2006-2007 Season

Siena beats UAlbany in double overtime 76-75. Ubiles scores 20 points after hitting 4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

In a normal February game against Manhattan, Ronald Moore has his first double digit asst game with 10 dimes. This would be the first of many. Recap »

After losing two very close games to Marist earlier in the year, the Saints beat the #1 ranked Red Foxes in a semifinal classic and head to the title game for the first time since 2004. Recap »

Alex Franklin ends his freshman year with a bang by scoring 27 points on 10 out of 12 shooting in Siena’s 83-79 MAAC championship loss to Niagara. Recap »

2007-2008 Season

Siena defeats 20th ranked Stanford 79-67 at the Times Union Center. Franklin scores 14 points and Ubiles adds 11. Students and fans stormed the court after the win. Recap »

Josh Duell came up big on the road in Lawrenceville, NJ, hitting a three with 1.3 seconds remaining and capping an 11-2 run in the final 1:58 against the fiesty Broncs. Recap »

In the BracketBuster game the Saints went to Boise State to play the 20-win Broncos and crushed them 93-70. Franklin had a monster game with 30 points and 18 rebounds. Ubiles had 22 points and Moore had 9 assists. Recap »

Siena trounces Rider in the MAAC championship game 74-53. In a game known primarily for Tay Fisher’s six 3’s off the bench, Ubiles added 15 points and Franklin with 10 points. Recap »

For the program’s first NCCA tournament win since 1989, Siena upsets #4 seeded Vanderbilt 83-62. Ubiles scores 11, Franklin 10, and Moore has 6 assists for Siena. Recap »

2008-2009 Season

Siena plays their toughest schedule in school history. #12 Tennessee, Oklahoma State, #3 Pitt, and a Kansas team one year removed from a national title.

After going through the season not being able to beat any significant non conference teams, Siena defeats Northern Iowa 81-75 in their BracketBuster match up. In a balanced scoring game Ubiles scores 10 points, Franklin 9 points, and Moore 8 points. Even a kid made a $25,000 shot. Recap »

Siena gets revenge on Niagara from two years before by beating them in the MAAC championship game 77-70. Franklin puts up 16 points, Ubiles contributes 9 points, while Moore has 7 assists. Recap »

After getting bumped up to a #9 seed, the Saints beat Ohio State 74-72 in double overtime. Ubiles has 20 points and Franklin has a double-double performance with 10 points 13 rebounds. Moore has 11 points with his 7 assists, along with two of the most well-known shots in Siena history that extends the game into the 2nd OT where he then won it. The greatest game in Siena history Recap »

Siena took Rick Pitino and the #1 seeded Louisville to the brink, but lose a close game 79-72. All three players played well with Ubiles scoring 24 points, Franklin 19 points, and Moore with 10 assists. Recap »

2009-2010 Season

After opening up the season with a win against Tennessee State, Siena gets another victory over a solid Northeastern team 59-53. Ubiles scores nearly half the team’s points with 26. Franklin finishes with 9 points and Moore adds 5 assists in this low scoring game. Recap »

The Big Three end their career vs UAlbany with a nearly 30 point victory, 83-54. Ubiles doesn’t play much due to injuries but Franklin has 14 points while Moore puts up a double-double with 13 points 11 assists. Recap »

The seniors’ last victory together made them MAAC champions in a 72-65 defeat of Fairfield. Ubiles leads all scorers with 27 points. Franklin adds a double-double of 22 points and 12 boards. Moore contributes 9 points and 6 assists. Recap »

An end of an era came in the team’s opening round 72-64 loss to Purdue. Franklin scores 10 points and grabs 14 rebounds. Ubiles leads the team with 18 points, and Moore scores 14 points. Recap »

Who is Siena? Haven’t I seen this name the past two years in my bracket? This name is so familiar I should just pick them right? Yes, and yes.

It’s a great day in sports; it’s the day that you spend penciling in teams in your bracket, until you can’t even read through the erase marks. Many of you are here now doing your due diligence on the 2010 Siena Saints.

If your team is in, congratulations, and good luck, unless of course you’re a Purdue fan, in which case we wish bad things upon you, well, that was a little dramatic– we wish your team plays extremely poorly on Friday night. We mean like first half Purdue poorly.

Recent History

The 2008 Siena Saints dominated Vanderbilt in the first round as a #13 seed. Their 21-point win over Vanderbilt was the most lopsided #13 over #4 seed win since 1985. They would go on to lose to Villanova in the second round.

Last year, #9 Siena took #8 Ohio State to double overtime in the first round. This is where PG Ronald Moore got his name on the map, knocking down two crucial threes in the closing seconds of each OT. In the second round, they were right with Louisville with about five to go, but the #1 seed proved too much for Siena to handle.

This Season

Siena has since lost one starter and one bench player in each year, but this has not stopped them. The Saints attempted to schedule up again this season, but nobody wanted to play them. Siena had their chances for quality wins against 4 NCAA Tournament teams; they lost a close one against Temple, lost at Georgia Tech (without Ubiles), competed closely with Northern Iowa, and got smoked by Butler.

Siena simply dominated the MAAC conference this season. Including the conference tournament, the Saints were 20-1 this season. In their last three games, they have trailed by 6+ points at half and have come back to win, including an overtime victory the Championship game. Siena trailed by as much as 15 points in the first half. One thing is for sure, if you let this team hang around, they will come back– they are resilient.

The Starters

PG Ronald Moore
Moore leads the nation in assists, but more importantly, is the most clutch player perhaps in Siena’s history. Ronald may only be shooting 23% from three this season, but two of those three pointers have come in the closing minutes of the Saints’ past two games.

SG Clarence Jackson
Clarence is the three point specialist for Siena, but has proven that he has the ability to drive the ball to the hoop with authority.

SF Edwin Ubiles
Ubiles marks the top of Siena’s 1-2-2 press. He has great length, anticipation, and the most NBA potential on this team. Edwin appears to be finishing off his Siena career strong, shooting 47.8% from the field in his last five games. Ubiles can simply do it all.

PF Alex Franklin
Conference Player of the year, MAAC Tournament MVP, there is not much else you really need to say about Franklin, who has greatly improved his ability to put the ball on the deck and go one on one. Alex’s strength is not found anywhere else in the league, and he has proven he can match up with bigger Div. I talent.

C Ryan Rossiter
Ryan Rossiter is sometimes overlooked, but it is hard to overlook his presence coming into this game. He is 5th in the country, averaging over a double-double per game, 21 this season. Rossiter is the smartest player on this team, and fights for every rebound.

Quick Facts

• Location: Albany, NY
• Enrollment: 3,000
• 6th NCAA Tournament Appearance
• Siena has the second longest home court winning streak (38) in Division I

Catch the 2009-10 Siena Saints video highlights and more HD video at our video page.

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…

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

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.

Clarence Jackson, who shot just 2-15 in the Quarterfinal game, came alive in the second half with a three pointer at 15:59 to give Siena a one point lead. Jackson then made another three pointer with 11:16 to go to give the Saints another one point lead. Jackson scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half on 6-9 shooting.

Ryan Rossiter converted a basket in transition, grabbed a rebound and scored a two with 9:21 to give the Saints a 53-48 lead. Rossiter focused on defense against the Broncs, pulling down 18 of the team’s 39 rebounds. He asserted his defensive presence early and often, not allowing any Bronc to drive to the basket with ease.

The MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Player Ryan Thompson and Player of the Year Alex Franklin, carried their teams early. Senior Ryan Thompson scored Rider’s first 12 points. Franklin and Moore combined to score 11 of the first 13 Siena points. Moore found his shooting stroke, scoring 15 points on 5-10 shooting and recorded 10 assists.

Thompson struggled to score in the second half, scoring just 6 points on 3-6 shooting. The Preseason MAAC Player of the Year exited to a standing ovation in the second half, finishing up with 21 points to lead the Broncs. Mike Ringgold scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds.

Siena did not trail at halftime in consecutive home games this season, yet has won both games in this weekend’s MAAC Tournament by double digits.

Siena will face the winner of Niagara vs. Fairfield at 7PM tomorrow night on ESPN2.

Siena was led by Edwin Ubiles, who took over late in the game, driving into the lane with for some crucial buckets. Ubiles finished the game with 18 points on 8 of 16 shooting. Ryan Rossiter had 17 points and 10 rebounds, matching a school record with his 14th double-double of the season. Siena got some nice minutes late in the first half from Wignot and Anosike when Franklin was forced to sit on the bench after the 12:29 mark.

Siena will head to Buffalo this weekend while Fairfield will travel to Rider for their second game of a four game road trip.

Fairfield is again battling injury as it recently lost its second leading scorer, junior swing man Yorel Hawkins.  They have been without the services of senior forward Greg Nero for the entire year, but they have gotten senior forward Anthony Johnson back who is averaging 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.  The biggest story for the Stags this year is the play of Rookie of the Year favorite Derek Needham.  The freshman is leading the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg, and is distributing the ball well averaging 5.2 assists per game.  Needham scored 16 against the Saints in Bridgeport and filled up the stat sheet, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing 7 assists and making 4 steals.  The only thing he didn’t do was protect the ball that well, committing 8 turnovers that game.

The Stags can put points on the board, but head coach Ed Cooley emphasizes strong team defense – he was very vocal about his team allowing Rider to score 88 and Siena 81 both in home court losses in the last couple of weeks.  The team must have heard him, because they pulled off an impressive win against resurgent St. Peter’s on the road, holding the Peacocks to 46 points.  The Saints are averaging just under 77 points per game, so if the Stags want to pull off the road upset they are going to need to keep Siena in the 60’s or less.

The Saints will attempt to keep streaking in to February, being led by the player many now consider the MAAC Player of the Year favorite Alex Franklin.  Some are touting Ronald Moore as being the potential player of the year, but the vote will most likely come down to either Franklin or Edwin Ubiles, and Franklin’s numbers have been outstanding.  He is the only player in the conference to place in the top-5 in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage.

While the Saints have Ubiles back he still isn’t quite 100%, which may have contributed to an 11 point performance on only 4-12 shooting Friday night against Iona.  Franklin scored 23 against the Gaels and Ryan Rossiter had his eighth double-double in nine games, but the story Monday night was the hot hand of Clarence Jackson.  After missing his first three shots from beyond the arc, Jackson made six more over the course of the evening, finishing with 20 points.  He was the catalyst to opening up the game in both halves.  If Jackson, and the team itself, is making threes there aren’t many teams in the conference, if any, who can keep up with them.

Friday night’s game turned out to be much more one-sided than many would have imagined.  Fairfield clearly has the talent and the ability to knock off the Saints, but having to over come the home-court advantage of the Times Union Center may prove to be too much.

You can find Matt’s halftime interview with Siena play-by-play broadcaster Robert Lee here!

A good day for the Saints in an 81-73 road win at Fairfield. Siena led by as many as 13 but Fairfield fought back and made this into the toughest Siena MAAC win this season. We are in the process of getting Matt’s halftime interview on TALK 1300AM with Robert Lee. Make sure to visit SienaSaintsBlog’s YouTube channel and here where we will have more exclusive content!

Saturday 1/16/2010 Siena at Fairfield

Welcome to Bridgeport! (Photo/Video)
Clarence Jackson Leading the Way with 22 points (Video)
Ryan Rossiter Big Dunk Off Moore’s Miss (Video)
Recap: Siena 81, Fairfield 73
Postgame: Clarence Jackson (Video)
Postgame: Fran McCaffery (Video)