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.

• Big Game: Siena Could Take Control and Big Game: Fairfield Looks to Upset Siena
  

  Friend of the site, MAAC Official Blogger Steve Amedio points out that the Saints are first in the MAAC in points per game, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, rebounding offense, rebounding margin, assists per game and steals. Oh and Siena’s last in the MAAC in three point field goals per game. He has quotes featured in our media luncheon video and previews the Fairfield side of the story as well.

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• Thoughts on Fairfield
  

  Times Union’s Pete Iorizzo delivers a six-pack (must be 21 or older) of thoughts on the Fairfield Stags. To summarize the six-pack: Cooley did a great job last year without a lot of players, the Stags have played a very weak schedule, Derek Needham is the Rookie of the Year, Anthony Johnson has come back from life-threatening injuries to being a top scorer, the Stags are good offensively and have a chance for first place with a win.

Former Siena Men’s Basketball player and now Student Assistant Cory Magee comes back from Christmas break looking forward to Siena’s Winter Break schedule.

• Griffin bound to see plenty of action during Saints’ busy week (Daily Gazette)

Kyle Griffin has rehabbed and worked hard since transferring from LaSalle and looks forward to more playing time as he looks to become a continuing part of the Saints rotation.

• St. Joe’s brings out the best in Jackson (Troy Record)

Clarence Jackson had his first double digit game as a freshman against the Hawks. Jackson had his first 20+ shot game in his sophomore year, scoring a career high 28 in last year’s 75-74 road victory. Jackson has had games scoring over 20 points this year.

• Home is where Siena’s wins are (Times Union)

Siena’s Home Win Streak is at 25 games and among the best in the nation. Kansas (49) and Pitt (29) are the only two teams ahead of the Saints. Their last loss? A February 16, 2008 Overtime loss to Loyola (MD).

• Franklin named MAAC co-Player of the Week (Siena Saints Blog)

Our story: Alex Franklin shared the MAAC Co-Player of the Week award with Loyola (MD) guard Brett Harvey.

• Siena readies for busy post-holiday stretch (Times Union)

Siena starts a four game in seven day stretch, Coach Fran McCaffery sat down with the media to talk before this busy week.

• Disappointment? Not For Siena’s 7-4 Start (Keepin’ Track of the MAAC)

The MAAC’s humble blogger takes issue with ESPN’s Andy Katz calling Siena’s start a “disappointment.” To Katz’s point, he labels Siena disappointing because they were unable to rack up any marquee wins in the non-conference schedule when it appeared the Saints had a chance to.

Update by Matt (7:45pm): We had our chat up, but there were too many crickets out there, hopefully you’re all watching, and we’ll catch ya on the next chat.

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