Quinnipiac puts away Albany 79-69

HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) — Umar Shannon scored a game-high 24 points as Quinnipiac defeated Albany 79-69 Saturday.

The Bobcats (2-1) overcame an early 11-0 deficit, storming back to take a 41-35 advantage at the break.

Quinnipiac increased their lead to 10 early in the second half, but Albany (2-1) surged to pull back within one on a Dave Wiegmann layup.

Zaid Hearst made a jump shot and Shannon hit a layup, but John Puk answered with a jumper to cut the Great Danes’ deficit to three.

Quinnipiac closed the game on a 13-6 run fueled by three free throws and a layup from Ousmane Drame.

Albany couldn’t close the gap despite shooting 52.7 from the field to Quinnipiac’s 43.7 percentage. They were led by Sam Rowley with 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting.

Drame finished with 18 points and 10 boards and Hearst added 14 points with 12 rebounds.