Grayson, Cremo help Albany rally for 80-76 win over Brown

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Marqueese Grayson and Joe Cremo combined to score 39 points — including nine in the final 37 seconds — and Albany overcame an 11-point, second-have deficit to beat Brown 80-76 in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Sunday night.

Grayson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 21 points while Cremo made 10 of 10 foul shots and scored 18. Greig Stire added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Grayson's 3 with 37 seconds left stopped a 7-0 run by Brown and gave the Great Danes (3-2) a 74-69 lead. Tavon Blackmon and Obi Okolie made layups for the Bears, but Cremo hit two free throws after each to make it 78-73 with 15 seconds to go. Okolie hit a 3-pointer 10 seconds later, but Grayson made two free throws to seal it.

Steven Spieth scored 25 — his fourth-consecutive game with 20-plus points — for Brown (1-4).

Albany committed 11 first-half turnovers as the Bears took a 39-30 lead into the break and Joshua Howard's layup with 16:01 remaining gave Brown a 47-36 lead. But Albany scored 19 of the next 20 points and Brown didn't make another field goal until Okolie's layup more than 12 minutes later.