Vermont: L, 80-76

Offense: C, Meager 3-14 from 3, 36.8% from the field, 23-29 from the free throw line, salvaging a passing grade.

Defense: C+, Outrebounded 44-30, allowed 47.3% from the field, forced 13 steals.

Overall: C, An inexperienced group showed glimpses of talent and were in this game down to the final possession.

Highlight Reel: Ryan Rossiter’s 27 points and 10 rebounds, season high 13 steals.

Minnesota: L, 76-69

Offense: B, Stellar 51% from the field,  9-17 (52.9%) from 3, only 53% from the line, season high 24 turnovers.

Defense: C+, Held Gophers to 7-22 from 3 (31.8%), forced 15 turnovers.

Overall: B-, To be able to go on the road in a hostile environment against a Power Conference foe and compete deserves some credit.

Highlight Reel: Clarence Jackson’s season high 29 points, “Rahk’s” 2nd half was a fab frosh performance.

Northeastern: W, 84-68

Offense: A, Shot a season high 56.9% from field, made 60% from 3, and 80% from the line, 20 turnovers kept this from an A+ performance.

Defense: A, Held Huskies to 40.7% from field, 29.6% from 3, outrebounded first opponent of season 37-24.

Overall: A, biggest margin of victory of the year (16 pts.).

Highlight Reel: Sensational senior performances from Rossiter and Jackson, 28 and 24 points respectively.

Butler: L, 70-57

Offense: C-, 2-11 from 3, 7-15 from the line, 45.3% from field which salvaged  this grade.

Defense: C+, Outrebounded 39-31, allowed 8 three’s, 8 steals.

Overall: C, competed against an experience group from Butler who was last season’s National Runner Up.

Highlight Reel: Rossiter dominates Matt Howard putting up 26 points and 15 rebounds.

Princeton: L, 86-77 OT

Offense: C, 38.6% from field, 5-20 from 3, 25 second chance points, 3-12 from field in OT.

Defense: C-, allowed season high 25-31 from the line, outscored 17-8 in OT, lost 6 point lead in final minute.

Overall: C+, were able to compete on the road after a strong conference victory over Rider, unable to do the little things down the stretch.

Highlight Reel: Ryan Rossiter season high 21 rebounds.  Five starters in double figures.

UAlbany: L, 88-82 OT

Offense: C, 19 turnovers, 44.6% from field, 17-21 from the line, second best offensive output of year with 82 points.

Defense: D, Season high 88 points allowed, 8 steals, allowed Albany to make 4-4 from field and 8-9 FT’s in OT.

Overall: D, Losing to your crosstown rival deserves a failing grade.

Highlight Reel: Trenity Burdine has a breakout game filling in for the injured Owen Wignot scoring a career high 14 points.

Florida Atlantic: W, 72-69

Offense: B, Outscored FAU 44-36 in the paint, and 10-4 on fast break points, made as many free throws as FAU attempted.

Defense: B, Held FAU to 4-21 from 3, 7 steals which lead to 15 points.

Overall: B, The first home win of the year against a team that entered this contest with a top 50 RPI.

Highlight Reel: Ryan Rossiter’s 7th double double in 9 games, 27 pts. 13 rebs.

Georgia Tech: W, 62-57

Offense: B+, Outscored Georgia Tech 18-5 from the line, outshot the Yellow Jackets 45.8% to 30.8% in 2nd half comeback.

Defense: A+, Execution of 2-3 zone was flawless in 2nd half holding Georgia Tech to 21 points, allowed 4-22 from 3, pounded the glass for 41-36 advantage.

Overall: A+, 2nd straight home win. A victory against an ACC foe deserves the best non-conference grade of season.

Highlight Reel: The 2-3 zone.  Best coached game of year.

St. Bonaventure: L, 82-79

Offense: B+, season high 11 3’s, +9 assist to turnover ratio, 100% from the line.

Defense: C-, -8 in the rebound department, allowed 48.2% from field, gave up season high 50 points in one half, 7 steals.

Overall: B-, Competed throughout the contest and the lack of execution down the stretch cost the Saints the game.  Great team performance.

Highlight Reel: Career high’s from Kyle Downey, “Rahk” Brookins, and Jonathan Breeden (21, 18, and 15 respectively).

St. Joseph’s: L, 58-48

Offense: D, Shot 32.8% from field, 2-17 from 3, 4-11 from line, season low 48 points.

Defense: B+, Held St. Joe’s to 36.2%, and 5-22 from 3.  Allowed season low 58 points.

Overall: C-, Offense was out of gas.  The defense kept them in the game in the worst offensive output of year.

Highlight Reel: The final whistle of this barnburner.

This was the type of game we may look back and say, remember that Northeastern game, if we lose that game we are 0-3, the questions start to mount about this team, and the thoughts of a season slipping away start creeping into everyone’s mind. The pundits will say that its too early to call this game a turning point game, win or lose, but taking a look at what lies ahead, it very well could be:

• Tuesday vs. Butler (reigning National runner-up) who is 2-1 on the early season

• Friday @ Rider who is 3-1 and has two blow-out wins against “up” conference teams

• Sunday @ Princeton 1-1, who is also still in search of identity on the early season

That is a brutal three game stretch and “had” the potential to really sway the future of this season. This was a critical win, this team now has a sense of identity, momentum, and the monkey off their back, getting Coach Buonaguro’s first win at the Siena helm. Congratulations to Coach Buonaguro in getting his first victory as the head man of Siena Basketball. This team has improved game after game, and that bodes well for the Siena faithful as the season unfolds.

Room for Improvement: Not much to say here, the Saints put on a clinic on both ends of the floor. The need to schedule more CAA teams, 3-0 dating back to last season, with the most previous loss coming in 2007 against James Madison.

Keys to Success: The Saints looked comfortable operating in the half court set as well as getting out in the open court. They took high percentage shots, allowing them to shoot a sizzling 56.9% from the field while holding Northeastern to 40.7%. They executed their game plan, getting the ball down low in the paint, outscoring Northeastern 38-26 and out-rebounding the Huskies 37-24. The zone defense was much more active, altering Northeastern’s perimeter shooting (29.7% from beyond the arc) who came into the game shooting 3’s at a 40.7% clip.

Five Facts

1. Saints had a 15-0 run midway early in the 2nd half, the difference in the game.
2. “The Rock” started in his 3rd game, Ronald Moore did not start till his 6th game.
3. OD Anosike shot 100% from the line (1-1).
4. Davis Martens had a career high 7 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
5. Siena made more FT’s (20) than Northeastern attempted (16).

Five Questions

1. Repeat question, Who will lead the Saints in scoring? (Jackson 22.3ppg, Rossiter 21ppg)
2. Was this a must win game?
3. Will Rossiter average a double double this year?
4. How many timeouts did we use?
5. What Clarence Jackson shows up on Tuesday against Butler?

Five Words

“The Rock” star in the making.

The difference in the game was the Saints’ ability to capitalize on turnovers– despite turning the ball over 20 times, 3 times in the final 90 seconds, to Northeastern’s 11, they got the W.

Ryan Rossiter had a monster day, finishing with 28 points and 15 rebounds for his 34th career double-double. Rossiter, who also had 3 blocks on the day, is now 25 of 29 from the free throw stripe this season. Clarence Jackson closed the day with 24 points and is now averaging 22.3 PPG. Rakeem Brookins added 5 assists, (a +1 turnover margin), and did a great job getting looks for his teammates all day. OD Anosike tied his career high with 11 points, and after getting into foul trouble in the second half, was brought in late for his defense. The Saints got a career high 7 points from sophomore bench player Davis Martens.

Chaisson Allen was impressive for the Huskies– dishing out 5 assists, scoring 18 points, and finishing 5-9 behind the arc. Alwayne Bigby was quiet, with a final line of 6 points and 6 rebounds.

The Saints head home to face the Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday night, there are less than 1,200 tickets still available.

Siena Saints Blog: Given the controversial ending (Southern Illinois ‘called’ a timeout with none remaining and Chaisson Allen hit one technical free throw to win the game) is there anything to be taken out of how Northeastern won Tuesday in OT?

Dan Duggan/Boston Herald: I don’t know how much can be taken from the very end of the game considering that luck had a lot to do with it. But to get to that position, Northeastern really showed a lot of grit. With so many new faces stepping into more prominent roles this season, it had to be encouraging that they made plays in a tight game on the road. Obviously Chaisson Allen carried them down the stretch, but some of they younger guys were instrumental in the win.

Siena Saints Blog: Speaking of Allen, he was stopped early but then erupted to score all his points in the 2nd half and overtime and scoring the last 9 points in Tuesday’s game. Can he be stopped?

Dan Duggan/Boston Herald: I don’t think there’s a way to “stop” Allen, but that’s not to say he’s unstoppable. The thing about Allen is he impacts the game in such a wide variety of ways so there isn’t really a way to stop him. He’s not a great, pure shooter, so if he’s knocking down 3-pointers, you’re in trouble. He’s a good penetrator and has nice a mid-range game. But it’s not just what he does on offense — he’s very good defensively and rebounds well for a guard, so he’s going to be a factor even if his offensive game isn’t clicking.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you expect to step up, other than Allen, to replace the void of last year’s senior class?

Dan Duggan/Boston Herald: They’ve already seen a few guys start to take that step. The thing Bill Coen has said is the reason the sophomore class didn’t do much last year wasn’t a lack of talent, but lack of opportunity playing behind all those seniors. Joel Smith plays alongside Allen in the backcourt and is a scorer, Kauri Black has really stepped up as a rebounder and Alwayne Bigby is a solid player, who will guard the opposing team’s best wing. The most intriguing talent is freshman Alex Harris. He’s 6-foot-1 but already has a few highlight-reel dunks. He was on the floor in crunch time in both of NU’s close wins and didn’t seem intimidated.

Siena Saints Blog: What would you say is the Huskies biggest weakness so far this year?

Dan Duggan/Boston Herald: They aren’t a great shooting team (37.3 percent from the field) so they’re prone to scoring droughts. A part of that is tied into another weakness — they don’t have much of a post presence. Black will rebound and score inside some, but they lost their two best big men from last year and they really lack an inside threat.

Siena Saints Blog: What match up are you looking forward to the most on Saturday afternoon?

Dan Duggan/Boston Herald: I’d say whoever guards Allen because he’s the Huskies most important player.

Things couldn’t be different for each team this year.  Siena is 0-2 and working through freshman mistakes while searching for a new identity, while Northeastern is 2-0 after close wins over Boston University and the Southern Illinois Salukis.  Northeastern is pushing the ball more this year, which is a stark contrast to the half court, defensive minded squad that came to town last year.

The Huskies are led by 6’4″ senior point guard Chaisson Allen, who is averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds per game so far this year.  Sophomore guard Joel Smith, also 6’4″, is averaging 14.5 points per game. 6’4″ Alex Harris and 6’7″ Kauri Black are both averaging 10 points a game.

The Saints, coming off a career high 29 points from Clarence Jackson Monday night against Minnesota, is still trying to solve a problem with turnovers, while figuring out how to mesh junior point guard Kyle Griffin and freshman Rahkeem Brookins.  Brookins has been sensational during late rallies against both Vermont and Minnesota, but is still having difficulty valuing the basketball.  Griffin, meanwhile, runs the team efficiently if not safely while on the floor, but has more difficulty making plays and handling the ball as well.

It’s only a matter of time until Brookins takes over the starting point guard position, but the team will still need productive, clean play from both players, as they will get almost all the minutes at the point.   Ryan Rossiter should be able to assert himself a little more in this game than he could against the size and athleticism of Minnesota.  If the Saints are going to continue to grow, the point guards are going to need to find a way to create space to get the ball in to Rossiter, and both seniors are going to need to combine consistent scoring every game while the role players continue to develop.

Nothing will be easy on Saturday, as head coach Bill Coen has the Huskies on the upswing.  The team finished with 18 wins last year, but is picked to finish seventh this year in the always competitive CAA (Colonial Athletic Association).  Northeastern is looking like a team that plans on moving forward this year though, and a win over Siena on Saturday will further that goal.

Much like the Vermont game was going be a difficult test for the Saints to open the season at home, this game is far from a gimmie on the road.  The Saints are going to have to play as well as they did against Minnesota, minus the turnovers, to get this valuable road victory.  With Butler looming next Tuesday at home, the Saints need a win – and to make a statement, if only to themselves, that they are ready to take a step forward in a season that is going to require many.

There comes a point in time when you begin to look at taking a program to the next level, Starting with winning seasons (five straight), MAAC Championships (three straight), competing against Power Conferences (three victories, six single digit losses), what’s next? In my opinion, defeating Power conference teams on a more consistent basis, for sake of argument let’s say 50% of the time. Hasn’t this program outgrown the moral victories? Being pleased with competing against the likes of Stanford, Syracuse, Villanova, feels like a thing of the past, and last night was some more of the same.

It was a game the Saints looked like they had the talent to win, then the mistakes starting piling up (24 turnovers), the shots started rimming out, and the timeouts began to vanquish as Coach B did his best to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately it was too little too late, the damage was done, the bandaids (timeouts) were gone, and thus when “The Rock” made a layup with 1:48 left to cut the lead to four (4), the Saints weren’t able to set up the press, were forced to foul, ballgame over.

Room for Improvement:
No surprise here, the turnovers were the difference in the game, and sure will be on the players and coach’s minds heading back from Minnesota. It’s clear that will be hammered into the players throughout the week long practice. I would be shocked if there was not a significant improvement taking care of the ball come Saturday against Northeastern. That being said the bench scoring was still a sore spot for this team, and without Brookins the bench total was a meager one (1) pt. from Davis Martens on a free throw in the first half. This team is still searching for someone to step up and really take the load off the starting five besides Brookins, who has established himself as the sixth man, while Downey recovers from injury. After a superb effort from the free throw line against Vermont, the team was 1-7 in the first half, and with an improved second half (7-8) were able to salvage a mediocre 53% for the game. Minnesota actually made more free throws than Siena attempted last evening, another stat line that doesn’t lead to many W’s, especially on the road in a hostile environment.

Keys to Success:
Much of the same here as Rakeem “The Rock” Brookins showed that he has the quickness and athleticism to make significant contributions this year as the season progresses. The team answered the challenge on the glass against a much bigger front-court than Vermont, losing the rebounding difference by only four (4) in this one. Clarence Jackson proved that when he is firing on all cylinders, this team adds a completely different dynamic to it. Once this team is able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, watch out, this season’s version of the Siena Saints has the individual talent to wreak havoc on the opposition.

Five Facts:
1. Siena started game 10-12 from field, finished the 1st half 4-14.
2. Saints went 8+ minutes without a field goal midway through the 2nd half.
3. Clarence Jackson had a career high 29 points.
4. Siena went 1-7 in first half from charity stripe.
5. Coach B called last timeout with 10:08 left in game.

Five Questions:
1. Its not if Rakeem “The Rock” Brookins will start this season, it’s when?
2. Who else is going to step up off the bench this year?
3. Who is going to lead the team in scoring this year Rossiter or Jackson?
4. Who will lead the team in assists this season?
5. When will Owen Wignot have his breakout game this year?

Five Words:
Youth has its shining moments.

The Saints will put their 43 game home winning streak on the line against Vermont on Saturday November 13th at 7pm. They will then travel to Minnesota for a contest slated to be aired on ESPNU. Besides the impending BracketBuster game, this is the only time the Saints are scheduled to be televised nationally this season. Two notable home games are Butler, Tuesday 11/23 and Georgia Tech, Wesnesday 12/22.

Siena’s longest road trip is just three games this season; the western New York Canisius and Niagara split, followed by a short trip down to Marist that following Friday. The Saints will close out the season on February 27th against Marist, which we anticipate will be Senior day.

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 »

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s official blogger, Steve Amedio combines his years of experience covering the MAAC with insightful opinions on his site: Keepin’ Track of the MAAC. Recently he outlined all ten teams and how they’ve fared so far, finishing with Marist. In our first part, we get his evaluations on the Saints so far this season. We’ll have more conversation on the MAAC with Steve Amedio as Siena breaks after visiting Northern Iowa…

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: I think Siena has been very good at beating the teams they’re supposed to beat: going undefeated at home so far but dropping games to the likes of Temple, St. John’s and Georgia Tech. I think Saturday’s game at Northern Iowa is a real test and if Siena can pull off the win, it would be the statement win of this third of the season (Siena will be off 12 days after that game) What’s your evaluation of Siena so far?

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: Pretty much as expected. The three losses have come against very good teams, and all on the road. Siena clearly wore down against both Temple and St. John’s late in the games. I didn’t think they’d beat Georgia Tech. I keep in contact with Paul Hewitt, and I knew they were going to be real good this season. They’ve got two or three future NBA players on that roster.

Siena needs to find some depth so it can be fresh at the end of close games.

Kyle Downey had back problems over the summer and didn’t work out at all until September. He wasn’t 100 percent when the season started. Owen Wignot didn’t give them much in the first few games, although he’s started to play better. Kyle Griffin, the transfer 6-3 guard from La Salle, becomes eligible for the Dec. 23 game, and he should help. I’ve been told he’s been looking great in practices, a real coach on the floor type with great range who can also play some time at the point. Davis Martens, who is from Germany, is eligible as of Dec. 31. He’s a 6-9 forward with good “skills.” He can shoot.

Otherwise, Siena has looked terrific of late. Its win over UAlbany was the best it has played all year, particularly on the defensive end. It had a nice win at Iona, which is a pretty solid team. Moore makes the team go. I’ve  covered the team since 1985. He is the best “pure” point guard I have seen here. He’s not as good a player as, say, Marc Brown or Doremus Bennerman, both of which played the same position. But, as far as running a

team [and] being a distributor, Moore is the best I’ve seen. The fact that he leads the country in assists attests to that.

As for Northern Iowa, I guess you could call it the chance at a “statement” win. Northern Iowa is very good, 6-1 so far and has beaten Boston College, Iowa and Iowa State, three quality victories.

That said, Siena hammered Northern Iowa here last year. Northern Iowa plays a very deliberate style. If Siena can force the tempo, like it did last year, it has a decent chance of winning. Last year, Northern Iowa’s “bigs” were pretty much non factors; they couldn’t contend with the quickness of Ryan Rossiter [and] Alex Franklin.

Still, they’ve pretty much got everyone back from last year so they’re better. That’s a long trip for a single game and it’s a tough place to play. It would be a very nice win if Siena can get it, but it won’t be anywhere as easy to do that as it was last year.