Let’s take a look back at some of the best moments of the Albany Cup…

Siena mascot ‘Bernie’ jams with a band before Siena-UAlbany in 2006

#1 Siena 76, Albany 75 (2OT) December 2 2006

Kenny Hasbrouck’s basket with 1:11 left in the second overtime gave the Saints the lead and helped them stave off a victory over Albany 76-75. Hasbrouck fought illness to play the game and Fran McCaffery got an unexpected boost from Hasbrouck’s performance.

“Kenny’s performance was very courageous,” McCaffery said. “We didn’t expect to have him a few hours before the game. He missed the walk-through and was nauseous all day.”

Freshman Edwin Ubiles delivered a key three pointer late along with a David Ryan free throw to tie the game in regulation and send it to overtime. Ubiles scored a then career-high 20 points. Ubiles played in 45 of the games’ 50 minutes.

Lack of Big Three: For all of you who were wondering how the big three (Ubiles-Moore-Franklin) did in their first Albany Cup game… Moore started, scored 8 points and dished out 4 assists along with 2 turnovers. Alex Franklin came off the bench to score 4 points and fouled out, playing just 19 minutes.

Memorable Moment: Lead changed 16 times in see-saw battle.

#2 Siena 82, Albany 74 (OT) December 3 2005

Fran McCaffery’s first win in the Albany Cup came in overtime, and it came in the (then named) Pepsi Arena. After squandering a lead that got as large as 18-points, Siena went on a 10-0 run to start overtime to take the Albany Cup back from the Great Danes. The Saints were led by Antoine Jordan’s 24 points, who posted his second straight double-double of the season. Kojo Mensah posted a triple-double, scoring 20 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and 11 assists which included the dishing out the game-tying three pointer by Tay Fisher. Mensah’s triple-double was the first triple-double since Marc Brown did it on November 25, 1990. Free throws weren’t a woe then for the Saints, they made 10 out of 11 freebies in overtime to seal up the cup. The win put the Saints over .500 for the first time since December 2003.

Memorable Moment: Kojo Mensah triple double first since Marc Brown in 1990 (20pts., 14rebs., 11assists)

#3 Siena 75, Albany 71 December 1 2007

The, then, second largest crowd home crowd for a Siena men’s regular season game watched Alex Franklin break out with 24 points and  10 rebounds (his fourth straight double-double) as the Saints beat Albany by four. McCaffery said Franklin looked like a pro against the Danes.

“He played like a pro,” McCaffery said. “He was the best player on the court tonight. By far.”

The Saints went up by as much as 18 in the first 12 minutes of the game and led by 10 at the half but watched as Albany put together a 16-0 run to cut the lead to four late. Franklin’s free throws with six seconds left sealed the Siena win.

Freshman Play: Clarence Jackson and Ryan Rossiter appeared in this game for the Saints, each playing three minutes and scoring 0 points, respectively. Rossiter picked up a defensive rebound and a steal in the game.

Big Three: Ubiles scored 10 points, picked up 4 steals and 5 rebounds. Moore scored 14 points and dished out 5 assists. Franklin scored a game-high 24 points.

Memorable Moment: 2nd Largest crowd in a regular season Siena home game.

• D’Argenio: Capacity could be higher next season
  

  With average attendance better than 7,400 the past two seasons, Siena may raise its capacity at Times Union Center next year, athletic director John D’Argenio said Thursday.
  The school has hired a sports consulting firm to find an appropriate capacity and to determine which seats should be covered with tarps and curtains.

• Downey aims for MAAC Tournament return
  

  Kyle Downey is hoping to recover from his broken foot in time to return for next month’s MAAC Tournament.
  The sophomore guard, who was injured during practice Jan. 19, said his recovery has gone well since he underwent surgery two weeks ago.

• Meet Firefly
  

  My esteemed colleague, Tom Keyser, wrote a nice feature story on former Siena guard Tay Fisher, now a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
  In case you missed Fisher’s appearance at Times Union Center earlier this month, check out the video:

MEMPHIS — Memphis SAT on a quick lead, brought in substitutes, and dominated in a 102-58 victory over the Siena Saints.

Memphis’ starters were surprised to vacate their positions early. Coach John Calipari became frustrated with their play and pulled all five starters within a minute of the game.

Kenny Hasbrouck led the Saints with 18 points. Tay Fisher scored 14 for the Saints. The Tigers moved to 12-0 and won their 39th straight home game. Siena is 7-5.

Although Memphis vacated all of their wins, this game still “happened”… or did it?

Try to explain this:

• Siena lost and they will not change that in the record books. That is NCAA policy.
• Head Coach John Calipari has established a reputation of Final Four teams. After leading UMass to a Final Four in 1996, he cemented his reputation as a top coach by leading Memphis to a Final Four and minutes away from a championship. He is now trying to lead Kentucky into establishing its reputation as a top program.
• Derrick Rose is now in the NBA.
• Tay Fisher and all of the Saints points still ‘exist’. This photo might explain where they do exist:
• 
• I’m sure the NCAA has “top men” working on it right now.

• Memphis’ will vacate the win but Siena still takes a loss.

I’m trying to find a real winner here and I think I found the answer: nobody.

Memphis will pay for a crime which their current players and coaches didn’t commit.

Whoever the Saints are matched up with, they will be looking to match (or improve upon?) last year’s success.

Northern Iowa was defeated by Creighton at home yesterday, 77-71.

Tay Fisher will be in attendance tonight at the Times Union Center, signing commemorative magazines highlighting last year’s magical season.

…from a percentage standpoint, I would say (Jim) Cantamessa………..however, from a game changing, money ball, reel off a bunch in a row, with unlimited range ability………..that honor goes to Scott Knapp who could download a 3 at any time with ease and solid accuracy!!!!!!!!!!!
- Siena ARCatech

…maybe not the best in terms of numbers, but what about Tay Fisher? His 3′s in our last few games were difference makers. Tay’s 3′s might some of the most important in Siena history.     
- Boogie

…Jim Cantamessa leads all Saints with a career percentage of 45%. Marc Brown is 2nd at 42%. (David) Ryan, (Scott) Knapp, (Tom) Huerter and (Marcus) Faison round out the top 6. There were others such as Matt Brady who had higher percentages, but they did not make a minimum of 100 3 pointers in their career.
- gorvy

The current Saints would love to have any of these great shooters available to take a big 3-pointer this season. Who will step up this year to make these shots? Can Clarence Jackson be that sniper? Will Kenny Hasbrouck and Edwin Ubiles make some big 3′s? As for me, Scott Knapp is the best 3-point shooter of all time at Siena. he could make them in bunches, when it counted most. 

I think what I took most out of this game was how much the chemistry that this team has developed will help this year. Yes all of the players are stronger, (most notably Rossiter, Franklin, and Kenny), yes they are another year into Fran’s system, but what is most important is that they all understand their role on this team. This chemistry core has developed makes players like Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot step into the game and look great. Eddie and Alex don’t look like they are going to miss a dunk this season, Eddie with dazzling drives and dunks and Alex with his most powerful dunks I have seen.

Be sure to check out our photos from tonight. It’s just a cell phone camera so be nice.