Albany holds off New Hampshire 60-58 in America East semi

Mar 8, 2015, 05:32 pm

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Peter Hooley scored 21 points, Evan Singletary added 18 and top-seeded Albany held on to defeat fourth-seeded New Hampshire 60-58 on Sunday in the semifinals of the America East Conference tournament.

The Great Danes (23-8) have a chance to defend their 2014 tournament title after Jaleen Smith's long 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer. Albany has won five straight since losing to Stony Brook at home and will host the third-seeded Seawolves for the championship on Saturday.

New Hampshire (19-12) had an earlier chance to take a lead but Daniel Dion missed an awkward looking 3-pointer from the top of the key with six seconds left. Ray Sanders rebounded and was fouled with 3.3 seconds left and he made one free throw, giving the Wildcats a final chance.

Smith had 16 points and Matt Miller 13 for New Hampshire, which shot 60 percent in the first half to lead 35-32 but shot just 29.6 percent in the second.