Siena will have to find a way to replace the scoring from outgoing seniors Clarence Jackson and last year’s MAAC Player of the Year in Ryan Rossiter; however, their current roster has been dealt with an onslaught of setbacks that started as far back as August.

Davis Martens’ season was over before it started when he needed season-ending hip-surgery. Martens tore a labrum in his hip resulted from a congenital condition called Femoral Acetabular Impingement Syndrome. Martens’ surgery on August 30th sets him up to be ready to play next season.

The hits continued when Siena learned that two of their six man recruiting class, Imoh Silas and Lionel Gomis, were ineligible to play this season. Both came from prep schools after attending part of high school in Africa. After an appeal process the NCAA ruled that both Gomis and Silas would have to sit out for one season before becoming eligible for three seasons. Gomis, who took two years off due to the death of his mother, was enrolled in Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEEDS) which works to connect Senegalese student-athletes to colleges.

Finally Rahkeem Brookins was ruled out for the season on November 9th with two herniated discs in his back. Brookins was diagnosed with a bulging disk at L-3-L-4 and a herniated disc at L-4-L-5. Brookins will remain in Philadelphia to do rehabilitation and will sit out the enitre season. Brookins was Siena’s returning leader in minutes played entering this season.

Those Saints were dealt another blow when Trenity Burdine was ruled out of the first game of the season. Burdine has been dealing with complications from a right foot injury which he had surgery on in April. Burdine is out indefinitely which gives Siena eight scholarship players for their home opener.

Freshman Evan Hymes will get his first ever collegiate start in his first game. Hymes committed to play for the Saints on June 7. Also making his first start will be senior Brandon Walters, the Seton Hall transfer who appeared in 19 games last season.

The heavy offensive workload will fall onto O.D. Anosike who was picked to the Preseason Third-Team All-MAAC. Anosike shot 49.4% from the field last year but could not capitalize at the free throw line, where he shot just 45% on 109 free throws. Another key for the Saints will be to keep Anosike, who fouled a team high 96 times last season, out of foul trouble.

The remaining Saints available to play will be up against the Navy Midshipmen who won its first two games, an eight-point road win at Longwood and an 88-54 win over Division III Penn State Altoona. Ed DeChellis, Navy’s head coach, is in his first season after coming from making the NCAA Tournament the previous season at Penn State.

This will be the first meeting between Siena and Navy in their history. Siena’s last game against a Patriot League team was their December 30, 2008 83-71 victory at Holy Cross.

Siena is 4-6 in the last 10 years in season openers.

Download: Official Game Notes

Martens to Redshirt »
Gomis, Salis NCAA Rulings »
Andy Katz »

The Peacocks boast a BCS win over Alabama earlier in the season, but they find themselves in the middle of the conference and tied with Siena in fifth place, two games back of Fairfield and Iona who are tied for first.

St. Peter’s is led by their star shooting guard Wesley Jenkins, who is leading the team in scoring with 14 points and averaging about 5 rebounds per game.  There is also plenty of other senior leadership on the team as well.   5’11″ point guard Nick Leon is averaging about 10 points a game, 6’7″ forward Ryan Bacon is an excellent presence inside scoring 8 points a game and grabbing 6 rebounds per game, and 6’6″ forward Jeron Belin is third on the team in scoring with 9 points a game.  The Peacocks will be at a little bit of a size disadvantage to the Saints, though, and for a team that averages only 34 rebounds they will need to find a way to keep up with the Saints on the glass or else the game could get away from them.

The Peacocks are only averaging about 56 points a game, but they are an excellent defensive team, only giving up about 60 points a game.  For a team like Siena, who has had some issues shooting the ball as of late, there will be a need for a concerted effort to get high percentage shots and shoot the ball effectively.

That issue may be resolved more easily now that the Saints have welcomed back Clarence Jackson from injury.  The senior guard helped the Saints to wins over Marist and Canisius the last two games out, scoring 19 and 15 points in each respective contest.  Rahkeem Brookins continues to excel running the point, averaging an assist to turnover ratio of 4:1 over his last six games.  And OD Anosike appears to making the sophomore leap as he has averaged almost 13 points and 10 rebounds over the last four games.

Things are getting better for the Saints, but Owen Wignot’s thumb injury on his shooting hand continues to bother him, and Davis Martens may still be recovering from a sprained ankle.  The Saints will still need to continue to nurse injuries and continue to get the best out of the players and rotations they put on the floor to try and get back in to the MAAC conference race.  Iona and Fairfield are probably not coming back to the pack, so the Saints will need every win that they can get, and a difficult road win at St. Peter’s on Friday night would do a lot to build confidence for the Saints.

Siena will play four of their next five games at home, beginning on Monday night January 24th against the Rider Broncs at the Times Union Center.

The coaching move of the evening was Mitch having Clarence Jackson come off the bench as the proverbial sixth man.  It paid off in a huge way as Jackson was hot from the outside hitting 5-7 from three and leading the Saints with a game high 19 points.  

I actually discussed the likelihood of this move with a fellow fan prior to tip, and we thought it would be a great move as CJ has always relished that role, but both shrugged it off like it would never happen.   After the final whistle we were both thinking what a great move in a game that clearly needed some kind of spark.

We can only hope that leaving Clarence Jackson as the sixth man and first off the bench is the anecdote for success for this group of Saints.   It has been clear that something has to start clicking in this roller coaster of a season.   The team has a great chance to re-establish themselves in the MAAC with a revenge win against Canisius on Monday.

Room for Improvement:
Consistency. This team continues to ride different waves of highs and lows.   One night they are able to shoot 94% from the charity stripe and the next they are shooting 54.5%.   One night they are turning the ball over 14 times and 7 the next.  One night they are on fire from beyond the arc and the next night they are shooting bricks.

Keys to Success:
Defense. The proverbial experts always say that defense breeds champions and if that is the case then this team has hope.  They have really come into their own with the 2-3 zone. In their 6 wins they are holding opponents to just 63 points per game.
Guard play. The combination of Brookins and Breeden has been a fun development to watch.  They both continue to provide positive highlights and continue to limit their amount of mistakes each and every game.   In tight games having the luxury for both to be on the floor is something that will reduce the blood pressure of Coach Buonaguro.

Five Facts:
1.  O.D. Anosike made more free throws and at a higher percentage than Ryan Rossiter.
2.  Siena made half as many 3’s as they did free throws (6 and 12).
3.  Saints are now off the snide against teams with an RPI over 200 (1-3).
4. Siena has limited opponents to 63 points per game in their 6 wins and have allowed 74 points in their 10 losses.
5.  Clarence Jackson tied a season high with 5 baskets beyond the arc.

Five Questions:
1.  Will Davis Martens and/or Kyle Griffin be available for Monday?
2.  Will Clarence Jackson remain as the sixth man this year?
3.  When was the last time Ryan Rossiter shot 20% from the free throw line in a game?
4.  How many MAAC wins will Siena have this year?
5.  Will Siena get back to .500 at home on Monday (currently 3-4 @ home, 3 game win streak)?

Five Words:
Welcome back to Clarence Jackson.

Ryan Rossiter showed why he is the pre-season MAAC Player of the Year as he put this team on his shoulders in the second half posting 18 points and outplaying Iona’s Michael Glover who finished with a mere 6 points in the second half.

Rakeem “Rahk” Brookins showed that he has the makings of yet another special player in Siena lure.  With 3:24 left in the game, he hits a three with less than 5 seconds on the shot clock to put the Saints up 64-63, and showed that he has the ability to step up when the game is on the line.

Room for Improvement:

Siena aced a huge test last night.  You would like to see the team come out of the gate a little better because coming back from 14 down will not happen often.  O.D. Anosike’s inconsistency with his ability to stay on the floor due to foul trouble and his inconsistent offensive output (6 points, 1 rebound) is still a cause for concern. Anosike drew his third foul in the middle of the first half and did not return after picking up his fourth foul with 14:49 in the game.

Keys to Success:

Execution down the stretch.   This was a room for improvement topic in after Siena’s loss at St Bonavenutre.  After the last media timeout the Saints went 3-4 from the field, 5-5 from the line, with 1 turnover.

Free Throw shooting. The Saints went 17-18 from the charity stripe and held Iona to only 11 attempts.

The Defense. They held Iona who entered the game as a threat from the outside to only 7-31 (23%) from beyond the arc. disrupting a lot of those attempts on the wings of a 2-3 zone led by the activity of Wignot and Martens.

Five Facts:
1.  Siena is 5-0 this season when making more free throws than their opponent attempts.

2.  Saints are 2-2 with Clarence Jackson out of the lineup.

3.  Siena was +6 in the Assist to turnover department. The Saints have had a positive assist to turnover ratio in each of the last three games.

4.  Saints are on a 3 game home winning streak.

5.  Davis Martens played a season high 24 minutes.

Five Questions:
1.  How long can this team sustain the loss of Clarence Jackson?

2.  When was the last time you saw a media timeout with 5.5 seconds left in a half? (Occurred last night @ the end of the first half)

3.  Will Davis Martens get a start this year?

4.  Is Owen Wignot the heart and soul of this team?

5.  Is Rakeem “Rahk” Brookins in the running for MAAC Rookie of the Year?

Five Words:
MAAC play has officially arrived.

This time, the Saints managed to topple Georgia Tech, 62-57, while playing in front of an enthused and vocal crowd of 7,468 fans in Albany’s Times Union Center. The Saints claimed the Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coastal Conference as their latest victims, adding their pelts to a growing list of power six conference victims that includes Ohio State and Vanderbilt.

As per his usual, senior Ryan Rossiter anchored the Siena win, contributing 19 points and 13 rebounds to lay the cornerstone for the upset victory. Prior to tipoff, Rossiter’s availability for the game was in question due to a sinus infection, but when his team needed him most, the veteran answered the call of duty.

The Saints also found themselves without the services of senior guard Clarence Jackson, who missed the contest with an ankle injury. “I asked him [about the injury] before the game,” Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro said, “and he said he couldn’t go. It was up in the air until right before tipoff.”

Several reserves played key roles to complement Rossiter’s stellar turn in the win. Forward O.D. Anosike added 11 points, including several rim-rattling slam dunks, and snatched eight rebounds to aid Rossiter in the post. Guard Kyle Downey also added 12 points and six rebounds to the mix, in addition to several key plays snagging vital rebounds or hustling for loose balls. Sophomore reserve forward Davis also contributed some big-time play in an expanded role, chipping in eight points and nine rebounds, with many of them coming in the most opportune of moments.

The contest featured Siena’s first home matchup against a team from a Big Six power conference since 2007, and the disparity was evident from the opening minutes. The Saints found themselves outsized and “out-athleted,” so to speak, playing against the taller, more athletic Yellow Jackets.

On several occasions, various Georgia Tech players threw down thunderous slam dunks, including alley-oops and a putback slams. Yellow Jacket junior Iman Shumpert led the Yellow Jackets’ aerial assault, scoring on a variety of dunks and reverses to tally 10 points on 4-11 shooting. Teammate Glen Rice Jr. led the team with 15 points and chipped in on the glass, adding nine rebounds. Even the normally hostile Times Union Center crowd couldn’t help but ooh and ahh, marveling at the aerial theatrics on display.

After the game, Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt congratulated Siena, a place he previously coached from 1997-2000 where Hewitt made an NIT and NCAA Tournament appearance, on their effort.

“Congratulations to Mitch and his team, they played very hard,” Hewitt said. “We just missed some shots in the second half and just didn’t knock them down.”

In a homecoming game of sorts, however, Hewitt said he found himself as the hunted this time around.

“I thought it would be fun until the ball went up,” Hewitt said. “I thought we gave a great effort, just didn’t do a good enough job on the boards [...] We just had looks and couldn’t make them. It’s that simple. Just one of those things.”

For the game, Siena outrebounded Georgia Tech by a margin of 41-36. Both teams shot similar percentages from the field; Siena made 36.8% of its field goals, while Tech made 24 of 62, good for a 38.7% clip.

Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro credited his team’s defensive success with a switch to a 2-3 defensive zone and a lot of preparation time.

“I spent about six days on fundamentals, guarding the drive [and] blocking out,” Buonaguro said. “I went back to the basics. I went to the back basics of the zone. I thought the zone tonight could be very effective. [Siena assistant coach] Craig Carter did a great job [of] scouting [Georgia Tech]. We knew exactly what they were going to do and we executed [...] The defense tonight was as good as it can be. To hold Georgia Tech to 21 points, an ACC team, in the second half is phenomenal [...] I’ve always liked the zone and I thought it was instrumental tonight.” ”

The victory stands as Buonaguro’s first signature win as head coach of the Saints.

“I’m just elated with the win, [with] how far we’ve come,” Buonaguro said. “I’ve said all along, this team, I really like. I’ve always thought we have a lot of guts and a lot of tough kids. We haven’t beeen healthy. Even tonight we didn’t have Clarence [Jackson] and were still able to win the game. [I've] said all year, we’re a good team and I think tonight we proved it.”

The 2010-2011 incarnation of the Siena Saints has finally shown that it’s ready to play with the big boys.

Game Notables

CONTINUED CLANK: O.D. Anosika sunk his first three throw attempt of the game with 3:25 remaining in the first half, drawing applause from the audience. Anosike has developed a reputation as a notoriously bad free throw shooter…

FROM THE HUNTER TO THE HUNTED: Prior to the game, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt reflected on the time he spent coaching at Siena. “A lot of the energy and the juice that we got came from the crowd,” Hewitt said of his time spent coaching Siena at the Times Union Center. “The crowd has to understand they have a role in this thing too. They have to keep pumping these kids up until they [get their] legs under them.” Hewitt’s remarks proved quite prescient. He was Siena’s coach for its first season of playing all of its home games at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany, back during the 1997-1998 campaign.

IN THE FLESH: Former Siena Saint and area legend Prosper Karangwa was in attendance for Wednesday night’s game…

THE INJURIES KEEP PILING UP: Rossiter was forced to leave the game with about a minute left to play in the first half after a collision with Georgia Tech player Mfon Udofia, who inadvertently smacked Rossiter in the face. As it turns out, Rossiter had been poked in the eye and had his eyelid briefly inverted, but nonetheless managed to return to the court to start the second half. O.D. Anosike scored 11 points, throwing down several two-handed jams, but came up lame after his last. With 7:10 remaining to play, Anosike threw down a two-handed slam, but cluched his hip after landing and collapsed to the floor. The Saints were forced to call a timeout and team trainers attended to him for several minutes as he lay prone on the floor.

Down five on the road, in the hostile “Zoo”, staring 1-4 in the face, what do you say to your team as a coach heading into the locker room? How is this team going to respond in the face of adversity? Quite resoundingly, with a 20-1 run in the 2nd half. That put the game out of reach, and proved yet again they are still the top dogs of the MAAC. The Saints held Rider, a team averaging above 50% FG, to just 26.7% in the 2nd half– just 24pts. That 2nd half is the way a winning team responds, showing us all a glimpse of what’s to come from this team in the months ahead.

Room for Improvement:
OD Anosike and his foul trouble is a concern, evident against Rider, playing a season low 8 minutes. The need for a sixth man night in and night out is still a question mark, albeit last night was a step in the right direction as the Saints outscored Rider’s bench 21-11.

Keys to Success:
The bench stepped up for the starters and contributing on the offensive end, outscoring Rider by 10. The team played the zone to near perfection as Rider coach Tommy Dempsey said, “I think their zone bothered us”, and were able to shut down a very hot shooting team in the 2nd half. The ability to go on a big run, and prevent your opponent from responding, is a sured winning characteristic.

Five Facts:
1. Saints had five bench players on the floor @ 14:36 of the 1st half, the 1st time this season.
2. The bench outscored their opponent (21-11) for the first time all season.
3. The Saints held the Broncs to 38.3% from the field, a season best.
4. Saints had a season low 12 turnovers.
5. Siena made more FT’s (19) than Rider attempted (14), 2nd time this season, both wins.

Five Questions:
1. Where was OD Anosike last night?
2. How many MAAC games will Siena win this year?
3. Who will be the sixth man of the year on this team (Kyle Griffin or Davis Martens)?
4. When was the last time the Saints bench outscored their opponent prior to last night?
5. Is Ryan Rossiter one of the top 10 big men in the country?

Five Words:
The Standard of the MAAC.

The difference in the game was the Saints’ ability to capitalize on turnovers– despite turning the ball over 20 times, 3 times in the final 90 seconds, to Northeastern’s 11, they got the W.

Ryan Rossiter had a monster day, finishing with 28 points and 15 rebounds for his 34th career double-double. Rossiter, who also had 3 blocks on the day, is now 25 of 29 from the free throw stripe this season. Clarence Jackson closed the day with 24 points and is now averaging 22.3 PPG. Rakeem Brookins added 5 assists, (a +1 turnover margin), and did a great job getting looks for his teammates all day. OD Anosike tied his career high with 11 points, and after getting into foul trouble in the second half, was brought in late for his defense. The Saints got a career high 7 points from sophomore bench player Davis Martens.

Chaisson Allen was impressive for the Huskies– dishing out 5 assists, scoring 18 points, and finishing 5-9 behind the arc. Alwayne Bigby was quiet, with a final line of 6 points and 6 rebounds.

The Saints head home to face the Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday night, there are less than 1,200 tickets still available.

There comes a point in time when you begin to look at taking a program to the next level, Starting with winning seasons (five straight), MAAC Championships (three straight), competing against Power Conferences (three victories, six single digit losses), what’s next? In my opinion, defeating Power conference teams on a more consistent basis, for sake of argument let’s say 50% of the time. Hasn’t this program outgrown the moral victories? Being pleased with competing against the likes of Stanford, Syracuse, Villanova, feels like a thing of the past, and last night was some more of the same.

It was a game the Saints looked like they had the talent to win, then the mistakes starting piling up (24 turnovers), the shots started rimming out, and the timeouts began to vanquish as Coach B did his best to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately it was too little too late, the damage was done, the bandaids (timeouts) were gone, and thus when “The Rock” made a layup with 1:48 left to cut the lead to four (4), the Saints weren’t able to set up the press, were forced to foul, ballgame over.

Room for Improvement:
No surprise here, the turnovers were the difference in the game, and sure will be on the players and coach’s minds heading back from Minnesota. It’s clear that will be hammered into the players throughout the week long practice. I would be shocked if there was not a significant improvement taking care of the ball come Saturday against Northeastern. That being said the bench scoring was still a sore spot for this team, and without Brookins the bench total was a meager one (1) pt. from Davis Martens on a free throw in the first half. This team is still searching for someone to step up and really take the load off the starting five besides Brookins, who has established himself as the sixth man, while Downey recovers from injury. After a superb effort from the free throw line against Vermont, the team was 1-7 in the first half, and with an improved second half (7-8) were able to salvage a mediocre 53% for the game. Minnesota actually made more free throws than Siena attempted last evening, another stat line that doesn’t lead to many W’s, especially on the road in a hostile environment.

Keys to Success:
Much of the same here as Rakeem “The Rock” Brookins showed that he has the quickness and athleticism to make significant contributions this year as the season progresses. The team answered the challenge on the glass against a much bigger front-court than Vermont, losing the rebounding difference by only four (4) in this one. Clarence Jackson proved that when he is firing on all cylinders, this team adds a completely different dynamic to it. Once this team is able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, watch out, this season’s version of the Siena Saints has the individual talent to wreak havoc on the opposition.

Five Facts:
1. Siena started game 10-12 from field, finished the 1st half 4-14.
2. Saints went 8+ minutes without a field goal midway through the 2nd half.
3. Clarence Jackson had a career high 29 points.
4. Siena went 1-7 in first half from charity stripe.
5. Coach B called last timeout with 10:08 left in game.

Five Questions:
1. Its not if Rakeem “The Rock” Brookins will start this season, it’s when?
2. Who else is going to step up off the bench this year?
3. Who is going to lead the team in scoring this year Rossiter or Jackson?
4. Who will lead the team in assists this season?
5. When will Owen Wignot have his breakout game this year?

Five Words:
Youth has its shining moments.

The Gaels are led by sophomore G Scott Machado, who is averaging 11.8ppg and 4.2 apg.  He is followed by junior F Alejo Rodriguez and freshman G Kyle Smith, who both average 8.8ppg.  Coach Kevin Willard has developed a young team by preaching defense, and the Gaels have responded – they hold opponents to just under 62ppg on less that 40% shooting.  What the team lacks in size inside they make up for by hot shooting from the outside – Iona shooters are making almost 38% of their shots from 3-point land.  Excitement has returned to New Rochelle, and this team is gunning for the first place Saints.

Meanwhile, the status quo has remained unchanged in Loudonville.  The Saints had all week to prepare for the Gaels after learning that they will face Butler in the Bracketbuster on Saturday, February 20.   The coach and players would have told you what they’ve been telling you all year, though – they truly are taking one game at a time, and all they care about at this moment is beating Iona.  Edwin Ubiles should be back in the starting lineup as he’s been seen practicing with the team all week.  Kyle Downey is still nursing his broken foot and should not be expected back until at least the MAAC Tournament.  What looked like a team who was losing players to injury has seemed to gain experience on the bench.

In what will be the third sell-out of the year, the Times Union Center will be rocking out for the “Gold Rush,” with fans being urged to all wear gold shirts or attire.  Since there are only single tickets left, and few of them at that, the powers that be have decided to  televise the game on Time Warner Cable 1.  Game time is 7:00pm.

First place is not on the line Friday night, but the Gaels want the win – an upset Friday night would go to prove that Siena can be beaten on their home-court, which is what every team is going to need to do if they want to win the MAAC tourney come March.  The Saints want to keep streaking – an at-large bid is still unlikely and would not be likely unless they ran the table, but an unbeaten conference season gets closer with each win.

Friday night may be the big match up of MAAC foes this year where the immovable object meets the unstoppable force – as Iona and Siena renew their conference rivalry fans should be in for a heck of a game.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• A HEALTHY EDWIN IS A HAPPY EDWIN: Eddie scored 15 points off the bench at Marist on Saturday, and looked good doing it.  He was active and energetic, and even though he admits that the shoulder (non-shooting) is sore he knows he can play through it.  While Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossiter have been bearing the brunt of the work (literally) the Saints are going to need as much of Eddie being Eddie as they can get the rest of the season.  He is the X-Factor that each team needs to scheme for, and he’s going to relied on every game the rest of the way.
• HOW DEEP DOES THE BENCH GO?: Right now, it seems to be getting deeper.  During Edwin’s absence Owen Wignot got the starting nod each time – and while he still has yet to build on his athleticism and get in the scoring column more often he has looked terrific on defense and has played very productive minutes.  Right behind him is freshman OD Anosike, who continues to mature with each game.   His rebounding ability is outstanding, as are some of the post moves he’s starting to display.  While coach has seven strong to start, he is getting Kyle Griffen, Jonathan Breeden, and Davis Martens in more – each minute a bench player takes gives the starters that much more of a rest, which is invaluable this time of year.  Unfortunately, don’t expect to see TOO much of the bench Friday night, because…
• ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?: This is the time of the year when Coach McCaffery and his Saints don’t lose.  The team’s record in February and March is stellar, much for one reason – Coach has no problem riding his starters.  Expect all five to log big minutes Friday night – the conditioning of the team is excellent, and this is nothing new to them.  They’ve been doing it for four years now.

Last season Siena lost their 13th conference game at Rider to break their undefeated streak.