climbed into 11th position on the school�s career scoring list with 1,244 points.
Basketball Show Returns to Channel 13
WNYT-TV (NewsChannel 13) broadcasts a weekly University at Albany basketball show for the second consecutive year. The program is titled, "Hoop Games - Great Danes Basketball", and airs each Saturday at 1:30 in the afternoon. Rodger Wyland, the evening sports anchor at WNYT-TV, and the host of the nightly radio program, Big Board Sports Talk, serves as the 30-minute program�s host. The series, which features the UA men�s and women�s team, began on January 10, and runs through the first weekend in March.
Baker a Football All-America
Loren Baker, a senior offensive tackle, has been named to the 1997 Football Gazette Division II All-America Team as an honorable mention selection. Baker, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman, was earlier chosen first-team all-Northeast Region, all-ECAC-North, all-Eastern Football Conference, and was voted the EFC�s best offensive lineman.
Baker paved the way for a multiple-attack which established single-season records for points (468), total yards (5,035) and passing yards (2,651). The Great Danes captured the EFC championship and posted an 11-1 record.
Seth Thomas recently returned from Fargo, North Dakota, where he participated in the 1998 Division II Snow Bowl as a member of the East All-Stars. Thomas caught 39 passes for 656 yards and six touchdowns, and has been getting some attention from National Football League scouts.
First Team All-New York in Soccer
Bryan Grabon, a freshman from East Aurora, N.Y., has been chosen to the 1997 All-New York Region first-team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He led the Great Danes in scoring with 10 goals and one assist.