That was the general reaction from students the day after the debacle that immediately followed the Saints winning the MAAC tournament. Initially, the influx of security and police officers appeared to have the upper hand. With 30 seconds left in the game they quite literally lifted a female student off into a nearby tunnel while one member of security was poking Siena fans who were getting too close to the rail with the end of a large MAAC banner. Narrowing down the passage to the floor to basically two aisles was looking like a successful tactic in keeping the student sections from storming the court.

Until with approximately 11 seconds left when the bunched up sea of yellow began to chant in unison, “You can’t stop us!” Then everyone in the arena knew that 30 men really couldn’t stop 1,000 running students. They tried anyway, however, and with the tight spaces security created a jailbreak scenario ensued that actually increased the chance of injury to students.

Around campus students are describing how they watched helpless people trapped up against steel bars as the momentum of the crowd kept pouring down a single aisle. In classes they talked about how scared they felt compared to past years. When told that it was the MAAC that insisted on targeting Siena students and not the Times Union Center, many students took it as an anti-Siena ploy. Would security even move to stop the 50 or so Fairfield fans from rushing down to the court if Needham hit that game winner? There certainly weren’t any apologies on campus for Siena’s basketball success or for the students’ passion for the team.

MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor made a comment referring to the student’s rushing the court this year as inappropriate due to the Saints’ recent success in the MAAC tournament. What Ensor is unable to understand (or admit) is that these past 4 seasons have stood as the most historic college basketball period in Siena’s history. This wasn’t just another game. It was the end of an era that has never been seen before in this league. How many teams across the nation over the last ten years have been to their conference finals 4 consecutive times, and won 3 in a row? How many teams in the MAAC have done that…ever? Yes, Siena was expected to win this season, but no team is ever expected to have the lasting dominance they’ve have and the students should not be criticized for wishing to be a part of that in some way.

“It’s frustrating because you always see that picture around campus of Ubiles on top of everyone’s shoulders after they won it all last year. It’s an awesome shot. Who wouldn’t want to be in that picture? But all of a sudden this year we’re not allowed. I don’t get it,” senior Lisa Dussalt. There are some who feel the Siena students should have remained in the nose bleed seats and watched their team cut down the nets through binoculars. There are some who feel that by storming the court and disobeying rules, the students were ruining the integrity of college basketball. So what does this writer say to those people who feel college sports shouldn’t be enjoyed most by the students who make up the schools? I envision that classic Ubiles picture where he is being hoisted up in celebration by his peers and think to myself: Funny how you’re not in it.

The e-mails informing the students at Siena of this new rule doesn’t state the MAAC’s reasons for it, but that hasn’t stopped the students from coming up with their own hypotheses:

The MAAC doesn’t want Siena to get an overwhelming home court advantage. It’s one thing to have the tournament in Albany, but another to have Saints fans hanging over the barriers on the sidelines.

It also could be a method to try to prevent Siena students from storming the court if they happen to win the championship, which is exactly what has happened the past two years.

While the students don’t know for certain the MAAC’s rationale, it is clear the MAAC officials are purposely pushing the students away from the court. How is this policy going over with students on campus? Senior Rory Goulding’s comment seems to effectively reiterate the attitudes of the Siena student body:

I’m still screaming every game, all game. I’m going to make sure they hear me. And if we win it all I’m storming the court. I don’t care where they put me. There’s no way they’re stopping me from being down there.

Before the game, seniors Alex Franklin, Edwin Ubiles, and Ronald Moore were honored in front of the home crowd. During their careers they posted 20+ wins in all 4 seasons, hold the record for program victories (currently at 94), and have combined for 4,256 points, 1,879 rebounds and 1,190 assists.

It was a slow first half with both teams shooting under 35% from the field. In fact, there were about a dozen air-balls or instances where the ball barely nicked the rim. Siena slightly trailed with 3 minutes left, but ended strong heading into halftime up 32-26.

The Saints found their touch to start off the second half, especially behind the 3-point line with Ubiles and Clarence Jackson leading the way. Siena went on a 15-5 point run within the first 5 minutes to extend their lead to 47-31 to essentially put the Marist Red Foxes away. Edwin Ubiles led all scorers with 21 points. Franklin and Rossiter both contributed 15 points and 24 rebounds between them. Ronald Moore ended his MAAC regular season career in typical fashion with 12 assists. Toward the final minutes of the game Fran McCaffery was able to sub in most of his team, including giving Kyle Downey over ten minutes in his first game returning from a broken foot injury.

Marist guard Devin Price had 12 points and Dejuan Goodwin added 11 points. Whereas Siena increased their FG% in the second half, Marist continued to struggle. In addition to shooting 32.8% for the game, they also shot only 5-22 from 3-point range (22.7%). This is a young Marist team who started 3 freshman.

• D’Argenio: Capacity could be higher next season
  

  With average attendance better than 7,400 the past two seasons, Siena may raise its capacity at Times Union Center next year, athletic director John D’Argenio said Thursday.
  The school has hired a sports consulting firm to find an appropriate capacity and to determine which seats should be covered with tarps and curtains.

• Downey aims for MAAC Tournament return
  

  Kyle Downey is hoping to recover from his broken foot in time to return for next month’s MAAC Tournament.
  The sophomore guard, who was injured during practice Jan. 19, said his recovery has gone well since he underwent surgery two weeks ago.

• Meet Firefly
  

  My esteemed colleague, Tom Keyser, wrote a nice feature story on former Siena guard Tay Fisher, now a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
  In case you missed Fisher’s appearance at Times Union Center earlier this month, check out the video:

I recently caught up with Siena’s Jason Rich to find out if the school was currently considering removing the tarps,

The capacity will remain as is for the time being. We have said from the start that if we outgrow the current configuration on a regular basis, we will reevaluate. We are very pleased with the way the seating arrangement has worked out – it has obviously enhanced the atmosphere in the facility”

Understanding supply and demand, from a business perspective this makes sense. This obviously increases the demand for tickets and increases pre-sales, as well as creates a tougher place to play for opponents.

There is the argument that capping ticket sales and saying it’s a “sellout” is misleading and lame. What people don’t acknowledge is this– Siena has 3,000 students, and a (generous) average attendance hovering around the 7,000 mark. There’s no logical reason why this team should be playing in a 14,500 seat arena in the first place.

In my opinion, Siena needs a 7,000 seat facility that the students could (literally) shake night in and night out, like a typical college their size. However, due to the location of the school and limited land, it’s not in the cards. I used to talk to players who would hate that Siena was the big stage of the MAAC– it was every team’s chance to shine, every team’s superbowl. Since then Siena’s talent level has jumped far ahead of the rest of the league, but the big lights still shine bright in downtown Albany. If I’m Siena, I’d take the better atmosphere over the 1,000 extra people sitting upstairs any day of the week.

Siena comes off their most contested MAAC win with a six point victory over Loyola. Both teams were forced to play without key players due to injuries, and it was reflected in the score as the Saints scored below the 70 point margin for just the second time in MAAC play.

In their previous meeting with Manhattan the Saints won by 15 at home. Alex Franklin led Siena with 23 points, and Kyle Downey put up career numbers with 16 points the day before breaking his foot. Manhattan’s Rico Pickett led all scorers with 26 points, but didn’t receive much help from teammates.

Since last playing Siena last Monday, Manhattan suffered a 56-53 point loss to Iona. Rico Pickett scored 22 points for the Jaspers and Darryl Crawford contributed 17 points. However, as a team Manhattan struggled to find offense, and only shot 32.8% from the field. That loss to Iona was their fourth straight, and the seventh loss within the team’s past eight games.

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

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

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

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

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

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

KEYS TO THE GAME

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

NOTES

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

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.