Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro, in his second season, was handed a difficult task. His top rookie from the 2010-11 season, Rahkeem Brookins, suffered a bulging disc in his L3-L4 and a herniated disc at L4-L5 in his back. The injury ruled him out for the season on November 9th, Brookins took to twitter and said, “I’m out for the season!”

Prior to Brookins being ruled out for the season, Junior Davis Martens was ruled out on September 13th after undergoing hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. Meanwhile, Sophomore Trenity Burdine was running into setbacks and was ruled out of the first month of the season before Siena’s first game against Navy. Burdine would eventually be ruled out for the entire season, after complications from surgery on his right foot. Burdine had the surgery in April 2011 and was ruled out for the year in January.

Injuries appeared to be the only thing that could go wrong until the Saints were dealt a decision on two incoming players. On October 21st, African incomers Lionel Gomis and Imoh Silas were ruled ineligible to play for the 2011-12 season, having to sit out a mandatory year per NCAA rules. Gomis was originally ruled to have just one year of eligibility until Siena won their appealed on that decision. He will now be eligible for three seasons. Both players were prepared to have an impact but were forced to sit the season, thus dwindling Siena’s roster even further.

The Saints began the year with a rotation whose bench was exclusively freshmen: Rob Poole, DaVonte Beard and Marcus Hopper. Siena lost Beard on December 15th, when he decided to transfer due to homesickness. Siena subsequently became one of the thinnest benches in the nation for the entire season– with the bench playing just 16.7% of the minutes. This ranked second lowest in the nation after Youngstown State (15.4%).

“We were really under very difficult circumstances and these guys had to buy in to everything,” Buonaguro said. “We didn’t practice as much. I coached differently, I had to.”

Among Buonaguro’s adjustments included playing a 2-3 zone exclusively throughout the season. The zone reduced their fouling even further than in past seasons– which ranked 5th in the nation. Siena was already a program that boasted a low fouling rate since now Iowa coach Fran McCaffery came in, the Saints held down their fouls, helping to keep a thin lineup on the floor. The zone also emphasized Siena’s biggest strength, the inside presence of senior Brandon Walters at 6’9″ and junior O.D. Anosike at 6’8″. Siena held opponents to 42.7% on two-point field goals, ranking 15th in the nation.

Meanwhile the injuries created opportunities for young players to step up. The injury to Brookins created an opportunity for freshman Evan Hymes to step into the point guard position. Hymes took the chance and ran with it, scoring 415 points on the season – securing second place all-time amongst Siena freshmen for scoring in a season. Without Hymes presence, Buonaguro said that Siena would have struggled to make the MAAC semifinals.

“What he’s done is remarkable,” Buonaguro said of Hymes play. “He’s been way above our expectations this year.”

Evan Hymes made the MAAC All-Rookie team, scoring 13.4 points per game and shooting a team-best 36.1% from three point range. Hymes also had a team-high 115 assists during his rookie campaign. The Siena freshman became the first Saint since teammate Kyle Downey to make the MAAC All-Rookie team (2008-09).

The key entering this season rested on how Siena’s seniors would play. Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot, critical parts of two Siena MAAC Championships had to shoulder the burden as tri-captains to go along with Brandon Walters, who transferred from Seton Hall and saw few minutes behind Rossiter the year before. All three would have to step up in leadership roles to keep the Saints, who became decimated by depth issues early, on track to win double-digit games.

“I think the big thing this year was the senior leadership,” Buonaguro said of his seniors. “If I didn’t have good leadership, it would have been very difficult. We were really under very difficult circumstances and these guys had to buy in to everything.”

Owen Wignot saved his best game of his Siena career when the Saints needed it most, hitting a three pointer with 7.8 seconds remaining in the MAAC Quarterfinal against Manhattan to force overtime. Wignot’s baseline jumper in overtime gave the Saints an 82-80 lead with 2:38 left, a lead Siena would hold on for an 84-82 win. Wignot’s career high 22 points was a finish to a season that began with Wignot injuring himself on a layup 6:19 into Siena’s first game against Navy. Wignot would miss the next five games but came back to start the rest of the season for the Saints.

“Not many people thought we were going to go far, I think as a team we all really pulled together,” Wignot said. “The first two years we were really supposed to win it and this year we kind of played with a chip on our shoulder, we tried to show people that we were contenders too and I think that’s what we really did this year.”

Downey, who averaged 23.6 minutes per game in the previous season, played the sixth highest percentage of minutes in all of Division I. Only five other players in the country played more than Downey’s 1,173 minutes. Downey, who was plagued by injury issues throughout his career, arrived healthy and started every game for the Saints.

The two main accomplishments of this season came down to battling the theme that brought the Saints together all year: battling adversity. The Iona Gaels, a team that crushed the Saints 95-59 in their first meeting at Madison Square Garden, raced out to a 20-2 lead in the game’s first four and a half minutes in the second meeting at the Times Union Center. The Saints closed the half down double digits and could have easily folded to the Gaels in the second half. Instead the Saints came out and made five three pointers to help close the gap. As much as that closed the gap, the Siena defense held down Iona, a team that shot 55.7% from two-point field goals (2nd in the nation), to just 39.1% (9 for 23) and shut them out from three.  The senior Downey showed up in a critical way twice late as well. His a three-pointer with 4:22 left gave Siena their first lead and his 17 foot shot gave the Saints a 63-62 lead with 51 seconds left. Not making anything simple, the Saints let the Gaels have four chances to tie or win the game but held them off for a 65-62 win. Downey’s 16 points trailed just O.D. Anosike, who went for a team-high 17 points and 15 rebounds.

The Saints, aided by their Iona win, worked their way to clinching the sixth seed in the MAAC Tournament with help from another senior. Connor Fenlon, a walk-on from Tampa, FL, made Senior Day‘s first basket – a three-pointer – as they went on to score a season-high 86 points in an 86-75 win over Canisius. Downey made Senior Day his by scoring a career-high 28 points and dishing out a team-high 5 assists. Hymes scored 12 points but exited in the second half with a left knee injury, an injury that held him out of practice all week leading up to the tournament.

Hymes injury dealt the Saints even more adversity as they got set to face third-seeded Manhattan, a team they split the season series with. The freshman warmed up with the team prior to the game, heavily taped in gold colored tape on his knee, and did not start the game. Freshman Rob Poole took Hymes place in the starting lineup and Downey ran the point for the first three minutes of the game before Coach Buonaguro decided to put Hymes in the game.

Siena refused to quit and battled the Jaspers, getting a performance where it might have been least expected. While First Team All-MAAC member O.D. Anosike was busy dealing with foul trouble after being assessed a technical foul after being involved in a scuffle with Torgrim Sommerfeldt, senior Brandon Walters picked up his game to turn in his best game as a Saint. Walters scored a career-high 19 points and had 5 crucial blocks. Walters final block of the game came with six seconds left in overtime.

The Saints fell in the MAAC Semifinals to Loyola 70-60, failing to beat the Greyhounds who went on to win the MAAC Championship. Siena coach Buonaguro thought winning in the MAAC quarterfinals over Manhattan, with a thin bench and Hymes playing through pain, was a great accomplishment.

“To go through what we went through basically playing with six guys,” Buonaguro said. “This is a phenomenal accomplishment; to win [against Manhattan] with six guys, against a team that played 12 guys.”

“We had a great year this year,” O.D. Anosike said of the season’s accomplishments. “Not a good year, a great year.”

Siena’s record for the season at 14-17 might appear similar to their prior season’s record of 13-18 under Mitch Buonaguro but the path of how the Saints got to this year’s record ended on a very positive note.

“I think this year we achieved the most that I’ve ever been here,” Downey said of the season. “I think we overachieved beyond anyone’s expectations.”

Despite the losses of seniors Downey, Wignot and Walters, Siena’s future looks bright and the Saints could have depth on their side for the 2012-13 season. Anosike figures to be one of the top players in the MAAC and he said he is excited for what Siena will have for next season.

“I’m just really excited about next year,” Anosike said. “We got some guys who are going to be eligible again, it should be fun. I think Siena basketball really has a bright future.”

“I think Evan [Hymes] and Rahk [Brookins] on the floor at the same time will be really exciting,” Wignot said. “It’ll be really exciting to watch and hopefully they’ll make another run.”

Siena will have some difficult choices to make at the start of the season. They will have to form a lineup, likely behind Hymes and Brookins at the two guard spots – while working in shooter Rob Poole and incoming swingman Richard Audu. The pair of Africans, Lionel Gomis and Imoh Silas, will be eligible to be a presence inside and help take some of the burden off of O.D. Anosike’s shoulders. Anosike will have to battle double, and even triple-teams while he works on making his case for MAAC Player of the Year. Anosike will also be the final piece of a legacy of Siena history, being the last player who was a part of Siena’s last NCAA tournament appearance – falling to Purdue in the first round in Spokane, WA.

Siena saw seniors Owen Wignot and Brandon Walters go for career highs in points and turn in huge games to hold off their careers one night longer as the Saints advance to the semifinals against Loyola on Sunday.

Wignot went for a career-high 22 points and season-high 4 three pointers. The fourth three pointer was the most critical of the game, a game tying three to help send the game to overtime with 8 seconds left.

“The Wignot three was a big shot,” Siena Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro said. “He’s been a great kid in our program. “Tonight was his time, just like a couple of nights it was Downey’s time, Wignot really shone tonight.”

Wignot, made 4 of 7 from two point range as well, testing the Jaspers defense with his mid-range game.

“He did a nice job in the middle of the zone making plays,” Buonaguro said.

Wignot’s fellow senior Brandon Walters owned the glass, blocking 5 shots and scoring a career-high 19 points along with grabbing 9 rebounds. Coach Buonaguro said he thought it Walters best game of the year.

“I had a sense he was going to play well,” Buonaguro said. “He’s been a great story this year, didn’t play a lot last year behind Ryan Rossiter, and now really getting his confidence. He’s played some really good games for us.”

Walters and Junior O.D. Anosike held the Jaspers to 42% from two-point range for the game – including a dominant 4 for 17 (23.5%) from inside in the first half that gave Siena success in the zone.

“Well with Walters and Anosike, we want them to stay of foul trouble, so we talk about getting their hands up.” Buonaguro said of their philosophy in the zone. “They’re big, they’re both 6’8” and long so they present problems for small guys. [Rhamel] Brown struggled late in the game going over Walters and Anosike, he’s only 6’5”.

Siena was able to turn up the defense late and get enough stops, only letting Manhttan make 2 of 9 field goals in the overtime period.

“Earlier in the half they were scoring, they were going to [Roberto] Colonette and Brown but we turned it up a notch at the end,” said Mitch Buonaguro of his conference leading two point field goal percentage defense.

The other end of the senior trio, Kyle Downey, took over the point for freshman Evan Hymes to start the game. Downey ended up with 7 points, fouling out with 4:17 to go in the second half.

Buonaguro said that Hymes felt better not starting, after nursing a left knee injury all week and missing practice.

“I asked him today, he kind of felt better coming off the bench,” Buonaguro said. The Siena coach said coming off the bench to start the game helped curb his minutes, despite having to play in the overtime period. Hymes ended up being a good facilitator, dishing out a game-high 10 assists in 37 minutes.

The MAAC All-Rookie Team member Hymes starting the game on the bench allowed freshman Rob Poole to get his fifth start on the season – where he turned in a career game with 16 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

Buonaguro said his Saints found some confidence playing freshman in the overtime period and surviving the game without the senior Downey for the final 9 minutes of the game.

“The amazing thing about this game is that we won without Downey late,” Buonaguro said. “That bodes well for us, that means Poole and Hymes have really matured.”

The Saints are 8-1 when Poole scores double-digit points.

They will advance for another day to play Loyola in game two of the MAAC semifinals at approximately 4:30pm ET on ESPN3. Loyola have beaten the Saints twice this season but Siena will try to turn around their ways turning the ball over against the Greyhounds to have a chance at winning the semifinal game.

“I’m expecting tomorrow with a short bench they’ll press us but we handled a pretty big press tonight and did pretty well,” Buonaguro said.

The Saints turned the ball over just 14 times and dished out 22 assists on the night.

- O.D. Anosike committed his third foul with 6:51 to go in the first half.
- Siena had three players with two fouls on the floor in the first half.
- Kyle Downey fouled out with 4:17 remaining.

I was going for an offensive rebound, the ref called a foul I was kind of just walking off and all the sudden I got pushed in the back and then a scuffle ensued. You know luckily we were able to overcome the foul trouble and get a big win.

It was a physical game, the refs were calling it tight.

- O.D. Anosike

It’s still kind of unclear why it was a double technical, when O.D. was clearly shoved by Torgrim Sommerfeldt, a player who averages just 2.4 minutes a game and played only 2 tonight. Managing a roster of six guys, especially in a game like this is a skill and Coach B deserves a lot of credit.

The amazing thing about this game is that we won without Downey late. Downey was not in the game late. That bodes well for us, that means Poole and Hymes have really matured.

- Mitch Buonaguro

The Saints and Jaspers battled for 45 minutes with the Saints holding on for a 84-82 victory in the final game of the night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Manhattan had an opportunity to tie the game in the final 5 seconds but saw their shots rattle around the backboard and Rob Poole grabbed the rebound as the buzzer sounded to give the Saints a win in their first overtime game of the season.

With 53.8 seconds remaining in overtime, the Saints couldn’t convert and turned the ball over on a shot clock violation up 83-82. Manhattan’s Liam McCabe-Moran missed a three pointer on the ensuing possession with 32 seconds left.

With 5.8 seconds left in regulation, Manhattan’s Kidani Brutus missed a fade away jumper that spun around the rim twice and spit out to the ground. The shot would have won the game for the Jaspers and advanced them to the MAAC Semifinals for the first time since 2006.

Siena, with under two minutes left in the second half, forced the ball inside to First Team All-MAAC Junior O.D. Anosike, who posted up and scored with his back to basket to give the Saints a 75-73 lead with 1:05 to go. The lead wouldn’t last long when Kidani Brutus made a three pointer at the top of the key with 46 seconds left to give the Jaspers a 76-75 lead.

Rob Poole missed a three pointer with 20 seconds to go from the wing but Owen Wignot did not miss knocking down a huge three pointer in front of the Siena bench with 7.8 seconds to go.

Fouls gave the Saints trouble all night. O.D. Anosike was assessed a technical foul along with Manhattan’s Torgrim Sommerfeldt in an altercation during the first half. Kyle Downey fouled out of the game with 4:17 left, ending the game with 7 points and 5 assists. Downey had to run the point for the first three minutes of the game since freshman Evan Hymes did not start. Hymes entered with 17:09 left in the first half.

Evan Hymes ended up with 6 points on 2 of 7 shooting. Hymes moved to second place All-Time for Freshman scoring in the Siena history, passing Jack McClinton from 2004-05. Only Michael Haddix, who scored 440 points during the 2002-03 season, has scored more in their first year than Hymes.

O.D. Anosike finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Anosike is now third all-time amongst Siena’s single season rebounders. Last year, Ryan Rossiter moved to first in the record book with a 408 rebound season.

Freshman Rob Poole scored a career high 16 points in his fifth career start for the Saints.

Siena moves on to face Loyola in the MAAC semifinals on Sunday at approximately 4:30pm ET on ESPN3.

Kyle Downey ran the point for the first three minutes, until Hymes entered with 17:09 left in the game. Hymes made his first three pointer with 13:11 left to cut the Manhattan lead but Junior George Beamon followed it up with his 4th three pointer made in as many attempts.

Evan Hymes attempted to give it ago in warmups, changing from sleeve on the knee to being heavily taped up but did not crack the starting lineup for Siena. Rob Poole started in Hymes’ place, his fifth start for the Saints this season.

Without Hymes, Siena struggled in the first 28 seconds of the game. The Saints gave up a three pointer to Donovan Kates and then turned the ball over in the Manhattan fullcourt press, allowing a Emmy Andujar dunk in transition. Saints Head Coach Mitch Buonaguro called an immediate timeout.

Siena cut the Jaspers lead to one, at 29-28, with a Rob Poole two-pointer with 7:46 left, energizing the Saints crowd. Siena forced Manhattan into some stops but tempers flared at 6:51 when a technical was assessed to Siena Junior O.D. Anosike and and Manhattan Sophomore Togrim Sommerfeldt. Sommerfeldt shoved Anosike out of the paint after the whistle blew, the referees ran in to take control of the situation while Manhattan Head Coach Steve Masiello ran out to get his players out of jostling with the Saints. Anosike tied the game up at 29 with a free throw on the previous foul by Sommerfeldt prior to the technical call.

Then the two teams went back and forth on for the remaining minutes. Senior Brandon Walters grabbed a rebound off a Rob Poole miss to give the Saints 34-32 lead with 4:50 left. Fellow senior Owen Wignot made a mid-range jumper to give the Saints a 36-32 lead with 3:59 to go. Manhattan’s Roberto Colonette made a shot plus a free throw on a foul to give the Jaspers a 37-36 lead. Walters took a pass from Poole and scored a traditional three point play to give the Saints a 39-37 lead with 1:29 left. Colonette made two free throws on the other end to tie it with 1:16 left. Owen Wignot two point fade away jumper gave Saints 41-39 lead with 33 seconds left.

Rob Poole has 12 points to lead the Saints. The Saints are 7-1 when Poole scores double-digits in a game, their only loss was to Hofstra in the BracketBuster game. Beamon leads the Jaspers with 15 points, all on five made three pointers.

Siena has made 55% of their two pointers, going 11 for 20 from two point range and adding four three pointers. Siena is holding Manhattan to 23.5% from inside the arc, the Jaspers just making 4 of 17 from the inside – but their 8 three pointers on 14 shots have kept them in the game.

The Saints took a game high eleven point lead with about two minutes to go on their 18th consecutive successful free throw attempt. Siena was 25 of 30, by far their best performance of the year from the free throw stripe.

The Siena Saints (7-9) defeated the third place Manhattan Jaspers (11-5) by a final of 70-64 on Tuesday night at the Times Union Center. Evan Hymes led the Saints with 21 points on 5 of 8 from beyond the arc while Downey and Anosike added 18 and 14 respectively.

Manhattan’s PG Michael Alvarado left the game early in the first half after taking an elbow to the eye. Early reports are that the bone could be broken and he may have a concussion.

The Saints wanted it tonight. This puts Siena a half game up on Niagara for 6th place in the MAAC.

[Evan Hymes] played like he was the best PG in the league tonight.
- Steve Masiello

Siena cut it to a one possession game with :56.1 remaining, and eventually cut the deficit to 1 on a clutch Evan Hymes 27 footer inside of 30 seconds. After an intentional foul, Brandon Hall converted two free throws and then stole the ball from Evan Hymes and laid it in for the win. The Saints had two chances to corral a rebound in the final minute but both times the Peacocks came away with the basketball. Although the Saints were in a position to win late, the game truly turned when Siena converted just one point between the 9:22 and 2:57 minute marks of the second half.

O.D Anosike’s nation leading 17 game double-double streak came to an end, largely in credit to Darius Conley’s defense, as Anosike closed the night just shy with 9 points and 13 rebounds.

The Peacocks blocked 6 Siena shots on the night and were led by Conley’s 15 points and 6 rebounds. Brandon Hall, Yvon Raymond, and Lamin Fulton each added 11 points for St. Peter’s. The Saints were led by Kyle Downey’s 15 points, and Hymes’ 14 points and 6 assists. Siena frustrated St. Peter’s early in the contest– eventually leading to a John Dunne technical foul and a 9 point advantage at the break.

The Saints travel to Bridgeport, CT on Sunday afternoon to take on the Fairfield Stags.

Siena came back after falling behind by a 20-2 margin in the first four and a half minutes to pull off a 65-62 upset over top ranked Iona at the Times Union Center on Monday night.

Iona opened the game on an 11-0 run but the Saints used a 12-0 run of their own for 5 critical minutes of the second half to give the Saints their first lead at 58-57. Kyle Downey’s three pointer gave the Saints a one-point lead then and with 51 seconds left, Downey’s jumper gave the Saints a 63-62 lead they would hold onto. The senior Downey scored 16 points while junior O.D. Anosike had a team-high 17 points and team-high 15 rebounds.

Sean Armand, who lit up the Saints with 32 points in their last meeting 20 days prior, drew a technical foul with 5:38 left in the first half and was held to 0 points in the contest. Armand’s teammate Scott Machado drew one with 1:11 left in the first half. Preseason Player of the Year Michael Glover led the Gaels with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman Rob Poole made his presence off the bench felt with 14 points, making two-three pointers and dishing out a team-high 6 assists to go with 6 rebounds after playing a season low 14 minutes on Thursday at Loyola. It looked like Poole was calling for the basketball late in the game, ice in his veins!

Siena held Iona to 3 for 16 from three point range after giving up 17 for 39 in their last meeting.

The Saints led 47-40 with about ten and a half minutes remaining, but as we’ve seen in recent games, the Saints just couldn’t keep their legs past 30 minutes. Kyle Downey (knee) turned the ball over 9 times out of Siena’s 16 total and eventually fouled out of the game. He’s really feeling the effects of his injury and inability to practice during the week. Kyle finished the night with 15 points. Evan Hymes (hand) was just 1-9, a slight regression from his 2-10 performance against Manhattan.

The turning point in the game was Loyola’s 15-0 run midway through the second. At one point in the second half, Siena was 8-10 from the field to Loyola’s 4-16, however that turned around quickly when Loyola went on their run. Also notable is the fact that Loyola out-rebounded the Saints 40-29.

Dylon Cormier and Robert Olsen added 17 and 16 points respectively, and Junior Erik Etherly had a double double with 12 points. OD Anosike (back) continues his streak of double doubles, with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rob Poole saw just 14 minutes tonight, despite averaging nearly double that on the season.

That’s what they do, they get you in spurts, they got us 3 or 4 times… We played so hard and so well, but they got us with that one run.

-Tobin Anderson

The Saints had previously won 5 in a row in Maryland. The team will travel back by bus to Siena tonight, and look to avenge their biggest conference loss in school history on Saturday night.

Friday night at the Arc, it’s Siena vs. Fairfield in the 12th annual Pink Zone game in support of CRAAB, Capital Region Action Against Breast Cancer. Wear pink. Visit http://www.sienasaints.com/pinkzone/ for more information.

Coach B was wondering, with all of Siena’s lack of depth and their youth, “why don’t teams press us more”. Coach went on to discuss the Manhattan loss

Our depth issue is obviously a problem, [Manhattan] played Evan physically. The second half of the game, our mental errors and turnovers got us into that 20 point deficit.

When asked how does he plan on keeping the team fresh when only playing 6 players, Coach B. explained…

- Kyle Downey has not practiced in the last 10 days
- Coach B. is worried Evan is wearing down
- OD has a back issue and did not practice yesterday