UAlbany rallies to give Will Brown his 300th coaching victory
Albany
When he arrived for a postgame news conference, Will Brown had slicked-back hair and a shirt that appeared to have been washed but not dried.
Such are the remnants of a milestone coaching victory, which Brown received Saturday night from his University at Albany basketball team.
UAlbany shot 74 percent in the second half and overcame an 11-point halftime deficit in a 84-80 nonconference victory over Niagara in front of 1,776 at SEFCU Arena.
The victory was the 300th of Brown's 19-year career as head coach. He has 274 losses (.523 winning percentage).
He also got an unexpected shower in the locker room.
"I walked in, and I just started talking, my normal speech postgame," Brown said. "All of a sudden, I got drilled from behind. The guys were throwing water at me, and my son (Landon) threw the water bottle at me, and it hit me right in the back. He thought it was cool."
Brown, 48, is still 402 victories behind legendary coach Richard "Doc" Sauers, who was 702-330 in 41 seasons in Division III at what was then called Albany State.
"I'm not Doc Sauers," Brown said. "Doc coached for a hundred years, but I enjoy what I do and enjoy coaching the kids I coach and the people I work with."
Sophomore guard Antonio Rizzuto, the Great Danes' fourth-leading scorer, didn't play because of a foot injury, but UAlbany (6-6) got contributions from others to snap a three-game skid and end a two-game winning streak by Niagara (2-6).
Senior point guard Ahmad Clark had season highs of 26 points and eight assists. Freshman forward Trey Hutcheson scored a career-high 18.
Hutcheson broke the 12th tie of the game with 1:45 remaining on a 3-pointer from the right side, set up — sort of — by Clark.
"Coach drew that up," Clark said. "I tried to split the defense, and it wasn't about to...