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.

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.

I thought the key to the game was how we defended in the second half of the game…We were plus 11 rebounding in the second half. We did a much better job covering up on rebounding the ball.

Why was Edwin Ubiles held out of the starting lineup, and how well did he respond once he did come into the game?

He was late for a meeting yesterday. He responded in a big way….He handled the point when we needed him to. He had a couple of big put backs.

What was the impact of Kyle Downey today?

Kyle hit a huge three for us and a nice runner…Clarence was a little sideways; he missed some shots.

Coach Joe Mihalich:

They were the better team today, no doubt about that. If it’s not one guy, it’s another.

What were the difficulties defending Ubiles?

When you let a really good player get a couple easy ones early, the basket gets bigger and bigger.

Tyrone Lewis:

First half we played hard. Second half we let them do whatever they wanted…they didn’t do nothing different…they didn’t play a different defense or anything. We weren’t tough enough.

The familiarity of old friends Joe Mihalich and Fran McCaffery is just one of many storylines that has made the Siena/Niagara rivalry so compelling.  Players such as Ronald Moore, Clarence Jackson, Tyrone Lewis and Bilal Benn have become familiar in the offseason as well playing summer pick-up games together.  The two teams have faced each other in two of the last three conference tournament finals and combined to win four of the last five league titles.  Together they account for the most wins in the MAAC conference since 1997-98.

Saturday’s game will pit two squads against each other who have drastically different playing styles, even though they have very similar team makeups. The Purple Eagles will shoot freely from beyond the arc, try to force turnovers, and maximize their possessions by taking care of the ball. The Saints will push the tempo, get their transition and post games going, leading to open lanes for their shooters.  As different as their play styles are, their statistics are almost identical.  They match up closely in points scored and points allowed, with Siena holding an edge in field goal percentage and rebounding, while Niagara excels slightly in 3 point shooting percentage and turnovers made.

The Purple Eagles are led in scoring by 5′11″ senior guard Tyrone Lewis, who is averaging 16.5 points per game.  He is followed closely by 6′5″ senior swingman and Player of the Year contender Bilal Benn, who is averaging 15.5 ppg and 10.5 rebounds per game.  While most people would think Siena has the best balanced scoring attack in the MAAC, Niagara boasts four players averaging double digits in scoring.  6′6″ senior forward Demetrius Williamson and 6′2″ senior guard Rob Garrison are averaging 10.4 and 11.1 ppg respectively.

The Saints are on a roll, undefeated in their last five games, and they have averaged double digit wins in their four MAAC conference games.  Team scoring leader Clarence Jackson, who is averaging 15.1 ppg, is coming off a 24 point, 7 steal performance in their win at Loyola last Monday night.  Ronald Moore continues to lead the nation in assists per game with 8.7 for contest, but he has uncharacteristically had a negative assist to turnover ratio recently.  The team has been buoyed by the rebounding of Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossister, who are helping lead the Saints in rebounding in the MAAC conference, and Edwin Ubiles has returned to being the prolific scorer that he is and possibly the team’s best on the ball defender. Ubiles is averaging 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in MAAC contests this year.  Jackson, Ubiles, Franklin and Rossiter all average double digits in scoring.

Niagara has just as much experience as Siena, but the Purple Eagles have yet to win at the Times Union Center and the Saints are 7-1 overall against them during Coach McCaffery’s tenure.  They will need to hit their threes, which is possible given Siena’s penchant to leave players open on the perimeter at times.  Siena’s press can be effective, and they have shown brilliant stretches of on the ball and pressure defense throughout the course of the season, but weak perimeter defense has been a bugaboo of the team at times.  The deciding factor in Saturday’s game could be the rebounding advantage of the Saints, who have a slight edge in front court size but a marked edge in rebounding production.

Both teams are playing for more than first place in the conference on Saturday – they are going to try and make a statement as each school is jockeying for position as the conference schedule enters the middle portion of its slate.  Fans of both schools should be ready to enjoy what should be an exciting bout of two evenly matched and experienced teams.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• Sounds Like a Broken Record, Broken Record: Free throw shooting, defense, free throw shooting, defense…the same two things have been said over and over in assessing what the Saints need to do game in and game out.  The team is clearly improving their free throw percentage over the last few games, but for players of their ability it is still too low and could come back to haunt them.  After early season inconsistencies on the defensive end the Saints have seemed to right the ship, but they haven’t faced as prolific a three point shooting team such as Niagara since Northern Iowa, who they were unable to contain.  The Saints need to shut down the outside shooters of the Purple Eagles to earn the win on Saturday.
• Hit the Boards Jack: The frontcourt of Ubiles, Rossiter, and Franklin combine to average 22.8 rebounds per game, and the team is outrebounding its opponents 38.7-35.6 per game.  Rebounding is going to be crucial on Saturday – if the Saints can continue to dominate on the glass then they can feed their uptempo game and get their runners out on fast breaks.
• Benn There, Don’t Do That: Bilal Benn missed time this year due to injury, but his numbers and play still place him squarely in the middle of Player of the Year discussion.  While the Purple Eagles have balanced scoring the Saints will need to shut down Benn as the first step in keeping points off the board.

NOTES

• Siena is tied for fifth in the nation in fewest fouls committed per game with 14.5 per contest.  Last year the Saints finished sixth in the nation with 14.9 fouls made per game.
• Siena’s holds advantages in scoring, rebounding and assists when playing at the Times Union Center – +17.4 ppg, +6.6 rpg, and +5apg in the friendly confines of the TUC.
• Edwin Ubiles is back on track in the Player of the Year race.  He is averaging 18.7 points per game with a field goal percentage of 53% and he’s making 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc over his last seven games.  The Saints are 6-1 during that stretch.
• The Siena Saints have won 28 of their last 30 MAAC conference games.

The MAAC’s official blogger, Steve Amedio combines his 20 years of experience covering Siena and the MAAC at his site: Keepin’ Track of the MAAC. He’s witnessed college basketball games at over 130 different venues and wrote the MAAC Preview in The Sporting News. In our second part we talk about the two contenders right behind the Saints: Niagara and Rider.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog:  I’ve had my doubts about the Purple Eagles and it didn’t help that they lost Tyrone Lewis to start the year. The Purple Eagles, entering Wednesday, ranked 30th in the nation shooting 41.2% of all their shots from three point land. This has led to some good wins but also a bad loss against Austin Peay and then let Akron shoot a 77.2 eFG% in a 57-point second half where the Zips shot better than 60% from two and three point range.

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: Don’t worry about Niagara. Joe Mihalich is one of the top coaches in the MAAC. In my mind, it’s Mihalich and McCaffery, take your pick on which one is better. Lewis had a minor foot injury and missed a couple of games. He’s 100 percent now.

Niagara plays an up-tempo style, but relies even more on creating turnovers off its press. It did the same last year, but is even quicker this year. Austin Peay was not a bad loss. It’s one of the better teams in a decent Ohio Valley Conference and has three starters plus a couple of experienced reserves back from a 19-win team a year ago. Akron is a terrific team. It won the Mid-American Conference a year ago, a league every bit the equal of the MAAC if not slightly better, and is the favorite to win again this year.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: Only way I call Niagara’s loss to Austin Peay bad is for two reasons. First off Niagara shot 11 for 26 from three point range (42.3%), lost a 15 point lead at halftime and let the Governors shoot 63% from the field in the second half. That combined with the Akron 2nd half outburst could be a concern. It’s a small sample but Niagara has been outscored in the second half in 6 of their 10 games this year.

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: When you go on the road and face a quality opponent, it’s never a bad loss. Siena was ahead of Temple by 14, I think, midway through the first half and that’s not a bad loss.

My guess about the Niagara-Austin Peay game is that Peay made the necessary halftime adjustments. It doesn’t surprise me that Peay shot well in the 2nd half. Niagara isn’t known for its half-court defense.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: Rider got off to a hot start winning big over Mississippi State but cooled off considerably. If you combine the two pre-tournament games for Rider in the Cancun challenge, they shot 18 for 64 (28.1%) from three point range and cooled down considerably. Since then they were able to win three straight home games but struggled against winless Marist and lost against LaSalle.

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: In my MAAC blog post on Rider, my “early” report on Rider is that the Broncs have been somewhat inconsistent thus far. But, they not only have that win over Mississippi State, but one over St. Joseph’s, too. The struggle against Marist was a little surprising. I was more surprised by the loss to Sam Houston State: not by the loss, but by the margin. Rider is very talented. That front-court duo of Mike Ringold and Novar Gadson is a personal favorite. They are both warriors. I’ve gone on record to say that Gadson should have been the MAAC’s Rookie of the Year last year and not Iona’s Scott Machado.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: What do you think in the great debate: Niagara or Rider?

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: I’ll take the easy way out on this and just say that Niagara and Rider will more than likely finish 2nd and 3rd without predicting the order. It could go either way. If I had to, I’d take Niagara for 2nd, but it really doesn’t matter much. The No. 2 and No. 3 teams play each other in the MAAC tournament’s semifinal round. That’s really the only night it will matter, the night that will ultimately determine which is better. Rider has that bruising front-court, but no one maximizes its talent like Niagara and Mihalich. Bilal Benn and Tyrone Lewis are just disruptive forces in the pressing defense. Plus, I like Anthony Nelson a lot as a point guard. They’ve got 5 guys averaging double figures in scoring and a sixth averaging close to nine. They’ve got more depth than last year. It’s good enough to realize that both teams are very good at this level.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: I agree with you on the Niagara-Rider 2-3 argument. If you took Siena, Niagara and Rider: two of these three will play each other on Semifinal Sunday night. If it’s Niagara and Rider, we can only hope that it will be as great as last year’s game.

Marist Keeps Struggling & Ticket-Gate?

Marist had more turnovers (9) than field goals (7) in the first half in a loss at Holy Cross Monday. Marist had a lead at Fairfield Thursday night but the Stags went on a 13-1 run to take the lead with under 4 minutes to go. Head Coach Chuck Martin has said he sees some progress, Marist has shot better in each of its last 3 games after being blown out by Hartford by 37.

Siena fans have been complaining that Marist is intentionally not selling tickets online to hold off Siena fans from coming to Poughkeepsie for their game later this year. We are currently investigating this story but so far have no heard any incidents that may have caused this stonewalling of online ticket sales.

Marist and Siena fans will both suffer for the inability to secure tickets to a game that is very popular, especially those who planned to come from out of town to go see this game in late January. I would say this decision would be more infuriating to out-of-town alumni who like to go see rivalry games, not just Siena fans.

Meanwhile, Marist is still seeking their first win despite not having played a home game yet this season.

Niagara, Rider & Fairfield: Looking Like Contenders

Niagara blew out Manhattan by 24 but the Purple Eagles have had trouble managing expectations this year. Losing Tyrone Lewis in the opening game of the year for a few games did not help either. Niagara lost a winnable game at Auburn, lost by 2 to Austin Peay on a neutral floor and last week could not stop Akron in a 12 point road loss.

Rider has returned to form, picking up an impressive 8 point non-conference win over St. Joseph’s. Preseason Conference Player of the Year Ryan Thompson has not truly gotten going yet. So far he has scored more points from the free throw line (77.8% FT shooter) than from behind the three point line (39.3% 3pt shooter). Thompson has also turned the ball over more this year than in years past.

Other than a Maryland loss and a Charles Jenkins’ led 38 points at Hofstra, Fairfield has done very well in the non-conference slate this year while battling injuries. Fairfield managed a 9 point win over Marist to open the 2009-10 MAAC regular season schedule.

Iona & St. Peter’s: Who will rise to contend?

Iona won one game in Orlando and gets a tough test in Siena at home on Monday night. They were unable to hold off St. Peter’s in a 56-54 loss at home to open their conference slate. Jonathan Huffman led the way for Iona with 14 points. Iona put up a fight in Orlando in two tough losses to Baylor and Florida State and has another tough test at Providence later this month.

While for St. Peter’s Wesley Jenkins has been a force. Jenkins took the team on his back on this week in two close wins. On Monday, Jenkins sank two free throws, for his team-high 16 points, with 2.2 seconds left then stole the inbounds pass to ensure the Peacocks a 58-56 win over Lafayette. On Friday night Jenkins, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the second half, gave the Peacocks their first conference win.

Jenkins made a season-high 4 three pointers and has scored double digit points in every game this season. Darius Conley delivered a career high 11 points in their win over Iona.

MAAC Monday: Mon-defeated

Fairfield 72, American 56. Fairfield turned a two-point halftime deficit into a big win by shooting a 72.2% effective FG% in the second half. Yorel Hawkins led the Stags with 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Fairfield was out rebounded by American by 10 but forced the Eagles into 20 turnovers.

Manhattan 73, Florida Atlantic 66. The Jaspers never surrendered the lead in their second win of the season. Antoine Pearson led the way with 18 points, Darryl Crawford and Patrick Bouli each had 12 points.

The MAAC is 3-0 on Mondays this year.

Tuesday: British Strike for Rider & Loyola

Rider 88, Florida A&M 73. London-native Justin Robinson scored 23 to lead Rider in their first game outside the United States, an 88-73 victory over Florida A&M. Rider opened up with an 18-4 run to start the second half to turn a 2 point deficit into a 12 point lead. The Broncs were able to force 19 turnovers on a winless team.

Loyola (Maryland) 58, Dartmouth 41. Loyola had a scary situation going into the second half with Dartmouth hanging close. They saved their best for late: going on a 14-1 run and not allowing a point in the final 5:41 in Loyola’s second road victory of the year. Northampton (England) native Shane Walker posted his first career double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 5 of 12 shooting. Brett Harvey was Loyola’s only other double digit scorer with 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting. Harvey made Loyola’s only three pointer of the night.

Canisius 73, Buffalo 71. Frank Turner nailed a jumper with one second to go to finish a 7-0 run and give the Golden Griffins their 2nd win in a row. Canisius was able to close a halftime deficit of 10 by shooting a 56.6% effective FG%. Julius Coles led the Griffs with 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting, going 4 of 7 from behind the arc. Turner had a double double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Greg Logins (14 points, 5 of 12 shooting) made a three with 14:33 to go off an assist from Turner to give the Griffs their first lead since 3-0.

Long Island 77, St. Peter’s 71. Two starters fouled out and St. Peter’s could not shoot well enough to beat Long Island in a 6 point loss. The last lead the Peacocks held was with 13:54 to go off a Wesley Jenkins (11 points) three pointer. Jeron Belin led the Peacocks with 22 points. Darius Conley and Ryan Bacon both fouled out for St. Peter’s, who only made 11 of 19 free throws on their end. Their 28 fouls are the most for the Peacocks in a game this year.

Wednesday: Tyrone Lewis Returns

Niagara 74, Mount St. Mary’s 64. Tyrone Lewis returns after a 4 game absence, scoring 18 with 5 three pointers, in a 10 point win for the Purple Eagles. Niagara went on a 15-6 run to take a tie score to a 9 point lead to end the first half. Both teams combined to go 14 for 48 (29.1%) from three point range: each team shot 24 threes. Niagara’s road win ended Mount St. Mary’s 11 home court win streak.

Fairfield 81, Howard 60. Fairfield got off to a hot start, shooting an effective FG% of 63.3% in the first half, and put away Howard quickly in an 81-60 rout. Yorel Hawkins led the way for the Stags with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting. Sophomore Mansfield native Ryan Olander scored 14 points off the bench and had a team-high 4 of Fairfield’s 6 blocks.

Manhattan 69, American 62. Manhattan used a 12-2 run in the second half to break free from a tie score. Darryl Crawford helped too with 26 points and nailing seven of 11 free throws to seal the deal for the Jaspers. This was the Jaspers first road win on the season.

Sam Houston St 80, Rider 68. Rider could not stop Southland Conference favorite Sam Houston State who went on a 9-0 run within 2 minutes in the 2nd half to get ahead of Rider. Ryan Thompson led the Broncs with 23 points which moved him to 10th on the all-time scoring list. Rider went only 7 of 24 from behind the arc to finish their two days in Mexico.

Rider opened up their home schedule with an 11-0 run to start and would not surrender the lead in a 15 point win over Lehigh. Rider shot 48.4% for the game which included an absurd 16 of 29 from three point range (55.2%). Novar Gadson led the Broncs with 20 points, Ryan Thompson (7/13, 5/9 from three point range) added 19. Andy Katz posted on Monday that Rider hopes the Mississippi State win comes in handy for March:

The Broncs aren’t done, either. If they don’t slip where they’re not supposed to (like, say, against Lehigh on Monday night) and possibly steal a road game Thursday at Virginia, even if they lose Saturday at Kentucky, they already will have done a lot to keep them in the at-large discussion come March. All this might sound a bit premature in November, but it’s not that far fetched, especially if the MAAC continues to be as strong as it is showing so far.

Rider has got votes into the AP poll for the first time in school history. This is Rider’s second 2-0 start since 1974-75.

Tuesday

St. Peter’s opened the morning for ESPN’s marathon at 6am and put a hurting on Monmouth. St. Peter’s had a lead as large as 26 in their 58-34 win. Wesley Jenkins led the Peacocks with 10 points and  8 rebounds. This was a great win for the Peacocks after losing a heart breaker at Seton Hall. They are my sleeper team this year and could be a tough team in the conference schedule. I don’t care what you say about it, the 24 hours of basketball was a well executed idea that led to a lot of excitement on campuses you might not normally see.

Niagara did not make things easy in a 76-69 victory over Drexel. Niagara held a lead as large as 15 but Drexel used a six minute run to cut that to two possessions. In a game that was tight, without Tyrone Lewis, the Purple Eagles were able to survive. Reports were good that Lewis would be back for the Drexel game on Saturday. Rob Garrison led the Purple Eagles with 20 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line. Niagara did not shoot well (40.5% effective FG%) but was helped by going 25 for 31 (80.6%) from the free throw line.

However, the main story is that Lewis was ruled out of the game and watched with street clothes in a protective boot. Things did not appear to be any clearer after the game as the Niagara Gazette reported:

“I don’t know exactly what the injury is,” [Joe] Mihalich said. “It’s a long word.”

When asked about when he’d return from reporters, Lewis said he’d be ready for the next game.

Iona went down to Hampton and won 68-63 propelled by a great first half. Iona shot 48.3 eFG% in the first half with 22 points coming from off the bench. Iona took a lead as large as 14 with 14:38 to play and were barely holding on as Hampton used a 13-1 run to cut the lead to 1 with 5:33 to go.  Junior center Alejo Rodriguez is making his run as being the Gaels go to guy, scoring 17 points in 23 minutes, going 7 for 8 from the field and adding three free throws. Add that  with a good win over Boston University and the new-look Gaels are looking pretty good.

Loyola of Chicago took a lead close to the middle of the first half and never gave it up in a 20 point win over Canisius. Elton Frazier was the only starter for the Golden Griffins to not have 4 or more turnovers. Canisius’ 22 turnovers will be a problem but being down forced them to jack up three’s which they only shot 6 of 21 from behind the arc (28.6%). Julius Coles led the Griffs with 18 points, Frank Turner scored 17 and Greg Logins scored 11 in the loss. The defense was another problem as Loyola shot a 64.5% effective FG% including an 11 of 18 mark from three point land. Canisius has not won a season opener since 2003.

The good news is Fairfield had a 12-7 lead with 12:10 to go in the first half. The bad news? Maryland would open the game up after that and take a lead as large as 29 in their 71-42 win over the Stags. Freshman Derek Needham was the Stags only double digit scorer with 15. Needham led the Stags on Sunday in a win over Fordham with 19 points.  Fairfield was only down 8 at halftime but Maryland turned up the heat to give the Stags their first loss:

“Inexperience showed all over the place,” Fairfield coach Ed Cooley said. “I thought we had good spurts but didn’t have the experience to sustain it.”

There are some rumors that Greg Nero might not return this season due to his sinus surgery. Nero, Yorel Hawkins and Warren Edney have not appeared yet for the Stags. This will give the younger players a chance to play early and see if the Stags can build some much needed depth for the MAAC regular season.

Wednesday

Wednesday did not appear to be a great day for the MAAC. Princeton went on a 16-2 run to cut a 7 point Manhattan lead and beat the Jaspers 61-54. Princeton was able to outscore Manhattan by 10 in the second half despite shooting a 33.3% effective FG% and only making 6 shots from the field. Princeton made up their scoring at the line, making 16 of 20 (80%) from the line.

One noteworthy achievement in this game, Darryl Crawford scored his 1,000th point with 9:11 to go in the game. Crawford and Rico Pickett led the Jaspers with 14 points each. Crawford notched a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Loyola grabbed a great local road win in a 69-66 victory over UMBC. Jamal Barney scored 14 of his team-leading 21 in the second half which included the game deciding layup with 11.7 seconds left. Former Siena Saint Chris De La Rosa scored 6 and dished out 8 assists for UMBC.

It took Marist about 25 minutes to score 38 points against Rutgers on Saturday in their seven point loss to the Scarlet Knights, but it took them a lot longer to get to that number in West Hartford on Wednesday in an embarrassing 75-38 loss. This appears to be the least amount of points scored in a loss Marist Men’s Basketball Division I history. (*In quickly scanning the Marist Media Guide, the least amount of points in a loss in Marist history appears to be 41 in a 43-41 loss in February of 1984) Marist 2nd year Head Coach Chuck Martin did not sugarcoat this one either:

“Arguably the worst game I’ve ever been affiliated with in my 12 years” [Martin] told the [Marist] broadcast team after the game. “The score is really hard to swallow,” said Martin, adding the Red Foxes’ “selfish play” was “something as a staff, we’re not going to tolerate.”

Marist shot a 30.5% effective FG% and went 7 of 27 from three point range. Marist had one double digit scorer in Candon Rusin and freshman have led the Red Foxes in scoring in both of their games. Friend of mine (and so, the site) Greg Hrinya posted his quick take on his site. The good news? They get a long time to practice before their next game at New Hampshire.

Friday

While Siena was beating up on Tennessee State and itself with turnovers, Rider was busy shutting down #19 Mississippi State 88-74. This was Rider’s first win over a Big Six team since 1982-83. Mike Ringold delivered 21 points, tied with Novar Gadson for the team high. Rider made 10 3 point field goals but the more apparent reason they won is they committed only  6 turnovers. Plus they shut down Mississippi State in the 2nd half, holding them to under 50% field goal percentage from two point range (2 point range: 56.2% in 1st half, 46.6% in 2nd half).

MAAC fans will probably hope they can go 1-1 in their next two road games, at Virginia and at Kentucky. I know that some of the SSB staff thought Niagara was a preseason #2 but I’d say Rider has proven they are the second-best team. This team has a lot more scorers.

The next exciting game was also in the depths of the Southeastern Conference. Niagara could not hold on, even with Tyrone Lewis exiting early with a tweaked ankle, to score a huge win at Auburn. Auburn scored 11 straight to finish the game in a 69-65 victory. This isn’t all about this game though, Auburn took 16 free throws in the 2nd half to Niagara’s 6.

I’m not the one with the conspiracy theory, having not seen the game, but Niagara Gazette’s Tim Schmitt is:

Sure enough, after Niagara got a lead late in the second half … the fouls started appearing from thin air. …
Not surprising, the host Tigers shot 30 free throws while the Purple Eagles shot just 10. …It’s a simple truth — money talks. But give Niagara more credit than a trivial four-point loss.

Or maybe that was his editor with the title, TIM’S TAKES: Fix is on when you play on the road.

One reason Niagara couldn’t hold on is a cold streak from three point range. Niagara went 8 of 28 (28.6%) from beyond the arc. I pointed out in my Niagara preview here that this team wasn’t the best at shooting threes last year, yet they would put it up with the best of them. If they could just push the ball inside the arc a little more, they could be a dangerous team.

As for the injury report: Tyrone Lewis was spotted in a soft cast Saturday but said he should be ready for their Tuesday morning ESPN2 (8am) home opener against Drexel.

One of the more surprising games from Friday night was Loyola’s 13 point win over America East foe Vermont. Brett Harvey led the way going 5 of 7 from three point range… Eugene Harvey hit a last second shot to propel Seton Hall to a 53-51 victory over St. Peter’s. One good sign for St. Peter’s? They out rebounded Seton Hall and grabbed 5 more offensive rebounds; however, they only used their bench for a total of 22 minutes… In typical Fairfield fashion, the Stags out rebounded the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils by 12 and beat them by 9 in a 67-58 win in a 3 game Connecticut 6 triple header. By the way, a great idea by these teams to showcase themselves all at the Arena at Harbor Yard. Anthony Johnson led the way for Fairfield with 18 and 8 rebounds. This was Fairfield’s first season-opening win since 2003… Iona beat up on Boston University 82-73 led by Scott Machado’s 16 points and 12 Iona three pointers. Alejo Rodriguez recorded his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Facts from the night:

• Siena last won its road season opener in 1972 which breaks a 13 game drought.
• Rider’s last win over a Big Six team was in 1982 over South Carolina.

Saturday

Marist got off to a fast start but could not turn that momentum, getting blown out by Rutgers. Rob Johnson made a good debut for Marist, scoring a team high 18. RJ Hall, out for the entire first semester, did not play so Marist had 4 new starters on the floor plus Javon Parris. Daya Kaba debuted, fresh off of transferring from Boston College for a year, he had a double double with 11 points and 10 boards.

The only problem I have with a committed “dribble drive offense” team in the MAAC is that the MAAC is already a high tempo league, so there won’t be much advantage even if Marist can squeeze out an extra 3-5 possessions a game. Marist was 4th in the MAAC in raw tempo at 68.8 possessions, who was ahead of them? Siena, Niagara, Rider in that top 3 order. Anyone who watched Marist saw what teams were able to do to them during the year: they try to go man-to-man for a little while but then see if Marist can prove they have an outside shot and play zones. The inside presence of Casiem Drummond, who arrives for Marist’s home opener against Binghamton, could help to change how teams defend Marist but we will see.

However I will say I enjoyed Marist alum and friend of the site, Geoff Brault’s (twitter: @geoffbrault) play-by-play. And even though I might not agree that down 7 with 2 minutes to play is being back in it, he does a great job on this and is the play-by-play voice of the Women’s team and had to listen to Marist’s Athletic Director get mad over the airwaves that the Women are traveling to West Virginia to play a Preseason NIT game.

Manhattan opened their season strong with a win over NJIT 70-58. The headline of this game is that one-handed Kevin Laue made his debut but did not score his first career points. Darryl Crawford led the Jaspers with 17 points and 9 rebounds as the Jaspers held NJIT to 18.5% field goal percentage in the first half to solidify a 10 point halftime lead.