Siena cut it to a one possession game with :56.1 remaining, and eventually cut the deficit to 1 on a clutch Evan Hymes 27 footer inside of 30 seconds. After an intentional foul, Brandon Hall converted two free throws and then stole the ball from Evan Hymes and laid it in for the win. The Saints had two chances to corral a rebound in the final minute but both times the Peacocks came away with the basketball. Although the Saints were in a position to win late, the game truly turned when Siena converted just one point between the 9:22 and 2:57 minute marks of the second half.

O.D Anosike’s nation leading 17 game double-double streak came to an end, largely in credit to Darius Conley’s defense, as Anosike closed the night just shy with 9 points and 13 rebounds.

The Peacocks blocked 6 Siena shots on the night and were led by Conley’s 15 points and 6 rebounds. Brandon Hall, Yvon Raymond, and Lamin Fulton each added 11 points for St. Peter’s. The Saints were led by Kyle Downey’s 15 points, and Hymes’ 14 points and 6 assists. Siena frustrated St. Peter’s early in the contest– eventually leading to a John Dunne technical foul and a 9 point advantage at the break.

The Saints travel to Bridgeport, CT on Sunday afternoon to take on the Fairfield Stags.

Ray Floriani/College Chalk Talk - St. Peter’s really did a nice job of getting after it in the man to man. There were not a lot of open looks and even the two man screen and rolls run with OD Anosike were well defended. The freshman Poole did a nice job, but even he was defended on the perimeter as St. Peter’s closed out very well.

Evan Hymes gets in the lane quickly and does distribute if he’s well defended in the paint. All too often he appears to be a ‘shoot first’ player at this stage– something you do not want at lead guard.

For Siena it is a case of not digging a deep early hole, and getting everyone healthy [alluding to the fact that the Saints were again without Owen Wignot]. Siena is very resilient coming back, but find themselves down too far to get back into it.

The Saints struggled to score all night long, shooting just 34% from the floor– and scoring only 44 points on 54 possessions. This is the second time in the last three games that Siena was unable to break the 50 point mark. John Dunne’s Peacocks shot just 42% from the floor, led by Chris Prescott with 16 and Yvon Raymond with 14 points.

Evan Hymes was 0-7 from beyond the arc prompting Coach Carter to use a baseball analogy to describe his coaching methodology on Hymes on the post game show; “Hymes likes the long ball… but I’d like to get him to hit some singles for us”. Rob Poole had a very encouraging night, 3-6 from downtown, the only Siena player to make a three point shot, 11 points overall, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. OD Anosike added another double-double, 10 rebounds and 12 points. Siena has not had a lead in the last 3 games.

The Saints need to figure out how to get better on the offensive side. They need to find a way to create– and right now Hymes seems to be the only guy who can do that. According to Tom Hurter, Dunne was all over Siena’s gameplan, calling out exactly what sets Buonaguro was going to run all night long.

* – Mass Mutal Center
** – MSG

Purdue dominated from the first minute of the game against St. Peter’s on Friday night. Congrats to those three seniors, Nick Leon, Ryan Bacon, and Wesley Jenkins for reaching the NCAA tournament. As Siena fans, we know what it’s like to come back from a 6 win season, and you should really be proud of what you accomplished.

Boy it really hurt all week not to have Siena in this tournament. I am serious. It’s like withdrawal, we really forget how lucky we were. What sucks even more is I still think it’s going to be a while if we ever even reach that level of success again. But we’ve got some good recruits coming in, so here’s to 2012!

It was also the beginning of the end for the Saints.

Although the JumboTron showed 6:07 remaining and the score knotted at 47, the Siena Saints couldn’t overcome the loss of Anosike in the front court and fell to the St. Peter’s Peacocks, 67 – 57, on Wednesday night.

The final score belied the nature of the contest, a hardscrabble, tooth-and-nail affair that pitted Siena star forward Ryan Rossiter against the long arms and springy legs of the St. Peter’s frontcourt.

In the postgame press conference, St. Peter’s head coach John Dunne said that his game plan revolved around making life miserable for Rossiter.

At the end of the day, our focus is [on] Rossiter,” he said. “What I said before the game [was], ‘Rossiter is going to score twenty [points] and get 12 or 13 rebounds, but how hard are you going to make him work [for them]? The harder he has to work [for them, the less opportunities there will be] for other guys.

Even though Rossiter made some big shots, like he normally does, I thought we did a good job [of] crowding him and making him miss a few key ones. We crowded him and doubled him a few times. We forced him into a couple of contested shots that just kind of rimmed out.

Rossiter did his part, scratching and clawing for team highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds, earning both the hard way. But he sure could have used some more help on the glass, especially at the end.

That’s why losing teammate Anosike to foul trouble hurt so much.

Mitch Buonaguro described the game as a grinder and admitted it all came down to the last few minutes.

Given the chance to measure itself against a M.A.A.C. title contender, Siena came up short yet again.

Senior guard Clarence Jackson added 13 points on 6-13 shooting, while point guard Rakeem Brookins returned to the starting lineup and added 11 points on 5-9 shooting to go along with three assists.

However, as a team, Siena shot a dreadful 33.9% from the field. The Saints also shot themselves in the foot by coughing up 16 turnovers. The Peacocks shot a similarly woeful 34.3% from the field and had ten turnovers, but managed to make enough plays when they needed them to secure the victory. Rossiter and company battled St. Peter’s to a virtual standstill on the glass, with the Peacocks enjoying a slim 42-41 rebounding advantage, but anyone in attendance could tell you that St. Peter’s played a rugged, high-energy defensive game. That emphasis on rebounding and defense played a critical role in the game’s closing minutes.

I thought we just did a good job with energy,” St. Peter’s head coach John Dunne said. “That’s our philosophy, every game, regardless [of] who our opponent is. For us, we’re just trying to play hard and focus on the defense end, game in and game out, regardless of who our opponent is.

Siena has now dropped four contests in a row. What makes this trend particularly problematic is that it appears more likely now that Siena will finish in a lower slot than the top six teams in the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference heading into the M.A.A.C. postseason conference tournament. If the Saints end up as a seventh seed or lower, they will have to play an additional play-in game, which increases their odds of being sent home early. Only one team has ever won the tournament despite having to play their way in. Siena pulled off the feat successfully in 2002, but will no doubt love to avoid being placed in that precarious position this year.

There’s fight left in these Saints, but unless they can find a way to convert willpower to wins, it appears the Saints will limp across the finish line.

SEEN & HEARD

Before the game, forward Ryan Rossiter earned himself a standing ovation from the 7,204 fans in attendance. Rossiter was awarded a game ball for his efforts in securing the title of Siena’s all-time leading rebounder…

I think it was a game that came down, again, [to] the last five minutes, to who made the plays. I thought they defended us well, [they] were very physical. I thought we got a little… I dont know, when they came back, I don’t think we reacted well. We’ve been in these situations all year [long], so it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen, but I think St. Peter’s ratcheted up the defense and made some big plays.”

“The problem, when I look at the stat sheet, [is that] we took 62 shots. That’s a lot of shots. We didn’t make shots. We ran, I thought we had some good breaks, [but] we didn’t convert. With 21-62 [shooting, good for] 33 percent [from the field], that’s a lot of shots to take. I thought we got some run-outs, not a lot of them, but St. Peter’s is a good team. They don’t let you run out [on the fast break].

On what he said to his players after the game:

I didn’t say much. I said they competed hard. There were some tough breaks. I didn’t say much at all. It was a good effort against a good team. St. Peter’s is a good team. They have a lot of experience, a lot of seniors [on their team].

On forward O.D. Anosike’s fouling out with 6:07 remaining in regulation:

I felt that he’s played with four fouls before. I thought he could get through the game. I didn’t think it was a big issue.

On employing a man-to-man defense against the Peacocks:

I thought it was clicking. We got back in the game playing man- to-man. They isolated [Jeron] Belin down low a lot. That’s what hurt us.

On Siena’s bad habit of losing close games:

That’s the million dollar question. You’re in twenty games, you look back and it comes down to one or two plays. Is it, we had a little bad luck? Is it the fact that everyone’s out to get us? It’s a lot of issues. Ultimately, we’ve got to figure it out by the conference tournament and rectify it.

This is the 20th game that has been decided by ten points or less. 20 of the 26 games [this season]. You could write a script – every game is similar to this. This is what happens at the end of every game. I really believe we’re playing as hard as we can. We’re this close. It’s a shame because I think now I gotta work on keeping the kids up. They stay up, they give great effort, [so we need to] take a step back, get this game on Saturday [against Maine on February 19th as part of ESPN’s BracketBusters competition] and get back on track.

[There’s] still plenty of time. There’s three more games and there’s the conference tournament. We’ve gotta be ready to go by the conference tournament.

St. Peter’s coach John Dunne:

We didn’t have good enough energy to start the second half.

Siena was playing really well to start the half. I thought the key of the game was Jeron Belin’s block. [It] escapes me who it was on, but I thought that gave us energy and we fed off that for the rest of the game.

On Siena’s play:

They’re tough kids. They’re just as tough as anyone else in this league.

Dunne also responded to a query asking him if he thought Jeron Belin deserved to be the M.A.A.C. Sixth Man of the Year by saying:

There’s no question. There’s no question, he has to be.

On which M.A.A.C. team has the upper hand heading into the conference tournament:

It’s wide open. Obviously, Fairfield is very mentally tough. They have all the pieces. They’re the team to beat, but if any other team wins it, I wouldn’t be surprised. And that includes Siena.

The lead got as large as 19 on a Nick Leon three pointer with 14:34 to go. From there, the Peacocks hit a big drought; going without a point for 5 minutes and 19 seconds. That allowed Siena to take all the momentum and creep back into the game.

The Saints used their defense to transition into offense, getting into the lane and drawing fouls. Siena cut the lead to 5 when John Dunne got a technical foul, and continued to pour on points at the free throw line. St. Peter’s then got a three point play with 3:15 to go to put the lead at 7 and the Saints just could not catch up.

Siena did trail by 3 with 1:07 to go when Mitch Buonaguro intelligently had Owen Wignot foul Ryan Bacon, a 56% free throw shooter, but unfortunately, he hit both. Bacon had a monster game, closing the night with 25 points and 15 rebounds, along with 6 blocks, 4 steals and 2 assists. St. Peter’s senior guard Wesley Jenkins finished with 17 points.

Rossiter closed with yet another double-double; 21 points and 16 rebounds. Trenity Burdine and Stephen Priestly saw extended minutes today none of the key players in Wignot, Downey, and Jackson were on the floor for the Saints’ second half run. Clarence left the game when he aggravated his left ankle.

Siena has not won a game where their opponents have scored more than 70 points, they are 0-8. The Peacocks snapped an 8 game losing streak against the Saints.

The Peacocks boast a BCS win over Alabama earlier in the season, but they find themselves in the middle of the conference and tied with Siena in fifth place, two games back of Fairfield and Iona who are tied for first.

St. Peter’s is led by their star shooting guard Wesley Jenkins, who is leading the team in scoring with 14 points and averaging about 5 rebounds per game.  There is also plenty of other senior leadership on the team as well.   5’11″ point guard Nick Leon is averaging about 10 points a game, 6’7″ forward Ryan Bacon is an excellent presence inside scoring 8 points a game and grabbing 6 rebounds per game, and 6’6″ forward Jeron Belin is third on the team in scoring with 9 points a game.  The Peacocks will be at a little bit of a size disadvantage to the Saints, though, and for a team that averages only 34 rebounds they will need to find a way to keep up with the Saints on the glass or else the game could get away from them.

The Peacocks are only averaging about 56 points a game, but they are an excellent defensive team, only giving up about 60 points a game.  For a team like Siena, who has had some issues shooting the ball as of late, there will be a need for a concerted effort to get high percentage shots and shoot the ball effectively.

That issue may be resolved more easily now that the Saints have welcomed back Clarence Jackson from injury.  The senior guard helped the Saints to wins over Marist and Canisius the last two games out, scoring 19 and 15 points in each respective contest.  Rahkeem Brookins continues to excel running the point, averaging an assist to turnover ratio of 4:1 over his last six games.  And OD Anosike appears to making the sophomore leap as he has averaged almost 13 points and 10 rebounds over the last four games.

Things are getting better for the Saints, but Owen Wignot’s thumb injury on his shooting hand continues to bother him, and Davis Martens may still be recovering from a sprained ankle.  The Saints will still need to continue to nurse injuries and continue to get the best out of the players and rotations they put on the floor to try and get back in to the MAAC conference race.  Iona and Fairfield are probably not coming back to the pack, so the Saints will need every win that they can get, and a difficult road win at St. Peter’s on Friday night would do a lot to build confidence for the Saints.

Siena will play four of their next five games at home, beginning on Monday night January 24th against the Rider Broncs at the Times Union Center.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Five Facts:

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

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

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

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

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

Five Questions:

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

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

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

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

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

Five Words:

Points off turnovers win games.