The regular season is over for the University at Albany men’s basketball team. From here on out, it’s one-and-done.
UAlbany’s regular season ended Tuesday with a 69-56 loss to Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vt. The Great Danes finished the regular season with an 11-20 overall record and a 7-9 mark in America East play.
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The America East playoffs start Saturday, with UAlbany earning the No. 5 seed and a 1 p.m. road game against No. 4 UMass Lowell. The River Hawks swept UAlbany during the regular season, winning 83-71 in Lowell, Mass. on Jan. 3 and 89-79 in Albany on Feb. 7.
“We have to want to walk in there and prove that we can be the tougher team,” Great Danes coach Dwayne Killings said in a video provided by UAlbany Athletics. “That’s the next test for us. If we can get that test right, we’ll be fortunate to win the game, but it will not be easy.”
UAlbany went into Tuesday with the possibility of being either the No. 5 seed and facing UMass Lowell or dropping to the No. 6 seed and facing NJIT. The result at Patrick Gymnasium was rendered irrelevant in terms of seeding thanks to earlier results around the league Tuesday.
UMBC’s 91-52 win over NJIT locked Vermont into the No. 2 seed, while UAlbany was assured of the No. 5 seed when UMass Lowell beat Maine 67-56.
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The Great Danes started Tuesday night going toe-to-toe with a Vermont (20-11, 12-4) team that they’d beaten earlier this season in Albany. But, with the game tied 26-26, UAlbany was held scoreless over the final 4:25 of the first half as Vermont forged a 31-26 halftime lead.
UAlbany head coach Dwayne Killings reacts to a call during game against UMBC at the Broadview Center in Albany, NY on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Stephen Weaver/For the Times Union (Stephen Weaver)
The Catamounts pushed the lead to 11 in the second half before a rally got the Great Danes within 46-44 after a Ma’Kye Taylor dunk with 8:24 to play. But, Vermont responded with an 11-0 run following a timeout by coach John Becker, and the Great Danes were unable to answer.
“I thought we played hard. We were prepared,” Killings said. “I thought they were better than us today.”
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Amir Lindsey finished with a game-high 25 points and added five assists for UAlbany. Zacharie Matulu and Isaac Abidde added 10 points apiece, and Okechukwu Okeke chipped in seven points and 11 rebounds, but committed seven turnovers as the subject of constant double-teams whenever he got the ball in the post.
Gus Yalden scored 19 points and TJ Long scored 13 for Vermont.
UAlbany played once again without Jaden Kempson (hip), Abdoulaye Fall (knee), Nas Muhammad (knee), Yaya Keita (knee), and Ife West-Ingram (unspecified medical issue). The Great Danes used only seven players for most of the game until a brief cameo from Bautista Giralt in the final seconds.
“If we’re fortunate enough to get another body (for the playoffs), I think we’ll make this journey a little bit easier,” Killings said. “Playing with seven guys is tough, but we’re walking in here ready for us. … I think the lesson for us right now is it’s not going to be as easy as we’d like it to be.”
This article originally published at UAlbany men’s basketball drops regular-season finale at Vermont.
