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 »

Franklin is by far the most fouled person on the team with 225 attempts so far this season, which is already a career high for the senior. His 66.2% from the line is the best free throw numbers he’s put up since his freshman year. However, it’s his stellar performance during the MAAC tournament (when it really matters) that demonstrates how much emphasis Franklin is placing on connecting from the line.

Against Manhattan he went a solid 9-14 (64.2%), but went an amazing 12-13 (92.3%) in the semifinal game against Rider. These percentages are massively higher than his shooting from last year’s tournament when the largest number of free throws he made in a game was 2 against Niagara.

With Siena struggling out of the gate in both of their recent games, it has been Franklin and his free throws that have kept the team within striking distance. His 7 first half points from line against Manhattan helped contain the Jaspers early momentum.

With the number of times Franklin normally goes to the foul line, combined with his much improved shooting makes Franklin a more dangerous threat. His aggressive offensive style not only gets opponents into foul trouble, but now consistently results in points. If he is able to continue this trend, it will be very difficult for anyone to beat the Saints tomorrow in the championship game.

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.

• 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

Canisius is led by G Frank Turner who is 2nd in the MAAC in scoring with 16.9 ppg. Turner is also among the top three in the conference for assists, averaging over 5 per game. His counterpart, G Julius Coles also contributes on the offensive end with 15 ppg.

Since the Golden Griffins last played Siena back on January 11th, they have gone 4-5. During that stretch Canisius went into overtime 3 times beating Manhattan and Niagara and falling to St. Peter’s College. Their record places them in the middle of the MAAC standings along with Rider and Niagara. They have been given James Madison University for their BracketBusters opponent.

As a team Canisius is 2nd in the MAAC in rebounding with 38.8 per game. However, they average more than 10 points less per game compared to Siena, and they are last in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (30.1%). This will be a big mental test to see if Siena can leave their loss to Niagara in the past and not fall victim to what would be their first back-to-back loss of the season.

Siena’s loss snaps a 15 game win streak and gives the Saints their first loss of 2010, their last loss was December 12, 2009 at Northern Iowa. This year, four of the Saints’ five losses have been by nine points or more.

Led by Tyrone Lewis’ game high 24 points on 7-13 shooting, the Purple Eagles went on a 15-1 run the second half to put the game out of reach for the Saints. Kashief Edwards turned in a career high 20 points on 9-14 shooting.

Ryan Rossiter led the Saints with 23 points, on 8-16 shooting, and 12 rebounds. Edwin Ubiles was held to just 12 points on 6-15 shooting as Siena struggled against the home court advantage of the Purple Eagles.

Alex Franklin was held to just one second half point and went 2-8 from the field, scoring just 9 points.

Siena struggled to find the outside shot as Kyle Griffin and Clarence Jackson combined to go 2-10 from three point range.

O.D. Anosike ended up one off his season-high with 6 points off the bench for the Saints.

I often stray from posting my own opinion on this site, mostly in an effort to remain professional. But this time I’m not holding back, and I hope I get a ton of comments on this post…

Niagara is a bunch of punks. That’s right, I gave you your due credit above, but your team is full of punks, and it always has been (16 seed in 2007). This is not me being bitter about the loss, it’s just that personally I never like to watch players talk smack, or play rough (we’ll be watching closely Goldsberry), or take cheap shots during competition. I understand it gets heated out there, but going out and doing your job has nothing to do with roughing up other players, or talking smack. Play the game, play it like a man, not a punk kid.

Hopefully, we’ll see you punks in March.

SienaSaintsBlog: Who is a better contender this year: Iona or Fairfield?

Ray Floriani: A slight edge to Iona but this is really tough because the teams are fairly similar. They both defend and force turnovers. Iona’s turnover (forced) rate is 23% of opposition possessions while Fairfield is 22%.

In the non-league schedule I give Iona a slight nod. They defeated Creighton at the very competitive Old Spice Classic in Orlando and knocked off Providence on the road. Fairfield’s non-MAAC slat was not as tough as Iona’s but it was close and competitive and they gave Rhode Island a good game before dropping a close one.

Derek Needham is doing a great job at the point for Fairfield. Yorel Hawkins and Anthony Johnson can score for the Stags. Scott Machado is an excellent talent at guard for the Gaels. Iona has a number of weapons as 6-11 Jonathan Huffman who can step outside and hit the three.
Fairfield hosts Siena on Saturday with a prime opportunity to prove me wrong.

SienaSaintsBlog: Who would you label as your surprise team this season?

Ray Floriani: Would have to say Iona. As noted they have great guard play with Machado , Kyle Smyth and Jermel Jenkins just to name a few. They defend and a key factor is the ability to succeed on the road. They knocked off Providence but in conference they have impressive wins at Niagara and Rider. They are 3-3 in conference but some of those wins we discussed caught the attention of many observers and not just those who follow the MAAC.

SienaSaintsBlog: When are we going to see the real Rider Broncs show up?

Ray Floriani: From a tempo free perspective Rider’s numbers are revealing. Overall the offensive efficiency is 98 and defensive is 101. In the MAAC those numbers are 93 and 97. In both cases the Broncs have a negative margin (offensive minus defensive efficiency) which does not bode well for any hopes of making a run for the title. It is still early and the Broncs are 3-3.

Their turnover rate is under 20% so they are caring for the ball but as a team they are shooting 41% from the field. That low percentage is especially harmful given an interior defense that is allowing opponents to shoot 50% from two point range.

Rider has four players averaging double figures but coach Tommy Dempsey is getting little help from his bench.
As noted, there is time but there are corrections needed on both ends of the floor. On the other hand maybe that great opening win at Mississippi State left us all expecting more than we expected.

SienaSaintsBlog: Is Ryan Thompson playing his way out of Player of the Year?
Ray Floriani: I think he’s a great player. Thompson averages 14 PPG because he is so unselfish and doesn’t force things. Those qualities were also opinions of the nine or so NBA scouts who saw Thompson in Rider’s OT loss at Rutgers.

Thompson does not have POY numbers at this juncture. But down the stretch Dempsey will probably encourage him to be less unselfish and look for his shot especially in close contests. The remainder of the season will determine if Thompson gets that POY hardware in Albany come March.

Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Northeast Conference. Ryan Restivo is the RTC correspondent for the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Siena Saints (12-4, 5-0) host the Canisius Golden Griffins (8-8, 3-2) at the Times Union Center, 7pm Monday night.  The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable channel 3.  The Saints are tied for the third longest home court winning streak in the country at 29 with Dayton and Pittsburgh, behind Kansas (51) and Missouri (30), and will also try to extend their unbeaten streak against Canisius to nine in a row.   This isn’t quite the same Griffs team the Saints have faced in recent memory, though.

Canisius was picked to finish seventh in the MAAC conference by the coaches in the preseason men’s basketball poll, but the team has responded well early in the season.  Their non-conference wins may not be flashy, but a win at home against an improving Iona team served notice to other conference foes that the Griffs are here to compete this year– tied for third in the MAAC.

The Griffs are led by versitile 5′10″ senior guard Frank Turner.  A true stat stuffer, Turner leads the league in scoring with 17 points per game, averages 5.1 assists per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, and 2.3 steals per game.  Turner is the cornerstone of the team, and while names like Ubiles, Franklin, Thompson, Lewis, Harvey, and Benn may be thrown in to the hat for Player of the Year consideration, Frank Turner has to be at or near the top of the list.  He is a consistent and dynamic performer, and a huge reason why the Golden Griffins are working their way up the conference ladder for the first time in a long time.

Turner is followed in scoring by 6′4″ junior guard Julius Coles, who is averaging 15.1 points per game, and 6′7″ junior forward Greg Loggins who is averaging 10.9 points per game.  One of the key things to watch in this matchup though is going to be the battle of the boards – while Siena outrebounds it’s opponents 39-35.6 each game the Griffs also have a positive advantage in team rebounding, edging their opponents 37.8-35.6 per game.  The X-Factor for the Saints in this game may be the balanced scoring of its team, and if the Griffs can’t fully scheme for it and keep them off the glass then it may be a difficult night for them.

Siena’s scoring race has been as fun to watch as a Saratoga race card – Edwin Ubiles and Alex Franklin are now tied for the lead with 15.3 per game.  While Clarence Jackson is as explosive as anyone on the team, he is sometimes an anomaly – he has led or tied for the lead in scoring in six games this year, but also threw in a few head scratchers.  As impressive as his defense has been at times this year, his defensive intensity and rare carelessness with decision making on the court has found him in coach McCaffery’s dog house on a couple of occasions.  Meanwhile, junior Ryan Rossiter is the stalwart down low, averaging almost a double-double with 12.6ppg and 9.8rpg.  No one man is called upon to shoulder the load night in and night out.  What is most likely going to be the linchpin for this team down the stretch is the now evident emergence of its bench players.

Sophomore guard Kyle Downey seems to have completely returned from a back injury during the offseason and looks like a completely different player – while he is not shooting prolifically from three-point range he is hitting crucial field goals, and his defense and rebounding has stepped up in the minutes he gets to spell the starters.  Freshman forward OD Anosike had the best game of his early career on Saturday against Niagara, scoring 6 points, and grabbing 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in 22 minutes of play.  If Coach McCaffery can continue to get production from these two and set a solid 7-man rotation, then any other quality minutes he can get from reserves Kyle Griffin, Davis Martens, and Jonathan Breeden will be icing on the cake.  It looks like the depth issue that hindered the Saint’s chances to get an ‘up’ non-conference win early in the season may be behind them as the squad looks to make a strong run through the MAAC schedule.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• Let’s Get Physical?: The Saints continue to rank high in the nation in fewest fouls committed, 5th currently with 14.4 per game – that stat is going to be tested by the strong and physical Golden Griffins.  If the Saints can absorb the contact and not get in to foul trouble while maintaining an edge in rebounding then they should have a great shot at getting the win.
• How Much Can You Bench?: The Saints almost got themselves in to uncharacteristic foul trouble against Niagara, but the reserves did a fine job logging minutes and producing quality play.  Downey and Anosike will continue to be the first two off the bench, but in this game the play of sophomore forward Owen Wignot and freshman forward Davis Martens could prove to be even more valuable if coach McCaffery finds a way to extend the bench even more.  The size and athleticism of Wignot and Martens could give different looks for the Saints against the physicality and post prowess of the Griffs.
• More Cowbell?  How About More Free Throws?: The Saints still average a paltry free throw shooting percentage of 65.4% halfway through the season, but they have averaged better than 70% in their last few games.  For a team that gets to the line as much as they do, and as much as they should on Monday night, the improved free throw shooting is a welcome sight.

NOTES

• The Saints are outscoring their opponents 79.2-61.8 in the friendly confines of the Times Union Center.  Who doesn’t long for someone to put up some big bucks and re-name it the Knickerbocker Arena again?
• Siena has a +17 scoring advantage in MAAC games, winning each MAAC contest by double digits, and the team leads the league in scoring, margin of victory, field goal percentage, rebounding, assists, and steals.
• While the Saints went 16-2 in conference last year, and are certainly trying to at least reach that mark again this year, the record for consecutive victories belongs to the 1988-99 squad who won 14 in a row.

Siena jumped out early to a 7-0 lead, only to allow Niagara answer with seven straight points of their own. Edwin Ubiles was held out of the starting lineup due to punishment for arriving late to a meeting, team free throw shooting drills, the day before. Kyle Downey got the start as Ubiles was kept on the bench until the 12:33 mark. The Saints established their front court advantage early and often throughout the game with Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossiter getting plenty of attempts. Niagara overcome ten first half turnovers to only trail Siena by one, 42-41 heading into half.

The second half began with Alex Franklin getting his third foul and coming out of the game. While initially this appeared to be a blow to the Saints, the team responded with a 9-0 run within five minutes of the start of the half to put Niagara on their heels. After that, the closest the Purple Eagles got to Siena was six points, which was quickly followed by a 6-0 Saints run to essentially put the game out of reach. Despite missing nearly ten minutes of the first half, Ubiles led all scorers with 25 points and at times was unstoppable on the offensive end. Alex Franklin contributed 20 points – 10 from the foul line – even though he was doubled, and even tripled teamed, whenever he received the ball in the post. Ryan Rossiter added another double-double performance with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

For the Purple Eagles it was a tale of two halves. After shooting 48.5% from the field to start off the game, they only shot 23.5% in the second half and scored just 24 points. The first half saw six lead changes and four ties, but this quickly dissipated as the Saints never lost their lead after the 17:15 mark. Tyrone Lewis had the best game for Niagara with 21 points and was the most consistent offensive threat for the team. Anthony Nelson added 15 points, and Rob Garrison had 10 points for the Purple Eagles.

A huge factor in this game was the role of Siena’s bench, which outscored Niagara 35-8. While this number may be distorted due to Ubiles coming off the bench, the role of the usual substitutes can not be overlooked. Downey played nearly 30 minutes and hit a significant 3-pointer during a Saints run. O.D. Anosike had perhaps the best game of his career putting up 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Owen Wignot played a physical 12 minutes and was a solid defensive presence in the second half. Another positive aspect from this game was Siena’s foul shooting as they went 20-27 from the line.