The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team met with an old acquaintance last night when they traveled east to Albany to face Division I U Albany in an exhibition contest.  The two schools go back to 50's when they were rivals in the SUNYAC conference.  The last time they played each other was on Jan. 31, 1995, which was an epic, three overtime battle that ended up in the favor of Albany 91-86.
 
In last night's game, the Red Dragons battled and competed hard, trailing 50-32 at halftime.  The host Danes then put together a 42-17 second half enroute to its victory.
 
What the Danes got out of it was what every team wants when it takes the floor. Even though it came against a Division III opponent, it will count on the Danes' record, which is now 2-2. Oneonta listed this game as an exhibition, so it doesn't count on their record.
 
"We were right there," said Oneonta's Grant Massaroni (Rotterdam/Mohonasen), a junior guard from Mohonasen. "I thought we were going to stick around the whole game."
 
That didn't happen because the Danes were too big, too quick and more athletic. UAlbany wore the Red Dragons down in the second half.
 
Mike Rowley, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, led the Danes with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Albany big men (Greig Stire, Richard Peters and Travis Charles) combined with Rowley to scored 37 points and grab 26 rebounds. Stire is 6-7, 240 pounds, Peters 6-11 and 270 and Charles 6-6, 230. The best inside players for the Red Dragons were Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) of Saratoga Springs and Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson). They are both 6-3.
 
In the second half, Oneonta shot just 7-30 from the field (23.3 percent) and the Red Dragons could not hold off the UAlbany big men.
 
"I have no regrets about playing this game." Medici said. "I love challenges and this was a great experience for us. It is tough to play against guys that are that big and quick."
 
Junior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) and senior Jack Dignan (Brewster/Brewster) scored 10 points and 11 points respectively to lead the Red Dragons, who play city rival Hartwick College on Tuesday, Dec. 1.  The Red Dragons collected 32 rebounds including 15 offensive boards, which was two more than Albany.

Some of the information for this recap came from the story that appeared in Albany Times Union