SPORTS TALK

 Men's Basketball
    Junior guard Demond Stewart scored 24 points and Daryl Greene added 22 to lead Niagara past Albany, 84-77, on Nov. 28 at the Recreation and Convocation Center. 
    On Nov. 26, Todd Cetnar scored 20 of his career-high 30 points in the second half to lead Albany to a 73-69 victory over Elon in the Great Danes' home opener. Albany recorded its first win as a Division I program after opening with three losses, and beat a Division I opponent for the first time since December 1976. 
    Against Niagara, the Great Danes rallied to take a 63-62 lead with 7:30 remaining, when Karim Ouattara converted a three-point play as he was fouled on a driving layup. Ouattara, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, finished with a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. 
    Niagara (2-0) regrouped with nine of the game's next 10 points to go ahead for good. Stewart, who had eight rebounds and four assists, scored five in that stretch, including two fouls shots to put his team in front. Terry Anderson hit a fastbreak layup to give the Purple Eagles a 71-64 advantage with 4:39 to play. 
    Greene, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, tallied 14 first-half points, including four 3-point field goals, as Niagara raced to a 32-18 lead at the start. However, Albany (1-4) used a 15-3 run to get back into the contest.
    Cetnar, who had a team-high 22 points, led the comeback. Matthew Haggarty, who scored 12, made a pair of free throws to hand the Great Danes their first lead at 42-41.  Will Brand was the fourth Albany player in double figures with 16 points.
NOTES: Freshman Rasheed Bonner had successful surgery to repair a stress fracture in his lower left leg ... Bonner, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward, will miss the entire 1999-2000 season ... Cetnar needs 10 points to become the 22nd 1,000-point scorer in school history ... 

Women's Basketball 
    Megan Buchanan buried a three-point field goal with 7.8 seconds remaining to lift Albany to a 63-60 victory over Wagner in the Great Danes' home debut on Nov. 23 at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
    Wagner's Toni Roker hit a jumper to tie the contest at 60 apiece with 13 seconds left. After a timeout, Buchanan utilized a screen off a sideline in-bounds play to drain the game-winning shot.  Buchanan, a 5-foot-11 senior, finished with 21 points, while Liz Tucker scored 14, including 12 in the second half.
    Albany (2-0) rallied from a 13-point deficit with 16:54 to play by shooting 63 percent from the field in the final period.  Freshman guard Jess McGinlay came off the bench to score 11 points, and converted three 3-point shots. 
    “Our squad raises its level of play each game,” said Albany coach Mari Warner, whose team defeated Iona, 85-73, in the opener on Nov. 19. “Wagner is a great team with a lot of athletes, but we just stuck to our game plan.” Nia Ryan led three Wagner players in double figures with 16 points.
NOTES: Liz Tucker was named the Division I Independent Player of the Week for her performance against Iona, when she scored a career-high 29 points and had 10 rebounds ... Megan Buchanan has climbed to 14th on UA's all-time scoring list ... Melissa Schoonover is 10th in career rebounds with 430 ... Mari Warner posted her 280th career win as Albany's head coach on Nov. 23 ...

WNYT-TV Will Air Albany Basketball Program For Fourth Consecutive Year
    WNYT-TV (NewsChannel 13) has reached an  agreement with the University at Albany to air "Hoop Games-Great Danes Basketball" for the fourth consecutive year.  The 30-minute television program will be seen on 10 occasions from December through the first weekend in March.  Each show will be broadcast on Sunday mornings at 11:30 a.m. 
    Rodger Wyland, the evening sports anchor at WNYT-TV, will host the program.  Men's head coach Scott Hicks and women's head coach Mari Warner will be featured along with player guests and sports-related human interest segments. The first shows are scheduled for Dec. 12 and 19, and then after a three-week break will resume on Jan. 16, 2000. 

Fall Sports Athletes Honored
    Tovah Atwell has been named to the 1999 AstroTurf/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Mideast Regional All-America squad. Atwell, a senior forward, was a second-team selection. A two-time NFHCA All-American on the Division II level, Atwell led the Great Danes in scoring with 14 goals and six assists. She finished her career as the school's all-time scorer with 63 goals and 32 assists for 158 points. Albany recently completed its inaugural Division I campaign with an 11-4 record. 
    Sophomore midfielder Jarvin Skeete has been chosen to the 1999  Independent Men's Soccer All-Star squad as a member of the second team. A native of Hempstead, Skeete led the Great Danes with seven goals and four assists this season.