ALBANY (Interstat) — Ollie Engen scored 25 points and Albany opened its men’s NCAA Division I basketball season with a 74-67 victory over non-divisional opponent Rhode Island Col. at SEFCU Arena in Albany, N.Y. Engen, a guard, added five rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes for the Great Danes, who improved to 1-0. Albany led 42-23 at halftime and withstood a spirited second-half comeback by Rhode Island Col. Attendance was 2,002.

Albany scored 74 points from 73 possessions, an offensive rating of 101.1. The Great Danes had 12 offensive rebounds, six assists, seven blocks, 12 turnovers and 18 fouls. Rhode Island Col. opened the scoring on Troy Santos’ floating jump shot, but U-Mier Graham answered with a 3-pointer and a driving layup. The teams traded the lead early. Noe Bom made a 3-pointer and Xavier Mendez hit a pullup jumper to give Rhode Island Col. a 12-9 edge, and Erwann Bussing tied it with a 3-pointer. Tyler Jones’ driving layup put Albany ahead 14-12, and the Great Danes did not trail again.

Albany stretched its lead with a 17-4 burst. Zach Matulu’s 3-pointer made it 17-13, Jones followed with a pullup jumper and a 3-point play, and Bussing’s two free throws pushed the margin to 25-14. After Rhode Island Col. scored inside, Engen hit a 3-point pullup jumper and Jones made a 3-pointer to make it 31-16. Engen added a layup and a pullup jumper later in the half, and Graham’s layup and Moustapha Ndao’s driving layup closed the first-half scoring for Albany. Rhode Island Col. stayed within reach behind Santos, whose stepback 3-pointer just before halftime cut the deficit to 42-23.

Rhode Island Col. scored 44 points after halftime and made Albany work to the finish. Kean Webb’s layup and dunk helped Albany push the lead to 48-25 early in the second half, and Engen’s floating jumper and pullup kept the margin comfortable. Rhode Island Col. responded with Santos, Mendez and Cam Wilson. Santos made free throws and a layup, Mendez hit a 3-pointer and a layup, and Wilson’s tip-in cut the deficit to 62-42. Albany answered through Bussing’s layup and Engen’s pullup jumper. Wilson’s 3-pointer and Tahijj Hunter’s layup brought Rhode Island Col. to 66-50, and Mendez’s two 3-pointers made it 68-56. Santos’ layup pulled the visitors to 68-58, but Engen made a pullup with 4:44 left and a driving layup at 3:52 to restore a 72-58 lead.

Santos made a stepback 3-pointer with 2:47 left to cut it to 72-61, and Mendez’s layup with 2:11 remaining made it 72-63. Matulu’s layup with 1:18 left gave Albany a 74-63 cushion. Santos scored again with 47 seconds remaining, and Bom’s driving layup with 1.7 seconds left set the final margin. Santos paced Rhode Island Col. with several timely baskets, while Wilson, Mendez, Hunter and Bom also contributed key plays during the comeback attempt.

Jones finished with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block in 29 minutes. Bussing had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes. Matulu, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound guard from Latham, N.Y., who previously played at Shaker, finished with five points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes. Webb added four points, six rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes. Graham scored seven points with three rebounds in 21 minutes. Fall, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound guard who previously attended International School, had four points and three rebounds in eight minutes. Ndao scored three points with one rebound and one block in five minutes. Rose, a 6-foot-4 guard who previously played at Bishop Kearney, had four rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. Kounta had one rebound and one block in eight minutes.

Albany’s upcoming schedule includes a trip to Manhattan, home games against Merrimack and Dartmouth, a visit to Holy Cross, a meeting with Western Illinois in Buffalo, N.Y., a trip to Canisius, games at Syracuse and Penn State, a home game against Army and a visit to Cornell.