Siena is also offering a “Saints Starter Pack” for $79. The package includes a game ticket to each of the first four games (Navy, St. Bonaventure, Loyola and UAlbany) in the desirable first nine rows of the second level. The package price represents a savings of $23. The Saints Starter Pack can be purchased in person at the Times Union Center Box Office, or through the Siena Fan Relations Center by calling 518-487-2202.

Update 3:58pm: Edwin Ubiles helped Puerto Rico take home Gold on Sunday at the Pan American Games in Mexico. The Times Union has a bit more and a few photos. Puerto Rico defeated Mexico by a final of 74-72. [Recognize that score anyone?]

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By The Numbers:

• Siena averaged 7,626 fans per game
• It was the Saints’ highest regular season average in program history
• Siena boasted 114,383 total fans
• A ranking of 68th is down 2 spots from 2009-10
• This year’s Albany Cup drew 10,753 fans.

Siena lost by 17 to Fairfield earlier in December at the Times Union Center.

Recap: Fairfield 72, Siena 55

For more info on tonight’s game, check out the previous Siena vs. Loyola matchup from January 28th…

Recap: Siena 76, Loyola 59 | Preview

Preseason MAAC Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter delivered a floater plus a free throw for a three-point play to give the Saints a 69-67 lead with 49.3 left in the game.

It was Rossiter who kept the Saints in the game with his performance but the freshman Rahkeem Brookins came to the aid of Rossiter late to give the Saints their fifth victory of the season.

The MAAC Preseason Player of the Year took control tonight. Rossiter’s layup off a Rakeem Brookins pass and completed the three point play to give the Saints a 53-48 lead. The senior Rossiter, coming off two road games where he scored a combined 14 points, erupted for a team high 26 points and 15 rebounds. Meanwhile Brookins built off of his impressive individual performances on the Saints road trip to score 11 points and dish out 4 assists.

Brookins nailed a long three pointer with the shot clock winding down to give the Saints a 64-63 lead with 3:24 left. Rossiter’s hook shot over a triple-team with 1:42 left gave the Saints a 66-65 lead before the Gaels Scott Machado’s mid range jumper gave the Gaels a 67-66 lead.

The Saints did the little things to keep pace with the Gaels, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds and making 17 of their 18 free throws.

Davis Martens came off the bench and tied a career-high with 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds filling in for sophomore O.D. Anosike who picked up his fourth personal foul with 14:49 left in the game. Anosike picked up his third foul with 9:07 left in the first half.

Owen Wignot quietly had a career night, racking up a career-high 9 rebounds and career-high 5 assists to go with 8 points.

The Gaels shot just 7 for 31 from three point range, shooting 3 for 17 in the first half for a team who shoots 34.6% from behind the arc, ranking 2nd in the MAAC entering tonight. Iona had a period where they went over 14 minutes without a three pointer until Rashon Dwight made a three with 17:30 left in the game.

Sean Armand nailed a dagger three with 7:02 to go to cap a 10-0 run and give the Gaels a 60-59 lead. However the Saints came back as Brookins dashed through the Iona bigs in the lane for a layup and a 61-60 lead.

The Gaels went on a 12-0 run in the first half to take a double digit lead and assume control early as the Saints struggled to make shots, shooting just 4 for 21 to start the game. However, the Saints closed the half on a 12-2 run to cut a double digit deficit to three and go into halftime trailing 34-31.

Rakeem Brookins layup off a transition pass from Owen Wignot gave the Saints a 42-41 lead with 16:50 left, their first lead since leading 3-2.

Scott Machado led the Gaels with 20 points on 9 of 20 shooting from the field. Mike Glover scored 18 points and brought down a team-high 8 rebounds.

The Saints notched their third straight home win after dropping their first four games at the Times Union Center this season.

Iona has lost 10 games in a row to the Saints and 19 out of the last 24 meetings with Siena. The Saints and Gaels are now in a four-way tie for third place in the MAAC standings with 2-1 records.

Let’s take a look back at some of the best moments of the Albany Cup…

Siena mascot ‘Bernie’ jams with a band before Siena-UAlbany in 2006

#1 Siena 76, Albany 75 (2OT) December 2 2006

Kenny Hasbrouck’s basket with 1:11 left in the second overtime gave the Saints the lead and helped them stave off a victory over Albany 76-75. Hasbrouck fought illness to play the game and Fran McCaffery got an unexpected boost from Hasbrouck’s performance.

“Kenny’s performance was very courageous,” McCaffery said. “We didn’t expect to have him a few hours before the game. He missed the walk-through and was nauseous all day.”

Freshman Edwin Ubiles delivered a key three pointer late along with a David Ryan free throw to tie the game in regulation and send it to overtime. Ubiles scored a then career-high 20 points. Ubiles played in 45 of the games’ 50 minutes.

Lack of Big Three: For all of you who were wondering how the big three (Ubiles-Moore-Franklin) did in their first Albany Cup game… Moore started, scored 8 points and dished out 4 assists along with 2 turnovers. Alex Franklin came off the bench to score 4 points and fouled out, playing just 19 minutes.

Memorable Moment: Lead changed 16 times in see-saw battle.

#2 Siena 82, Albany 74 (OT) December 3 2005

Fran McCaffery’s first win in the Albany Cup came in overtime, and it came in the (then named) Pepsi Arena. After squandering a lead that got as large as 18-points, Siena went on a 10-0 run to start overtime to take the Albany Cup back from the Great Danes. The Saints were led by Antoine Jordan’s 24 points, who posted his second straight double-double of the season. Kojo Mensah posted a triple-double, scoring 20 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and 11 assists which included the dishing out the game-tying three pointer by Tay Fisher. Mensah’s triple-double was the first triple-double since Marc Brown did it on November 25, 1990. Free throws weren’t a woe then for the Saints, they made 10 out of 11 freebies in overtime to seal up the cup. The win put the Saints over .500 for the first time since December 2003.

Memorable Moment: Kojo Mensah triple double first since Marc Brown in 1990 (20pts., 14rebs., 11assists)

#3 Siena 75, Albany 71 December 1 2007

The, then, second largest crowd home crowd for a Siena men’s regular season game watched Alex Franklin break out with 24 points and  10 rebounds (his fourth straight double-double) as the Saints beat Albany by four. McCaffery said Franklin looked like a pro against the Danes.

“He played like a pro,” McCaffery said. “He was the best player on the court tonight. By far.”

The Saints went up by as much as 18 in the first 12 minutes of the game and led by 10 at the half but watched as Albany put together a 16-0 run to cut the lead to four late. Franklin’s free throws with six seconds left sealed the Siena win.

Freshman Play: Clarence Jackson and Ryan Rossiter appeared in this game for the Saints, each playing three minutes and scoring 0 points, respectively. Rossiter picked up a defensive rebound and a steal in the game.

Big Three: Ubiles scored 10 points, picked up 4 steals and 5 rebounds. Moore scored 14 points and dished out 5 assists. Franklin scored a game-high 24 points.

Memorable Moment: 2nd Largest crowd in a regular season Siena home game.

A telling sign of where the two programs are right now– Butler is clearly the elite of the mid-major crop, the standard that everyone else strives to be. Siena is a program in the making– they’ve jumped in the water, and they’re making their way to the deep end. Last night’s game jarred my memory of the 2008-2009 Saints who started off 2-3, competitive in the early losses, and continued to develop with each game, eventually going on to win a school record 27 games and an OT thriller victory against Ohio State. I am not saying this team is on the verge of setting a school record for wins, but they are clearly improving, and very easily could put up a fifth straight 20-plus win season.

I have found myself to be very critical at times, and always wanting more from this program. Most likely stemming from my desire for perfection, but as time passes and I grow older and wiser, I am starting to realize perfection exists in “Fairytales” and the likes of movies such as “Hoosiers”. In reality this team is really good, with a lot of talent, basketball IQ, and cohesiveness, making them a threat every night they step on the court. Sometimes we need to take a step back and appreciate the moments this program has provided us and be thankful, fitting of sorts this revelation occurred to me on the eve of Thanksgiving. I would like to take a moment and thank the Siena Organization for continuing to provide a superior brand of basketball while climbing the ladder of mid-major supremacy.

Room for Improvement:
After a sentimental moment it’s truly fitting I sit down to write factors that were critical to the Saints defeat Tuesday night. To start, Butler is not Northeastern, and in my opinion is among the most disciplined coached team in College Basketball, hats off to Brad Stevens, one classy coach. That said, you are not going to win too many games when your stat line reads, 46.7% FT’s, 2-11 from 3, and a negative Assist/TO ratio (-3). Honestly, I sit here giving a lot of credit to Butler’s defensive game plan, they came in planning on shutting down Clarence Jackson (3-7 FG’s) and that they did, even after losing their best defender (Ronald Nored) in the game’s opening minutes. I have been harping on this all year, but this team is still yearning for some more bench scoring (-33 last night), the quality minutes have been there, but the offensive spark that you look for out of your sixth man is just not there yet.

Keys to Success:
Not much to say here besides the obvious that Ryan Rossiter has established himself as one of the most formidable big men in the country. Against arguably one of the more respected big men in the nation in Matt Howard, he went off for 26 points and 15 rebounds. He has done it again and surprised me through the first four games with his continued improvement, does he have a ceiling? Also, Owen Wignot has established himself as the Saints hardest working defender, and it’s quite obvious Coach B recognizes this as well. He put Wignot back in the game with 9:42 left in the first half with 2 fouls. When Wignot left with those fouls, the Saints had their biggest lead of the game at 13-5, when he returned at 9:42, they were up 15-14, a 9-2 Butler run, enough said.

Five Facts:
1. Ryan Rossiter had his third 20-plus double double in four games.
2. Clarence Jackson was held to 7 shots, a season low.
3. Siena is 1-3 for the first time since 2004-2005.
4. Clarence Jackson had 5 TO’s, and 0 steals.
5. Siena outscored Butler 30-22 in the paint.

Five Questions:
1. Why does it feel like no one calls fouls on Butler?
2. “Raak” Brookins, a mid-major Jameer Nelson?
3. Did you know that Kyle Griffin leads the MAAC in assist to turnover margin?
4. What is going on with Brandon Walters? Did he even take his warm-ups off last night?
5. Where is Clarence Jackson at the Times Union Center? (7-23 FG’s @ Home, 20-31 FG’s on Road)

Five Words:
The Butler Way prevails again.

Siena cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three coming out of the halftime break by feeding the ball inside to MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter, who led the Saints with 26 points and 15 rebounds. However, Butler sophomore Chase Stigall provided dagger-like three point shooting, scoring nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, while filling in for an injured Ronald Nored. Senior Matt Howard erupted from behind the arc with a three pointer to give the Bulldogs an 11-point lead. Howard led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 12 rebounds on 6 of 16 shooting.

Rossiter’s stellar efforts were lost on a night that saw no other Saints player score in the double digits. Siena shot just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc, denying the Saints much-needed buckets in the game’s waning moments.

The Saints and Bulldogs collided early. Butler junior Ronald Nored and Siena freshman Rakeem Brookins butted heads just over a minute into the game. Both went down but Nored needed assistance off the floor and into the locker room. Shaun Vanzant came in for Nored, who returned to the bench with just over five minutes to play in the first half but did not reenter the game, suffering a possible concussion.

Siena’s veterans worked early in the paint. Sophomore O.D. Anosike scored the games first basket, followed by senior leaders Ryan Rossiter and Clarence Jackson who gave the Saints an early 6-0 lead.

While Butler struggled early against the Saints’ defense en route to shooting 1-for-8 to start the game, the Bulldogs soon figured out the Siena scheme. The Bulldogs went on a 16-6 run in the first half to take their first lead of the night. Siena’s troubles continued on offense, turning the ball over nine times in the first half and drawing offensive fouls which allowed Butler to capitalize with hot shooting to extend their lead to eight at halftime.

The Bulldogs chose not to guard Ryan Rossiter with senior Matt Howard to keep Howard out of foul trouble. Siena took advantage of this by pounding the ball into Rossiter early and often, allowing him to put up 12 early points in the paint. In Siena’s first meeting with the Bulldogs last year, Rossiter scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. This time around, he had 14 points and nine rebounds in the first half alone.

Butler constantly doubled Jackson and pressured every opportunity Jackson had to score. The Siena senior, who scored 24 points in their last meeting last year, attempted just one shot in the first twelve minutes of the game. Jackson finished with 8 points on 3 of 7 shooting.

Rakeem Brookins provided a spark for the Saints and a positive assist to turnover ratio, turning the ball over twice and dishing out 6 assists in the loss to lead all Saints. Siena turned the ball over 15 times.

Prior to dropping the season opener to Vermont, the Saints had maintained a 38-game home winning streak, giving them an air of invincibility in the friendly confines of Albany’s Times Union Center.

Siena lost its second straight contest to Butler, dropping the return game of the home-and-home series with Butler after the BracketBuster loss last year in Indiana.

While the Saints were looking for a signature win in last year’s Bracketbuster game to boost a resume for a team that was trying to lock up an at-large bid, they are trying to shore things up this year en route to getting ready for MAAC conference play.  There will be no lingering talk of an at-large bid, and last year’s team was the odds on favorite to win the conference tournament anyway.  A win on Tuesday night over a top 25 ranked team would go a long way towards providing confidence for the team’s players who are still trying to get comfortable in their roles – the non-conference schedule is arguably the toughest in the history of the program, and a signature win this year could get the team clicking much sooner rather than later.

Butler is still looking to put some of the pieces together as well.  Gone is Gordon Hayward to the NBA, but the team is led by dynamic junior guard Shelvin Mack.  Mack is scoring 20 points a game, grabbing 6 rebounds a game, and making over 52% of the shots he’s taking from the field.   Mack scored 23 points in last year’s contest, and Gordon Hayward had a double double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  Kept out of much of the game last year was Matt Howard, who is averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds in his senior campaign.  Howard has had problems staying out of foul trouble for the majority of his career, and if the Saints are going to win this game they will once again need to focus on isolating Howard and getting him off the court.  Without Hayward to help out inside in Howard’s absence, the Saints may be able to control the younger inside players of Butler.  Siena will also need to handle the defensive capabilities of Ronald Nored, who essentially shut down Ronald Moore last year and kept the Saints out of the game in the last ten minutes.

Siena is coming off an impressive road win against Northeastern where their two star players scored the bulk of the team’s points.  Ryan Rossiter is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game, and shooting guard Clarence Jackson is averaging 22 points a game.  The Saints are going to need continued production from them, as well as sophomore power forward O.D. Anosike who is averaging 10 points a game.

What the team saw in the win on Saturday was contributions from other players.  Owen Wignot is logging the bulk of the minutes at small forward, and is playing excellent defense and shooting 56% from three point land.  Davis Martens has established himself as the first big man off the bench, and is starting to mesh nicely.  And it seemed overall that the team itself played well together and started showing some cohesiveness.  Rahkeem Brookins didn’t have the flashiest of games in his debut starting at the point, but he was effective.  Even better was the performance of junior Kyle Griffin off the bench backing up Brookins.  If the two point guards can run the team as effectively as they did on Saturday, the Saints have a very good chance of coming out with a win.

The Saints are going to need to continue to get comfortable with the zone defense that Coach Mitch Buonaguro is going with, they are going to need to continue to cut down on the turnovers, and they will need to continue scoring points at a clip that the program has become known for.  Siena is on the precipice of becoming a bona fide top level mid-major program, and to prove that they are indeed reloading this year and not just rebuilding, they are going to need to knock off the mid-major top dog at home to prove it.

How do I know? Because the Siena Birthday ticket program covers every month with a game!

Siena continues a promotion which offers a free ticket to a home game depending on when your birthday is.

Vermont (11/13) – November Birthdays
Fairfield (12/10) – December Birthdays
Florida Atlantic (12/13) – September Birthdays
Iona (1/3) – January Birthdays
Canisius (1/17) – March Birthdays
Rider (1/24) – April Birthdays
Niagara (1/30) – May Birthdays
Manhattan (2/4) – February Birthdays
Loyola (2/7) – June Birthdays
Saint Peter’s (2/16) – July Birthdays
BracketBusters (2/19) – October Birthdays
Marist (2/27) – August Birthdays

Sign up using the order form at SienaSaints.com, print the voucher after you submit the form and redeem it at the Times Union Center.