Siena fans rush the court as the Saints celebrate their third straight MAAC Championship Monday night.

The MAAC attempted to stop Siena fans from storming the court and instructed the security at the Times Union Center to do their best to stop them.

However the battle between students and security was a petty one compared to the one that raged after the game.

Times Union Center General Manager Bob Belber said MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor was adamant that students not reach the floor while Belber had doubts as to whether or not it would be successful.

“He wanted barricades to be placed across the concourses to prevent the students from filtering into other sections of the arena to gain access to the floor,” Belber said in a statement.

“I told [Ensor] a number of times that the kids just want the opportunity to celebrate,” Belber said. “[Ensor] was determined to try to keep the students off the court, which is why there were security guards trying to keep students from entering the court areas.”

Belber also said that the security guards were trained to let the students go if the pressure was too great. Eventually the students broke through and reached the floor late after Siena’s overtime victory over Fairfield.

A Siena spokesperson said there were no sustained injuries and the Albany police said there were no arrests related to the court storming last night.

MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor fired back at Belber this afternoon. Ensor said his only plan was to want to protect the integrity of the game.

“That was our plan,” Ensor said to keeping the students off the court. “How the arena trains its staff and implements the plan is their business.”

Meanwhile Ensor did not spare taking a shot at the Siena Saints student section either.

“The incidents that occurred where are students aren’t listening and starting interacting with security and started throwing punches is really a reflection on the students,” Ensor said.

“I think there’s a tradition that’s developed at Siena that they want to storm the court and be a part of the action,” Ensor said. “The first time you win a championship, maybe there’s a reason for the spontaneity. At this point, it’s gotten beyond that to a very systematic approach.”

Meanwhile Marist and Rider fans will hope to not be run into the security policy that Siena fans ran into Monday night when they win their first MAAC tournament championships.

Belber said that he hopes the incidents last night will not strain the relationship between the Times Union Center and the community.

“The staff of the Times Union Center worked very hard and put in tremendous hours to host this record-breaking tournament, and it is a shame that there are negative feelings toward them for trying to carry out the directive of the MAAC,” Belber said.

The MAAC broke the attendance record set last year in this year’s MAAC Tournament.

Alex Franklin drives to the basket and scores two of his 22 in the Saints overtime victory over the Fairfield Stags for their third straight MAAC Championship.

Ronald Moore sinks another huge three late in the second half in Siena’s overtime win over Fairfield to take the MAAC Championship.

Edwin Ubiles takes the ball away on a fastbreak and throws up a crowd-inspiring dunk in the second half of Siena’s victory in the MAAC Championship game over Fairfield.

Alex Franklin throws in a dunk as the Saints come back to win over the Fairfield Stags in the MAAC Championship game.

Clarence Jackson throws down a jam in the first half of Siena’s MAAC Championship victory over Fairfield on Monday night.

Siena defeated Fairfield in Overtime Monday night at the Times Union Center for their third consecutive MAAC Title. They improve their MAAC Tournament record to 31-16, and head to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history. Siena now has a 38 game home court winning streak.

With this team, it’s almost scripted. Siena comes out slow, turns on the press, turns their opponent over, and wins. Monday night was no different.

Every time Siena has needed a big shot– they have gone to Ronald Moore. With 2:07 to go in regulation, Moore gave the Saints a 60-58 lead, nailing a three pointer from the same spot he drained one from Sunday night. Moore, starting his 128th consecutive game, passed Jared Jordan for the MAAC All Time Assist Lead. He finished with 9 points and 6 assists.

Up by two with 1:28 to go, Alex Franklin dove on the basketball at mid court, and Siena, having just lost the possession arrow, promptly called a timeout. It looked like the game was sealed. A Mike Evanovich steal would lead to a Colin Nickerson layup and tie the game at 60. Siena failed to score on the ensuing possession, but Fran McCaffery would not be out coached. Fran used all four fouls they had to give to make a Fairfield buzzer beater impossible.

Edwin Ubiles took over and scored in numerous crucial moments of the contest. Ubiles scored 27 points, snagged 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Junior Ryan Rossiter, coming off tying a career high 18 rebounds on Sunday, fouled out with 12.4 to go in overtime closing his night with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Followed of course by the MAAC Tournament MVP, Alex Franklin who scored 22 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Anthony Johnson had a double-double for the Stags, scoring 14 and collecting 13 rebounds. Derek Needham scored 16 points and did a phenomenal job denying the Ronald Moore the basketball early in the game.

The Dog Pound yellow shined deep into the rafters Monday night– their presence was felt. As Siena made their runs in the second half, they were the loudest I’ve ever heard them. The Dog Pound attempted to rush the court early, but were held off until about five minutes after the game was over. 10,679 people showed up Monday night to watch the championship, padding a MAAC Tournament record of 53,569.

After the game, Fran said this about the NCAA Tournament…

We’ll be ready, [we'll] be resilient…

The MAAC Tournament MVP is Alex Franklin. Who closed out the tournament with 63 points and 31 rebounds. Here’s how the 2010 All MAAC Team shakes out…

• Anthony Johnson
• Derek Needham
• Edwin Ubiles
• Ryan Rossiter
• Ronald Moore

ALBANY — The Siena Saints will go for their third straight MAAC Championship on Monday night as they take on the Fairfield Stags at 7pm on ESPN2.

This Siena class is undoubtedly one of the best to ever touch the Loudonville campus. These seniors will be playing in their fourth straight MAAC championship game on Monday night, having won two of three entering Monday night’s game.

The Saints are 15-0 when four Saints score in double-figures this year and have been led by the starters.

MAAC Player of the Year Alex Franklin has carried the Saints in this MAAC Tournament. Franklin scored Siena’s first points of the tournament and has been strong ever since, scoring 41 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in the two MAAC Tournament games thus far. Franklin broke out late his freshman year with a 27-point performance in the 2007 MAAC Championship game, where Siena fell to Niagara in Bridgeport, CT.

First Team All-MAAC junior Ryan Rossiter has risen to the stage of the MAAC Tournament, scoring 10 points in both games and grabbing 30 rebounds. Rossiter matched his career-high with 18 rebounds in Sunday’s 72-62 win over Rider in the semifinal game.

First Team All-MAAC senior Ronald Moore has been a steady force for the Saints and scored double-digit points for the first time since January 28th in the Saints’ semifinal win. Moore totaled 15 points in Siena’s win over Rider. Moore needs two assists to overtake Marist’s Jared Jordan for the MAAC record (813) and for 25th in Division I history. Moore has scored 7.6 ppg in his three MAAC Championship games.

While Edwin Ubiles was disappointed with his second-team All-MAAC standing, the senior has come through well in championship games. Ubiles has shot 48.5% from the field all-time in MAAC Championship games.

Third team All-MAAC junior Clarence Jackson carried the Saints on Sunday, overcoming a 2-15 day against Manhattan by scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half in the Saints win over Rider Sunday.

The Stags bring in MAAC Rookie of the Year Derek Needham who has been proven to be unstoppable in his first year. Needham has been a playmaker off the dribble all year, scoring 29 points in their Quarterfinal game win over Canisius and 17 points in their win over Niagara.

They also bring in the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in Anthony Johnson and the 6th Man of the Year in Mike Evanovich. Johnson recorded a crucial steal on an entry pass and blocked an Anthony Nelson drive to the basket in the span of a minute. Johnson scored 21 points in their win over Niagara in the semifinal game. He has been dominant on the glass this year but recorded just two blocks in Siena’s meetings with the Stags. Evanovich was held to just 11 points in his two meetings with the Saints this year.

Siena will also be defending the nation’s second longest win streak at home at 37 games. Siena is 5-1 all-time in the MAAC Tournament against Fairfield. The Saints are 4-3 in MAAC Championship games and, with a win, will be first for All Time Tournament wins, over Iona’s 4.

The details always grow more important in postseason play, and one crucial detail that shouldn’t be overlooked is the recent foul shooting of Alex Franklin.

Franklin is by far the most fouled person on the team with 225 attempts so far this season, which is already a career high for the senior. His 66.2% from the line is the best free throw numbers he’s put up since his freshman year. However, it’s his stellar performance during the MAAC tournament (when it really matters) that demonstrates how much emphasis Franklin is placing on connecting from the line.

Against Manhattan he went a solid 9-14 (64.2%), but went an amazing 12-13 (92.3%) in the semifinal game against Rider. These percentages are massively higher than his shooting from last year’s tournament when the largest number of free throws he made in a game was 2 against Niagara.

With Siena struggling out of the gate in both of their recent games, it has been Franklin and his free throws that have kept the team within striking distance. His 7 first half points from line against Manhattan helped contain the Jaspers early momentum.

With the number of times Franklin normally goes to the foul line, combined with his much improved shooting makes Franklin a more dangerous threat. His aggressive offensive style not only gets opponents into foul trouble, but now consistently results in points. If he is able to continue this trend, it will be very difficult for anyone to beat the Saints tomorrow in the championship game.