ALBANY, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (3-1) renewed an old rivalry with the University at Albany (2-2) and fell to the now Division I Great Danes 78-52 on Tuesday night. The stature of his opponent didn't faze reigning SUNYAC Player of the Week Brandon Segar Jr., who just missed his third straight double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Bears. Senior captain Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) finished with nine points, six rebounds and three steals.
 
The Bears sparred resolutely with Albany over the first nine and a half minutes, answering basket-for-basket and claiming the lead three times. Trailing 9-6 at the 16:52 mark, Potsdam rattled off seven points in-a-row on a jumper from Segar, a layup from freshman center Tyrese Baptiste (Brooklyn, Eagle Academy II) and another jumper and free throw from Segar. Potsdam led 13-9 at 12:55. After 3-pointer from Antonio Rizzuto reclaimed a 14-13 advantage for the Great Danes, Segar hit another free throw and senior captain Jayquan Thomas (Hollis, N.Y./Richmond Hill) added a layup at 11:00 to give the Bears their final lead at 16-14. Potsdam stayed in striking distance the rest of the half and Baptiste and Delsol-Lowry scored four straight to get the Bears even one final time at 26-26 with 2:06 left in the half. Albany answered with an 8-0 run and took a 34-26 lead into the break.

Segar scored on a layup six seconds into the second half, but Albany slowly pulled away after the bucket. The Bears made a final push down 66-40 with 6:05 remaining. Junior forward Dante Viskovich (Massena, N.Y./Massena) sank a three to start a 10-2 run. Sophomore guard Isaiah Joseph (Harlem, N.Y./Isquierdo Health and Science Charter) had five points during the stretch and capped the run with a 3-pointer. Junior center Kristoff Saunders (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) also scored during the 2:26 span and the Bears trailed 68-50. Albany answered with a 10-2 run of its own to close out the contest at 78-52.
 
While the Bears were outrebounded 49-39, they finished with a 13-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
 
Next, Potsdam heads across town to face Clarkson University in one week to battle the Golden Knights at 7 p.m.