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WELCOME TO THE PARTY

UAlbany basketball team headed to NCAA tourney

PETE IORIZZO Staff Writer
Section: Main,  Page: A1

Date: Sunday, March 12, 2006

ALBANY - They waited a long time for it, some camping out for tickets since Thursday, some arriving in the late-night hours Friday, almost all clamoring to enter the University at Albany Recreation and Convocation Center hours before tip-off Saturday.


They turned the field behind the Physical Education building into a Woodstock-like scene, covering it with tents, chairs, tables, barbecues, cans, bottles, half-eaten doughnuts, empty pizza boxes, pillows and blankets. Someone brought a futon. Two students shared a box of wine. They wore purple-and-white T-shirts that said "Albany 1" on the front and "1 party school in the nation" on the back. They put pompons on their heads and called them wigs. They draped beads over their necks as if it were Mardi Gras.


They chanted over and over, "We want to dance."


At 2:04 p.m., the University at Albany men's basketball team started the suddenly basketball-crazed student body dancing - all over the court.


The Great Danes defeated Vermont, 80-67, in front of a sellout crowd of 4,538 to win the America East Conference championship and earn the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament, otherwise known as "The Big Dance." UAlbany, which became a Division I program just seven years ago, is the first SUNY school to reach the tournament.


The Danes will learn who their opponent is this evening. As students rushed the court after the victory, a handful of fans offered their choice, chanting, "We want Duke."


In the euphoria UAlbany's victory created, beating anyone seemed plausible. Within seconds of the final buzzer, students seated behind both baskets flooded the floor, as the players, wearing white championship hats and T-shirts, disappeared in a haze of towel-twirling fans.


"Ladies and gentlemen," the public address announcer proclaimed, "we are going dancing."


Students waited 20 minutes before finally clearing the court, which was hardly surprising given what they endured to even attend the game. On Thursday night, about 30 students occupying four or five tents formed a line for tickets along a fence next to the PE building. By the predawn hours Saturday, the crowd reached 60 tents and an estimated 800 students.


About 1,100 or so free tickets were supposed to be handed out at 9 a.m., three hours before tip-off. But so many students were camped out and standing in line, officials started giving away tickets shortly after 8.


Sometime around sunrise, UAlbany coach Will Brown and a few players appeared, handing out hot chocolate and doughnuts.


"Then it was pandemonium," said Brett Ryan, a 19-year-old sophomore.


"We stayed up all night and partied all night for the craziest event in school history," said Craig Berman, a 23-year-old senior. "I didn't sleep. Nobody slept." It seemed nobody napped, either.


Soon after 9 a.m., most of the campers collected their tents and scattered across campus. An hour later, they reappeared, standing just outside the RACC's entrance, singing, chanting and screaming. They taunted a group of Vermont fans with chants of, "Ma-ple Syr-up."


They later filled the RACC's student sections. They drowned out the last few notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with ear-splitting screams. They started chanting - prophetically, it turned out - "M-V-P" after guard Jamar Wilson's first basket. And they sang, "Let's go dan-cing," in the second half.


"This is the arrival of Division I basketball at Albany," Jason Graber, No. 2 on the school's career scoring list, said as he sat in the stands.


Guard Brian Lillis' father, Terry, who drove to the game from Iowa along with his wife and the family of forward Brent Wilson, yelled over the noise, "This is why you come here to play. You look at it, and you get kind of nervous as a parent. But then you think about it, you realize, this is what the kids want."


Once students finally cleared the court, UAlbany players and coaches gathered for an awards ceremony. Brown, sick Friday night with a 103 fever, wiped sweat from his forehead and forced a smile despite puffy eyes and a red nose. His wife, Jamie, stood nearby, coddling the couple's 3-year-old son, Jackson.


"Now we're going dancing," she whispered to him.


Jackson looked back at her with wide eyes.


"Yes," she repeated. "We are going dancing."








Pete Iorizzo can be reached at 454-5425 or by e-mail at piorizzo@timesunion.com.