Men's Basketball: Albany Pharmacy 82, Five Towns 64

Men's Basketball: Albany Pharmacy 82, Five Towns 64

Release courtesy Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Athletic Communications

Senior Guard Nate Beltran scored 38 points on 14-24 shooting in the ACPHS Panthers' 82-64 win over the Five Towns College Sound on Sunday, November 11th. The win pushed Albany's winning streak to three and improved their overall record to 3-1. Despite the two teams both being in the HVIAC, this matchup was not considered a conference game as Five Towns and ACPHS will face-off again later in the year.

The Panthers led wire-to-wire in this one, scoring the game's opening five points and running out to an 8-2 lead after two early three pointers from freshman guard Jordan Simmons and Beltran. Beltran was the go-to guy throughout the half, scoring 18 points and routinely finding himself good shooting opportunities. Five Towns did cut the lead to three at the 9:07 mark, but Albany's Joel Martineau scored five straight points to push it back to eight. The sophomore guard finished the contest with seven points off the bench. The Panthers' big run came with five minutes left in the half, when they scored 12 straight points to extend the lead to 18.

In the second half, Beltran continued to dominate and his teammates took notice, looking for the hot shooter early and often. ACPHS' lead never fell below 11 points, and the Panther coasted to their third win in a row. Beltran chipped in nine rebounds and three steals to go along with his game-high 38, while Simmons finished with 14 points, ten rebounds, four assists and two steals. Five Towns had three players finish in double-figures, with Kyree Sawyer's 20 points leading the way. The difference in the game was mainly the three-pointer as the Panther made ten of their 30 attempts (33%) while the Sound could muster just four makes on 17 attempts (24%).


Release courtesy Five Towns College Athletic Communications

Albany, NY - Men's basketball moves to 1-1 (1-0 HVIAC) on the season after an 82-64 loss on the road to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Five Towns shot 41.3% in today's game. The team went 26-63 from the field, including 4-17 from three-point range. Albany Pharmacy shot 43.2% and converted on 10 of 30 shots from behind the arc.

Albany's leading scorer from last season, Nate Beltran, was the game's high scorer with 38 points. Beltran shot 14-24 overall, including 5-10 from three-point range. Beltran averaged 15.7 points per game for the Panthers last season.

Albany held the advantage around the basket with 42 points in the paint compared to Five Towns' 30. The Panthers outrebounded Five Towns 45-37. Albany's defense caused 23 Five Towns turnovers, which the team converted into 26 points. Five Towns turned 18 Albany turnovers into 23 points.

Junior guard Kyree Sawyer led the scoring for Five Towns for two games in a row. After scoring 29 points against Word of Life/Davis yesterday, Sawyer scored 20 points in today's contest, to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal.

Newcomer Damani Merritt scored double-digit points for the second game in a row with 10 points and two rebounds, two assists, two steals. Freshman Eric Romero scored 16 points on 6-14 shooting, including three from behind the arc. Freshman Robert Williams controlled the boards for Five Towns, grabbing 12 rebounds. Williams also totaled eight points, four steals, two blocks, and one assist. Lloyd Middlebrooks contributed eight points, and Nigel Braithwaite Jr. scored four points off the bench.

Albany controlled the game from tip-off and started with a 13-2 scoring run. Five Towns would not have the lead through the entire game.