This story appears in our print edition on Tuesday along with a notes package from Jack McCaffery, Coach Fran McCaffery's brother and a columnist for the Delco (Pa.) Times.

Jack will be filing reports after the game's that Siena plays in Italy. The next game is Friday night.


CASTELLANZA, Italy - The 2008 Siena basketball season over, the 2009 season promising, it took center Ryan Rossiter exactly 24 hours to decide to be prepared for whatever opportunity would come next.

Turns out, that chance came Monday in the Saints' first game on their exhibition tour of Italy - and the 6-foot-9 sophomore center was ready to collect 15 rebounds and score 23 points in a 131-86 victory over the Basketball School of Castellanza.

With senior center Josh Duell resting a pulled left groin, Rossiter started the game, and by halftime, he had eight rebounds. He would shoot 8-for-11 from the field, with five dunks, 4-for-4 from the line and 1-for-1 from three-point range.

"I am 10-to-12 pounds heavier than I was at the end of last season," Rossiter said. "I have been weightlifting since the day after the Villanova game (in the second round of the NCAA Tournament). I tried to lift every day with my brother (Steven, who plays for Davidson). I might have taken a day or two off a week, at the most.

"It's helped. I definitely can hold my ground better. And I am able to push people out easier. I am stronger and the whole thing is helping me."

The Saints will play five games in Italy, and were expecting the level of competition to improve at each stop. Castellanza was a collection of All-Stars from Northern Italy, but was unable to keep the pace when Siena began to trap and press after the first of four 10-minute quarters.

Kenny Hasbrouck shot 9-for-10 (4-for-4 behind the international three-point stripe) and 1-for-1 from the foul line to match Rossiter's game-high 23 points. Edwin Ubiles, who played about 12 minutes at point guard, scored 21, as did Alexander Franklin. Clarence Jackson added 18, Ronald Moore 10, Cory Magee eight and Steven Priestley seven.

With Duell and Erik Harris (ankle) injured, the Saints had just eight players available.

Siena shot 70.1 percent from the field, 54-for-77. Magee bagged 11 rebounds. Moore delivered 12 assists, including eight in the fourth quarter.

"We were a lot better than this team," said Hasbrouck, who had five assists. "But everyone got in their rhythm. We know we have to get ready for better teams than this."

Castellanza was active early, shooting 11-for-19 in the first quarter. Moore's three-pointer at the first-quarter horn gave the Saints a 31-28 lead. But Siena scored 31 of the first 39 second-quarter points, and soon, Castellanza began to sag.

"I wouldn't say we had jet lag," Hasbrouck said. "We had a long practice before the game, and then tried to do a lot of things in warmups - dunking and things (legal in international games). We weren't used to the setting. But once we started doing more things on defense, we were fine."

While the Saints will spend their days trying to learn as much as possible about Italy, they will spend their nights concentrating on their backcourt, which will be in transition with the graduation of Tay Fisher and the transfer of Chris De La Rosa. While Moore was entertaining and effective Monday, both Hasbrouck and Ubiles logged some time at point guard.

The game was only three minutes old when coach Fran McCaffery motioned Ubiles to the point - and came away satisfied with the earliest results.

"It was kind of an up and down game," the coach said. "I thought Eddie did fine at the point. I want to see if he can get us into some more things. But in this game, he was able to take the ball right in and score on them, so that's what he did."

With the shot clock set at 24 seconds in international games, shots were plentiful from both teams ... and so were rebounds. As per his offseason plan, Rossiter was ready.

"I'm really happy with his development," McCaffery said. "He's been playing great. He had a chance to play a lot tonight with Josh out, and he played with a lot of confidence. That was good for him."

During one fourth-quarter stretch, Rossiter claimed a traffic defensive rebound and hit Jackson in stride with a full-court outlet pass, good for a breakaway reverse dunk, delighting the crowd.

Shortly after, he popped to the top of the key during an inbound play and drained a three-pointer.

"I've been working on that, too," Rossiter said.

Might he be the replacement for Fisher as a long-ball threat?

"Could be," he said, smiling. "Could be."