From SienaSaints.com

Kyle Downey wasn’t about to let the Saints lose this one. The senior scored 15 points and stuffed the statsheet with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in his final visit to the gym his brother once starred at as Siena rolled to its first MAAC road win in over a year, trouncing Canisius 60-50 in Buffalo Saturday.

The Saints snapped a four-game losing streak, and remain in a sixth place tie with Niagara, which defeated Rider 84-82 at home today. The top six teams get a bye in the MAAC Championships.

Siena dominated the game inside, out-scoring Canisius 42-18 in the paint. OD Anosike had 15 points and 11 rebounds to round out his 19th double-double of the season, and Brandon Walters added seven points and 10 boards.

Downey made 7-17 field goals, after connecting on just 2-14 in a 58-54 loss at Niagara Thursday. He scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, the majority on aggressive drives to the basket. Classmate Owen Wignot finished off his strongest weekend of the season with nine points, four rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

The Griffs led 23-22 after a Gaby Belardo 3-pointer with 8:14 left in the first half, but the Saints scored 15 of the last 18 points before inter mission to take a 37-26 lead to the lockerroom, and led by double figures the rest of the way. Belardo and Alshwan Hymes made five of Canisius’ six 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of the game. Then Siena’s defense locked down.
“After the last media of the first half, we said `They don’t get another sniff the rest of the night,’” Downey said. “They were the only ones really hurting us.”

The Saints limited Canisius to just a single basket over a nearly 12-minute stretch that bridged the two halves.

“I thought we were really well prepared,” Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro said. “Our defense was tremendous, and our offense picked it up.” Siena took much better care of the basketball than it did during its four-game slide. The Saints had 12 assists and just eight turnovers Sunday after entering the game with the worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the MAAC.

Harold Washington scored 13 of his-game high 16 points in the second half to lead Canisius, but many came after the outcome was already clear.

The Saints return home to face Manhattan on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. They close the season with road games at Hofstra and Marist, and a home game against Canisius Feb. 26.

* – Mass Mutal Center
** – MSG

There was a significant difference in this game vs. the game out in Buffalo, and not stating the obvious here that Clarence Jackson was back in the lineup, it was the Saints ability to convert turnovers into points.  The tail of the tape:

@ Canisius – 14 forced turnovers, 12 points (-2 differential)
vs. Canisus – 11 forced turnovers, 19 points (+8 differential)

A 10 point swing, and a difference maker in the game.   I do not want to see the Golden Griffs in a first round matchup come March.  They clearly match up well against Siena, and with their experience, are going to be a tough out for anyone that crosses their path.

Siena now boasts a 4-3 record in the league and is in position to make a statement to the rest of the MAAC in a nationally televised game on ESPNU Friday night against an experienced St. Peter’s team who also stands at 4-3.

Room for Improvement:
Extending the Lead. Siena jumped out to lead by as many as 15 and then went into cruise control before grasping to a 7 point lead at the end of the 1st half.  Canisius closed the half on a 9-2 run.  In the 2nd half Siena went up 8 twice with opportunities to extend the lead to double digits, failing to do so each time.

Keys to Success:
Coaching. This team came out of the gates and went right to their strength which is finding a way to get the ball inside.   This opened things up, allowed the team to establish themselves and settle into some very good offensive sets.   Mitch has really started to trust his basketball instincts, making some great moves that have paid off.   The one that stands out the most is having Clarence come off the bench, it allows him to get a sense for the game, so he can adjust and provide an instant spark off the bench.   The Saints played more man to man Monday night and that paid huge dividends as it confused Canisius and limited their production from 3.

The Fab Frosh. I continue to praise “Rahk” Brookins, mainly because he continues to impress night in and night out.  In the 2nd half as play started to move at a frenetic pace and the Saints were making some poor decisions, he steals the ball.  He could have raced to the basket challenging two Canisius defenders, but instead he slows down, lets the team set up in the half court, then finds O.D. Anosike on a great look, who attacks the rim and gets fouled. His stat line yet again was near flawless, 10 pts., 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover.

Five Facts:

1.  Siena is now 6-0 when making more free throws than their opponent attempts.

2.  The Saints are 2-0 since Clarence Jackson returned to the lineup.

3.  Siena made only 3 substitutions in the 2nd half.

4.  Ryan Rossiter has scored 25 or more points 7 times this season.

5.  Saints are now .500 at home, winners of 4 straight.

Five Questions:

1. Who will be the next team to put up more than 70 against the Saints (6 straight games while holding an opponent under 70 pts.)

2.  Why has “Rahk” Brookins not been recognized yet as a MAAC Rookie of the Week?

3.  What will the Saints league record be at the midway point of the MAAC slate?

4.  Will Ryan Rossiter go down as the best post player in Siena history?

5.  When was the last time Siena led the MAAC in scoring defense (currently 3rd)?

Five Words:

Points off turnovers win games.

Ryan Rossiter continues to be the Player of the Year in the MAAC, finishing with 28 points and 10 rebounds. RyRo was really the go to guy all night long. On the other side, Gaby Belardo put up 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Clarence was largely ineffective from beyond the arc but hit 2 big three pointers and threw down a huge dunk to seal the game. According to tonight’s radio crew, Clarence was seen getting taped up today and still seems to suffering a lot of pain with that ankle.

Canisius trailed by a point with 32.2 seconds to go, after the Saints had committed a bad foul in the previous possession. However, Belardo took an ill-advised three pointer with about 25 seconds to go and Siena got the ball back.

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.

I tip my cap to Canisius as they were able to knock down some long range threes in critical moments, played with grit and hustle, all key ingredients of an upset.  For those out there who do not consider this an upset, Siena entered the game winning 10 straight against Canisius with an 18-point margin of victory in those contests, they outrebound Canisius 44-30, and outscored the Grifs 34-14 in the paint, resounding stats that usually end in wins and not losses.

The difference in the game, the Saints inability to make shots in the 2nd half.   Siena took 12 more shots than the Grifs in the 2nd half and managed to only make one more field goal.

Room for Improvement:

Points off turnovers. Siena forced 14 turnovers last night, and were only able to turn them into 12 points.   There was a point in the 2nd half where Canisius turned the ball over 3 consecutive times with Siena up two and the Saints were only able to turn that into 2 points with 2 missed FG’s and a missed FT.

Last four (minutes). Siena has been improving on handling late game situations, but last night they were plagued by the inability to make a shot in this critical juncture.   The Saints entered the final media timeout up 1 and went 1-8 from the field while Canisius went 3-5 to end the game.

Keys to Success:

In the Paint. The Saints had their best performance on the glass as they outrebounded a respectable rebounding team in Canisius 44-3.  Rossiter, Anosike, and Martens also dominated on the offense end as they outscored the Grifs 34-14 in the paint.   Anosike had a bounce back effort as he stayed out of foul trouble and had his first double double of the year (12pts, 11rebs.)

The Point Man. “Rahk” Brookins continued development has been something I don’t think anyone saw coming including Coach B.   Last night was only his 14th collegiate game and anyone watching that game would have thought he has been playing at this level for a while now, he has really come into his own.   Over his last six games the Saints are 3-3, “Rahk” has 26 assists vs. only 10 turnovers, and averaged 8.8 points.

Five Facts:

1.  After winning 52 straight when holding opponents under 70, the Saints are now 1-2 in their last 3 games.

2.  Siena has not won a game this season (0-9) when they fail to make more free throws than their opponent attempts.

3.  Kyle Downey had 5 offensive rebounds.

4.  “Rahk” Brookins played all 40 minutes and had a +5 assist to turnover ratio.

5.  Ryan Rossiter had his 12th double double of the year.

Five Questions:

1. When was the last time the Saints allowed 12 three’s in a game?

2.  When was the last time Siena swept the western road trip?

3.  Will Ryan Rossiter be the first Siena Saint to play in an NBA regular season contest? (Canisius coach Tom Parrotta thinks so)

4.  Will Clarence suit up Sunday against Niagara?

5.  What happened to resting your starters for Sunday against Niagara?

Five Words:

Buffalo trip is always tough.

Siena lead most of the way, dominating the offensive and defensive glass but Canisius’ fire from beyond the arc closed the gap quickly late in the second half. They finished 12-28 (42.9%) from three. The Saints won the rebounding battle 40-26 and had a plethora of second chance opportunites.

Siena trailed by 3 late, until Ryan Rossiter was fouled in a scramble. With under a minute to go, Mitch did a great job changing up the defense from zone to man to man– confusing Canisius and forcing a poor possession. A play to Ryan Rossiter retook the lead for the Saints with 19 seconds remaining. However, in the ensuing possession, Gaby Belardo made a running layup to retake the lead. Siena got the ball down the court and took a timeout with under 5 seconds to go, but Tomas Vazquez-Simmons blocked Ryan Rossiter on the final play of the game.

On a cold night shooting all around for the Saints (36.9%), OD Anosike and Ryan Rossiter both recorded double-doubles. Rossiter finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds and Anosike closed the night with 12 points and 11 boards.

Canisius has not beaten the Saints in their last ten meetings, and they will be trying to get their first conference win as well on Friday night.  Gone is super guard and leading scorer Frank Turner, but the Griffs have senior leadership to spare.  6’5″ senior forward Elton Frazier is leading the team in scoring with 13 points a game and is grabbing 7 rebounds per contest.  Sophomores Gaby Belardo and Alshwan Hymes are both averaging just over 10 points a game, but the team is still led by Frazier and the other seniors Julius Coles, Greg Logins, Thomas Vasquez-Simmons and Robert Goldsberry, who are all averaging over 24 minutes of game time.

The Saints continue to improve all areas of their game, most notably in regards to turnovers.  The team has gotten their turnovers down to 13.5 per game and have less than 10 in each of their last three games.  Most of the reason for that is the improved play of their young backcourt.  Rahkeem Brookins continues to impress, and his primary backup Jonathon Breeden is logging more minutes each game and showed his grit in icing his second game this year with clutch free throws late against Iona.  Owen Wignot and Davis Martens were also impressive in the win over Iona, and the team continues to gel even without senior guard Clarence Jackson.  Jackson is still questionable to play over the weekend.

The game Friday night will come down to if the Golden Griffins can stop Ryan Rossiter, and if they can’t then the Saints will need to make the shots that they weren’t able to make against St. Joseph’s two games ago.  The Saints really need to find a way to continue whatever momentum they generate after good wins, which they were unable to do after the Florida Atlantic and Georgia Tech games.  With their 2 wins in conference the Saints are only 1 game back of Fairfield and St. Peters who are both 3-0, so the Saints would like to leave Buffalo on Sunday night with 4 conference wins.

If the Saints are able to win their next two games, on what is traditionally one of the most difficult road trips for the Green and Gold, then the Saints can rest assured that they should consider themselves definite contenders for the regular season conference crown.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you think was the biggest All-MAAC Team snub?

Steve Amedio: This one is easy: Frank Turner, Canisius, who got picked for the third team. The guy has been underrated his entire career. He currently ranks 4th in scoring, 5th in Field Goal percentage, 2nd in assists, 1st in steals and 15th in REBOUNDING and he’s only 5-foot-10! Without him, Cansius wins a lot fewer games. Second team? OK, maybe. But, third team? That’s a travesty. The knock on him, early in his career, was that you could turn him over. Not any more … he’s third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Not to knock other players, but he’s had a far better season than Iona’s Scott Machado, who plays the same position and was voted to the second team. I have no problem with Machado being on the second team. He had a nice season. But, Turner had a better season. And, I think he’s had a better season than Ryan Thompson, who is on the first team. Thompson had a terrific six game stretch in February, but I don’t think you should be on first team for six games. If he had 25 good games this year like everyone expected, Rider would have finished third, as predicted, and not have a 16-15 overall record.

I also think Ubiles should have been first team, but not so overwhelmingly so like Turner. On the women’s side, I think Brittane Russell of Canisius also should have made first team, rather than second team. She is one of five players nationally in the last 20 years to record career totals of 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals. She is 15th nationally in steals this season. She is 10th in scoring in the MAAC this season, 1st in steals, 4th in assists. She is just a disruptive defensive presence on the court and should clearly be the Defensive Player of the Year. That should count for something, too.

Siena Saints Blog: Who is your dark horse team for the MAAC Basketball Championships?

Steve Amedio: Let me go on record as saying that Siena will win the tournament, and with ease. The only team this dominant relative to everyone else I’ve ever seen was the La Salle teams of Lionel Simmons (1986-97 through 1989-90). This Siena team isn’t that good, but the distance between it and everyone else is as great as I’ve ever seen. Heck, the conference’s second-best team, Fairfield, played the entire season without two key starters and half the season without a third key starter. If there is a team that will cause some trouble, my pick is Saint Peter’s. The Peacocks have two good post players, two good perimeter players and a little bit of depth. That said, they’ll have to play Siena in the semifinals, so their season ends there.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you think the coaches will give Player of the Year award to?

Steve Amedio: My guess is that Alex Franklin of Siena will be the Player of the Year. He is the league’s most-unstoppable inside force, and has been consistent from start to finish. If Ryan Rossiter got the award, though, I’d have no complaint. But Franklin is a senior and Rossiter is a junior. My only “pulse” about how coaches vote is that they almost always favor the senior when it comes time to vote for the top award.

Siena Saints Blog: Who should the Saints be scared of more: Rider or St. Peter’s?

Steve Amedio: I think that one’s pretty clear. Siena has beaten Rider by 22 points in Albany and by 26 at Rider. Rider doesn’t seem to match up very well with Siena. Their team chemistry just doesn’t seem to be there this season, and Siena plays hard and well on the defensive end and has kept Ryan Thompson in check so far. I actually thought Saint Peter’s had a shot at Siena when they played in Jersey City, N.J. Siena was without Edwin Ubiles, but still won by eight with a great defensive effort. My thought, though, is that Saint Peter’s matches up a little better with Siena. Still, the matchup definitely favors Siena by a lot should they play Saturday.

Siena Saints Blog: It’s simple, sometimes, to overlook the Women’s side of the MAAC but are we seeing the best MAAC player ever finish this week in Marist’s Rachel Fitz?

Steve Amedio: Rachele Fitz is certainly among the best ever in the MAAC, but not in the Lionel Simmons’ class as far as being head and shoulders above everyone else on the men’s side. Fitz is like Chinese water torture, she hurts you little by little. Her game is a lot more subtle than most real stars, but she does everything well. Anyway, she’s in the discussion along with Loyola’s Patty Stoffey and, maybe, Siena’s Melanie Halker.

Siena Saints Blog: We got your prediction on the Men’s side, how do you see the women’s tournament ending up? Will Marist’s reign on the conference end?

Steve Amedio: Will Marist win the tournament? Yes but they appear more vulnerable than in the past. They don’t have a presence yet, and only get consistent scoring from three players. But that’s enough for a team that lost just three times. Throw out Sunday’s loss at Manhattan, that was a fluke. Iona, though, forced Marist to go overtime on Friday in a game that Marist needed to win to clinch the regular-season title. The Gaels are very good, clearly the second-best team in the league and the one team at least capable of pulling off an upset. That said, Marist is extremely well coached, can play in a variety of ways and is the most-intelligent team on the court in the league. They rarely make mistakes.

• Saints rebound from ugly loss, beat Canisius
  

  Ryan Rossiter said a Canisius fan at the Koes­sler Center was on Rossiter’s case all afternoonon on Sunday, at one point telling Siena’s junior center that he’d “never be in Vogue” magazine.
  Maybe not, but perhaps Rossiter could make the cover of “Seventeen,” because that’s how many rebounds he had against Canisius, one short of a career high as the Saints rebounded from their first loss in two months by beating Canisius, 74-57.

• Saints bounce back to beat Griffs
• Siena rebounds, routs Canisius