The University at Albany men’s basketball team will faceoff against another local face this evening.

This time, however, the Great Danes (7-7) didn’t have to bring that player to the game.

UAlbany plays their final non-conference game of the season tonight, taking on Wagner, on Staten Island, at 7 p.m. The game can be seen locally on Time Warner-3.

The Seahawks (4-7) have former Amsterdam player T.J. Czeski, who was The Record’s football Player of the Year, as a senior in 2005.

That year Czeski, who led the Rugged Rams to the Carrier Dome and was named Class A New York State Player of the Year.

Czeski hasn’t played that much for Wagner this season, seeing just 25 minutes of action.

In their last game, UAlbany gave Schenectady native Mark Lyons a ride on their team bus, after nearly all airplane flights were canceled, because of the snow storm.

Lyons repaid Great Danes coach Will Brown by knocking down six 3-pointers in an 88-64 Musketeers victory.

Wagner is coached by Dan Hurley, a long time high school coach in New Jersey.

Hurley built St. Benedict’s Prep into one of the nation’s top high school programs, leading the Grey Bees to a 223-21 record in nine seasons.

Former Duke point guard Bobby Hurley is an assistant for his brother on the Seahawks staff.

Bobby won back-to-back national championships with the Blue Devils in 1991 and ’92. Hurley was an All-American in 1993 and finished with an NCAA-record 1,076 career assists.

Wagner has lost four games in a row and five of their last six.

“They’re a tough matchup for us,” Brown said. “I expect that they’ll come out and press us for 40 minutes.”

Meanwhile, UAlbany has won six of their last eight games and has a chance today to finish over .500 for their non-conference slate.

“We have to regroup and get ready to matchup against Wagner,” said Brown.

Redshirt freshman Ralph Watts is listed as doubtful, after suffering a mild left ankle sprain against Xavier.

The University at Albany remained on the road on Wednesday, heading to Staten Island, to take on Wagner.

Here are some notes on the Seahawks (4-7), who will take on the Great Danes (7-7), tonight at 7 p.m.

• Former Duke guard Bobby Hurley (right) is an assistant for his brother, Dan, on the Wagner staff. Hurley had 1,076 career assists (most in NCAA history) for the Blue Devils from 1989-93. He was named first team All-American in 1993, went to the Final Four three times and helped lead Duke to consecutive national championships in 1991 and 1992.
  

• Redshirt senior T.J. Czeski, an Amsterdam native, has played just 25 minutes this season for the Seahawks. Czeski was named Defensive Player of the Year, as a football player, by The Record as a junior at Amsterdam High and as a senior, he was The Record's Player of the Year, in addition to being named Class A New York State Player of the Year.

• Junior guard Tyler Murray is the team's leading scorer. At 6-foot-5, he could present a matchup problem for UAlbany. Murray is from Toronto and earned numerous accolades for being one of the top players in the city. Murray competed in the Jordan Canadian All-Star game and was a member of the Nike Canadian Elite team in the summer of 2008.
  

CINCINNATI — University at Albany coach Will Brown knew his team would be in trouble on Tuesday evening if Xavier was making there shots.

That’s exactly what the Musketeers did.

Led by Schenectady native Mark Lyons, who scored 18 points and knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers, Xavier defeated UAlbany 88-64 at the Cintas Center for their 30th straight home victory.

Lyons actually rode with the Great Danes (7-7), after getting snowed in during the holidays in the Capital District.

He made them pay right away, hitting five treys in the first 15 minutes

“In the first 10 minutes of the game, defensively, we looked like a team that had been off for a few days,” Brown said.

Xavier had been shooting just 27 percent (46-169) from beyond the arc heading into the game.

On this night, the Musketeers (8-3) finished 14-for-28 (50 percent) from long distance, led by Lyons’ half dozen.

Dante Jackson hit four 3-pointers and Xavier’s leading scorer Tu Holloway hit three, finishing with 11 points.

The Great Danes were actually in the game for a long time, trailing by just nine at halftime, but in the end their shortcomings on the glass really hurt their chances.

Xavier finished with a 38-23 edge in rebounding, led by Jamel McLean, who finished with a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with his 15 points.

“We didn’t have a run in us in the second half,” Brown said. “I thought we fatigued.”

The Great Danes got a game-high 24 points from senior Tim Ambrose, while Logan Aronhalt added 17 and point guard Mike Black finished with 11.

“I’m not as upset at the final score as I am with our sense of urgency,” Brown said.

UAlbany redshirt freshman guard Ralph Watts missed the second half because of an ankle injury.

The Great Danes close out the calendar year on Thursday when they play at Wagner.

“We have to regroup and get ready to matchup against Wagner,” said Brown.

OLEAN — The Siena Saints got a number of good individual efforts on Tuesday evening, but it didn’t add up to a victory.

The Saints got career nights from junior Kyle Downey, sophomore Jonathan Breeden and freshman Rakeem Brookins, but it wasn’t enough to top St. Bonaventure.

The Bonnies got a game-high 26 points from Andrew Nicholson to defeat Siena 82-79 and capture the Franciscan Cup, at the Reilly Center.

The Saints (4-7) played their second straight game without senior guard Clarence Jackson, who is out with an ankle injury.

In Jackson’s absence, Downey, Breeden, Brookins and Owen Wignot all scored in double figures
for Siena.

The Saints actually held a nine-point lead with 10:26 remaining, when Downey made a layup to finish a off an 8-0 run.

Downey finished with a career-high 21 points and pumped his fist after one of his trio of treys gave Siena a three-point lead in the second half.

Brookins finished with a career-high 18 points, but he missed the final few minutes of the game
because he was cramping up, something that persisted throughout a majority of the second half.

Siena’s freshman guard still had seven assists, shot 7-for-12 from the field and finished with just one turnover in 23 minutes.

The Bonnies (7-4) got big nights from Michael Davenport, who finished with 20 points and Ogo Adegboye, who chipped in 18.

Davenport gave St. Bonaventure the lead for good, with his layup with just fewer than five minutes remaining.

That basket put the Bonnies on an 8-0 run that saw both Davenport and Adegboye hit big 3-pointers.

Siena big man Ryan Rossiter had one of his worst nights of the season, finishing with just four points on 2-for-5 shooting from the field.

He did finish with a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Saints cut the lead to four very late on a reverse layup by Downey and then Breeden hit two 3-pointers to make it a one possession game, but time ran out.

Siena also lost the services of junior Kyle Griffin, who seemed to reaggravate a shoulder injury late in the first half.

The Saints stay on the road to finish off the calendar year with a game on New Year’s Eve against another Atlantic-10 foe, St. Joseph’s, at 4 p.m.

Logan Aronhalt has had a terrific start to his sophomore season.

It's one that UAlbany coach Will Brown hopes isn't stunted at all by a lower back injury that his sophomore captain suffered in the team's last game against Colgate.

Aronhalt played just 13 minutes against the Raiders in a 63-61 victory because he landed hard on his tailbone.

"I'd be shocked if he can go through an entire practice today," Brown said Monday morning from Cincinnati. "I don't know how much he will play tomorrow."

Aronhalt hasn't practiced since that game, is still having trouble bending and running and so the team's 12-hour bus ride couldn't have helped his back.

Brown said that his second leading scorer is a "coin flip" to play against the Musketeers.

"For me to play him tomorrow, I have to be confident that he can help us and that he's comfortable out there," Brown said.

Brown knows that Aronhalt will want to play because he's from nearby Zanesville, about 150 miles east of Cincinnati.

With the conference opener against New Hampshire coming on Jan. 2, Brown is concerned about getting Logan back to 100 percent.

"I absolutely am more concerned about him being able to play in our conference opener than I am in these next two games," he said.

The blog goes on hiatus for about three days, but UAlbany and Siena basketball aren't off for long.

Both teams are in action on Tuesday, as the Great Danes play at Xavier and Siena plays at St. Bonaventure.

Until at least Monday, have a safe and happy holidays.

ALBANY - It's simply coincidence that Clarence Jackson has missed two of the last three games Siena has played against BCS schools.

Jackson missed the Saints' first round NCAA Tournament game against Purdue last season because of a right ankle sprain.

Jackson hurt his ankle during Monday's practice and told Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro that he couldn't go.

"I was honest with myself and with the coaching staff," Jackson said. "I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize myself and jeopardize the team. Obviously, I wanted to be out there. It's a big game and we showed tremendous fight."

To be fair, the one time he did play, he lit up Minnesota for a career-high 29 points.

Jackson went through the walk through and actually felt all right.

"I thought I would be able to go today," he said.

After warmups the ankle was sore and swelled up a little and even pain mediciene couldn't relieve the pain.

The Saints still were able to defeat Georgia Tech, 62-57. Kyle Downey, who started for Jackson, finished with 12 points, six rebounds and one steal.

"We need more bench play and more guys to step up and we're going to be a very good team," Jackson said.

Jackson is still just eight points shy of 1,000 for his career and with five days before the next game, at St. Bonaventure, he should be back in the fold by then.

ALBANY - The Siena Saints picked up one of the biggest and more gutsy wins in recent memory, dowing Georgia Tech 62-57 on Wednesday night.

Ryan Rossiter scored a game-high 19 points for the Saints (4-6).

The Saints defeated former coach Paul Hewitt and are now 2-0 all-time against the Yellow Jackets in Albany. They also won in 1994, in the NIT Tournament.

Clarence Jackson didn't play because of an ankle injury.

ALBANY - Clarence Jackson hasn't stepped on the court, Ryan Rossiter got knocked off of it and still the Saints are hanging tough with Georgia Tech at halftime.

Jackson suited up and went through warmups, but was replaced in the starting lineup by Kyle Downey.

Rossiter played 14 minutes, but took an elbow from Mfon Udofia with 1:13 to go and had to be helped off the floor by trainer Greg Dashnaw.

O.D. Anosike has played well (he should be playing better as he missed a few bunnies). Anosike has five points and seven rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets' bench scored 21 points in the first half, led by Glen Rice Jr.' s nine points and Jason Morris, who scored eight.

It wasn't long after Georgia Tech wrapped up their 67-54 victory over Richmond on Saturday that coach Paul Hewitt was instructing his players to keep their focus in front of them.

That's because he knows all about the Siena program, which he was at the head of from 1997-2000.

“You really learn how to run a basketball program being at Siena,” Hewitt said. “Because you deal with so many entities that are really important to your success. It’s a great program.”

Hewitt told his players that Siena wouldn't be in awe of a bigger school coming into town and that the crowd will be raucous at what he still calls the Knickerbocker Arena.

He remembered a game in particular that he credited the win to the huge crowd Siena routinely draws.

The team was playing in the last MAAC Tournament game of the night, in Albany and down five to Canisius.

They rallied to send the game to overtime and then advance to the championship game, against Iona.

"We don't do that unless the crowd is behind us," Hewitt said.

Hewitt said he was usually the last one to leave the arena and he remembers the feelings after big victories.

When I talked to Hewitt on Monday, he didn't have to be reminded about Siena's personnel.

He said he watched the Minnesota game where Clarence Jackson scored a game-high 29 points.

"If we don't do a good enough job on him, he'll make you pay," Hewitt said.

Hewitt also said that after last year's game, he told Siena Athletic Director John D'Argenio that he thought Ryan Rossiter could play at any level of college ball, which is also the same way he felt about Ronald Moore.

"I don't know if (Rossiter) could do it when he first stepped on campus, but certainly he's developed into one of the elite players in college basketball."

Note: Both Rossiter and Jackson are questionable for Wednesday's game. Rossiter is dealing with a sinus infection and Jackson tweaked his ankle during Monday's practice.

UAlbany sophomore guard Mike Black talks about the Great Danes' upcoming game against Colgate and how he thinks his team is playing right now.

ALBANY - The Great Danes players thought they were done final exams for the semester and they are - sort of.

On Tuesday, UAlbany coach Will Brown said his team has one more test before Christmas and that's playing against Colgate on Wednesday.

The Raiders are 0-9 and they lost to Syracuse 100-43 and to Duke 110-58, but Brown is still interested to see how much intensity his team will come out with.

“We want to really play well in these last three games as we head into league play,” he said.

Brown says even though his team has won five of its last six games, they have to remain humble and respect each and every team they play.

“I don’t want anybody to create any unrealistic expectations or think that we’re the greatest thing since sliced bread,” he said.

LOUDONVILLE - Siena shoud have stopped one play early during Monday's practice at the ARC.

In the last play, junior Kyle Downey landed on Clarence Jackson's right ankle.

"I hope he's all right," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro. "I don't know what his status is. I did talk to him this morning and he said there's some swelling. He's getting treatment."

Buonaguro went on to say that Jackson is "up in the air" to play on Wednesday against Georgia Tech and former Siena coach Paul Hewitt.

Jackson wasn't the only one injured on Monday.

Freshman Trenity Burdine was poked in the eye. While he continued to practice, he experienced double vision and later went to the hospital.

"He had double vision for about seven or eight hours after he got poked in the eye," Buonaguro said. "He was taking to the hospital. The last time I talked to (trainer) Greg Dashnaw, he thought it would be gone today."

Buonaguro said he expects Burdine to be ready to go today, but he hadn't seen him yet.

Coach B also said that Owen Wignot (head) is back

Siena practices at 5:30 p.m. tonight, later than usual because it's the final day of examinations.

The Saints have had a week off since their last game, plenty of time to work on some things.

Buonaguro said the team has focused on three main things over the long layoff - defensive fundamentals, a motion offense and late-game situations.

ALBANY - Mike Black coined the trio's nickname following Saturday's victory - the three-headed monster.

Black, Logan Aronhalt and Tim Ambrose combined for 56 of UAlbany's points on a 77-57 victory.

"They enjoy playing with each other," said UAlbany coach Will Brown.

The trio got started going early and never looked back.

“I think we were feeling good and taking good shots,” Aronhalt said.

If all three guys are playing to their potential, the Great Danes will be in good shape.

“Ambrose is sort of their guy,” said Mount St. Mary's coach Robert Burke. “Those other guys can be just as much the guy when they need them though.”

ALBANY - If UAlbany has played a better game than this one recently, it doesn't come to mind.

The Great Danes jumped out to a big lead and lengthened it on the way to a huge victory.

It was clear that there was no rust after a week layoff.

The Great Danes were led by Tim Ambrose and Logan Aronhalt, who each scored 19 points.

Mike Black added 18 for UAlbany.

Raven Barber led the Mountaineers with 20 points.

ALBANY - The UAlbany Great Danes started off hot from the field and carried it all the way through the first half.

The Great Danes made five of their first six shots as they jumped out to a 13-3 lead.

UAlbany made 7 of 12 3-pointers in the first half and their zone defense is pretty good so far. The Great Danes shot 60.7 percent (17-28) from the field.

Mike Black and Tim Ambrose each have 12 points and Logan Aronhalt has 10.

Raven Barber's 14 points lead the Mountaineers.

ALBANY — Blake Metcalf and the rest of the University at Albany men’s basketball team is anxious to get on the floor tonight.

That’s partly because the Great Danes have won four of their last five games and partly because the team has had a week off to finish their final exams.

“You just want to get out on the court and play against somebody else,” Metcalf said. “With all the hours we put in the library, studying and the hours against each other this week, because it’s been a long five days of practice against each other, so we’re ready to go out and play against somebody else.”

UAlbany’s sophomore captain and the rest of his teammates trade in the books for the basketball tonight, when they take on Mount St. Mary’s at 7 p.m., at SEFCU Arena.

The Great Danes (5-6) take on the Mountaineers (3-7), after one of their longest stretches of the season without a game.

“It’s a tough week,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown, referring to finals week.

The Great Danes took Sunday and Monday off, after their one-point victory over Central Connecticut last Saturday, but practiced hard the rest of the week.

“We’ve had some tough practices,” said sophomore guard Logan Aronhalt. “But guys are confident and we’re playing well.”

With a win this evening, UAlbany could come within one victory of last year’s entire season total.

The Great Danes would also reach the .500 mark for the first time since they were 3-3, after six games last season.

“We were never really at that point last season, maybe after six games,” Aronhalt said. “Now, we’re almost halfway through (the season). I think if we could get to .500, it would be a huge confidence boost for us.”

Despite Coach Brown’s feelings against playing zone defense, UAlbany will continue to play that style of basketball.

“It’s what we need to do to be successful,” he said. “I don’t like it, but it’s not going to do me any good to be stubborn. I’ve got to put us in the best position to possibly win.”

The Great Danes have been playing much better defensively, thanks to the zone.

“We put a lot of time into it,” Aronhalt said. “We watch a lot of film on it. We just keep getting better every day.”

The team struggled against Iona because of their transition defense, but they have been in every game since the Nov. 23 game against the Gaels.

“We’re committed to it,” Brown said. “We’re going to stick with it as long as it allows to be successful. We have to look at our personnel and be true about out strengths and weaknesses. We have to play this way defensively for this team to be successful consistently.”

Mount St. Mary’s is a strong defensive team.

“They’re good defensively,” Brown said. “That keeps them in a lot of games.”

The Mountaineers are coached by former Siena assistant Robert Burke (1997-2000), who is in his first season in Emmitsburg, Md.

Burke coached under current Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, with the Saints.

Junior guard Lamar Trice (12.3 ppg) and senior forward Shawn Atupem (11.7 ppg) are the Mountaineers’ leading scorers.

Last season, Atupem scored nine points as the Mount almost knocked off Siena on the Saints’ home floor, before falling 79-76 in overtime.

The Mountaineers lost their three highest scorers from that game to graduation and have struggled with a difficult schedule.

“We have to work on our defense and really make sure to keep them in front of us because they have struggled at times shooting,” Metcalf said.

Brown thinks his team has started to turn the corner and they are a “solid” bunch.

“We’re a good team, but we still have a long ways to go,” Metcalf said. “We don’t want to be a team that peaks in December. We want to be a team that peaks in early March, at tournament time.”

ALBANY - Tim Ambrose was having a tough practice on Wednesday afternoon.

It took just one comment from his coach to get him back on track.

"We don't want the old Timmy."

“He looked at me and nodded and he got back into the swing of things,” said UAlbany coach Will Brown. “He’s really working hard.”

Amrbose has been a big reason for the Great Danes' success so far this season.

The senior guard is averaging second-best 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for UAlbany, which is 5-6 this season as they head into Saturday's game against Mount St. Mary's.

“Timmy’s been a model of consistency so far,” Brown said. “This is the most consistent basketball he’s played in his career and it’s the best basketball he’s played in his career.”

Ambrose has been more "focused", according to his head coach and is becoming more of a "student of the game".

“He deserves to have a good senior year and that’s also going to make us a lot better,” Brown said.

Ambrose sits 16th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,239 career points, just 30 points behind Dan Croutier (1981-85), to move into the Top 15.

“I think Tim’s playing really well,” said sophomore guard Logan Aronhalt. “I think he’s a completely different player from last year, shooting the ball well and making great decision for us. We’re a tough matchup with us two on the wing."

Aronhalt's success could be another reason why Ambrose has improved. Opposing teams need to account for Aronhalt, who is the team's leading scorer at 17.8 points per game.

“The guys that Tim has around him now, are perfect for him to succeed,” Brown said.

Ambrose and the Great Danes hope the success continues.

Former The Record employee and current stringer Brien Bouyea has started up a blog about the Division II and III local colleges called "The Crossover."

Check it out here

This is another place to go for college sports news.

ALBANY - Clarence Jackson came out to warm up for Monday night's game and noticed that there was only 20 minutes to warm up.

The Saints were playing the second game of a doubleheader with RPI going up against New Jersey City University in the first game, which caused the abbreviated warm up time.

Jackson then had his leg give out on him in the opening minutes of the game.

"It put a little scare in me," he said in the locker room, following the 72-69 victory over Florida Atlantic.

Jackson, who was hobbling around for a couple of minutes, looked to the bench and told coach Mitch Buonaguro that he was okay.

"I wanted to stay out there," Jackson said. "I wanted to keep fighting and keep playing."

Jackson finished with 20 points and a career-high eight rebounds.

“Clarence had eight rebounds, which is really shocking,” said fellow senior Ryan Rossiter. “I was proud of him on that one. I think he had more this game then his last three seasons.”

To be fair, Jackson did have 24 rebounds coming into Monday's game.

When Rossiter, who averages double-digit rebounds on a nightly basis, was asked if Jackson was ready to compete with him.

"I don't know if he's ready for that one," Rossiter said.

Jackson said he's been getting in the gym and putting up more shots. He finished Monday 8-for-19 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.

ALBANY - Mitch Buonaguro did say to foul.

Clarence Jackson committed a foul (or so we thought).

There was no foul called.

Like in the Princeton game, the Saints were up by three points late in the game.

Against the Tigers, Siena didn't foul and Dan Mavraides hit a 3-pointer to tie the game.

Siena lost in overtime.

The Saints were up 72-69 over Florida Atlantic on Monday night. Buonaguro instructed to foul, but it worked out anyway.

"I actually did say to foul," Buonaguro said. "I thought with four seconds, I thought it was a good time to do it. I didn't want to do it with 17."

No foul was called and the Saints won 72-69.

ALBANY - The Siena Saints had to earn it, that's for sure.

Siena picked up their first home victory of the season, knocking off Florida Atlantic 70-67 on Monday night.

The Saints were down eight points with 2:27 remaining, but they held on late.

Ryan Rossiter led all players with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds.

The Saints (1-1, 3-6) also got 20 points and eight rebounds from Clarence Jackson.

Jonathan Breeden hit three big free throws late in the game for Siena.

Brett Royster led the Owls (6-5) with eight points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots.

ALBANY - The Saints are playing pretty well.

Ryan Rossiter has a game-high 13 points and Clarence Jackson chipped in 11 in the first 20 minutes.

Greg Gantt led the Owls with seven points.

Marc Brown's No. 4 was retired at halftime and is hanging in the rafters, even with center court, in between Billy Harrell's No. 10 and Kenny Hasbrouck's No. 41.

Tim Ambrose was named America East Player of the Week on Monday for the second straight time.

UAlbany's senior guard averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games last week.

Ambrose also hit the go-ahead shot against Central Connecticut on Saturday, in the Great Danes 64-63 victory.

Ambrose, who was a third-team all-conference selection in 2009, scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds in Monday's loss to Yale.

LOUDONVILLE - Marc Brown is starting to realize what Monday's ceremony will mean to him.

“Unbelievable,” said Brown on the phone on Wednesday. “Words can't describe it.”

Brown's No. 4 will hang from the rafters in downtown Albany, alongside No. 10 of Troy native Billy Harrell and the No. 41 of Kenny Hasbrouck.

Brown, who was known by the nickname of "Showbiz" will have his number retired during halftime of Monday's Siena game against Florida Atlantic.

Look for our story on Brown in Monday's print edition and online at www.troyrecord.com.

Brown and his team from New Jersey City University will play against RPI at 5:30 p.m.

Brown is the all-time leading scorer in Siena history, with 2,284 points and is second all-time on the career assists list (behind Ronald Moore) and fourth all-time in steals.

“I think there are going to be a lot of fans that remember what he did for this program,” said Athletic Director John D'Argenio. “I think he'll get a great ovation. A lot of people will say, ‘It's about time,’ which it is, so it'll be very exciting.”

Brown is remembered by many Siena fans as the best player to ever suit up for the Green & Gold.

“He was one of the most exciting players to wear a Siena uniform,” said classmate, teammate and current Siena color commentator, Tom Huerter.

ALBANY - UAlbany coach Will Brown said this was a game that his team wouldn't have won last year.

This year's Great Danes gutted out a 64-63 victory on Saturday night and now have won four of their last five games.

Central Connecticut coach Howie Dickenman said he likes UAlbany's team.

"Albany's a good team," he said. "Albany's going to be, I believe, once of the most improved teams in the country, when it's all said and done. They won seven games last year and they're going to go well over doubles this year."

Dickenman thinks the future is bright for the Great Danes.

"They have a good future too," he said. "You have a hell of a player in (Mike) Black and a hell of a player in (Logan) Aronhalt, although we put the clamps on him tonight."

Dickenman gave high praise to his player, Devan Bailey, in limiting Aronhalt to just eight points (Bailey did get hit with the technical foul late in the game for mouthing off to the refs).

"He should be the defensive player of the week nationally because he worked on Aronhalt and did a good job," Dickenman said.

ALBANY - UAlbany made it difficult, but they held on for a for a 1-point lead on Saturday night.

Tim Ambrose scored a team-high 21 points and five assists and hit the go-ahead shot with 9.4 seconds to go to give the Great Danes the lead for good.

"It's a good win by our guys," said UAlbany coach Will Brown.

The last four meetings between these two teams have been determined by a combined seven points.

The Blue Devils were led by Robby Ptacek, who scored a game-high 26 points, while Ken Horton chipped in 15.

ALBANY - The University at Albany Great Danes look like a different team.

As the PA announcer said before the game, these are the Albany Cup Champion-Great Danes.

UAlbany was led by senior Tim Ambrose, who finished the first 20 minutes 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Mike Black added nine, as the Great Danes shot 51.7 percent (15-29) from the field.

This looks like a different team than the beginning of the season. UAlbany even led 37-19 at one point.

Coach Will Brown said he expected a good performance because the team is at full strength at home, for the first time since the season-opener.

The Blue Devils aren't doing much offensively, but they are led by Robby Ptacek, who has eight points.

ALBANY - That was the feeling after Siena's Friday night's 72-55 slightly embarrassing loss to Fairfield.

It wasn't embarrassing because of the opponent, the Stags are good. It was more the second half and how the Saints didn't have a shot to win in the second half.

Coach Mitch Buonaguro gave more credit to Fairfield, then took away from his team.

Siena wasn't good in the second half, as they basically were giving up layups and not connecting on anything offensively.

"Things need to get better," senior Ryan Rossiter said.

Rossiter did say the team is still on the same page and people aren't pointing fingers, but somebody needs to step up and lead this team to a victory on Monday.

The Saints are 0-4 at home for the first time in the school's Division I history.

The loss last night snapped a 28-game consecutive winning streak against conference opponents for Siena and also dropped them out of a first place or a first place tie in the MAAC standings for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

The Saints' next MAAC game is in Albany, on Jan. 3, 2001, against Iona.

Also, ESPN released a new bracketology and they have the Gaels playing as a No. 14 seed in Tampa, against Tennessee.

Here are the current MAAC standings.
Fairfield 2-0, 6-3
Iona 2-0, 6-3
St. Peter's 2-0, 4-4
Marist 2-0, 2-8
Rider 1-1, 6-4
Siena 1-1, 2-6
Canisius 0-2, 4-5
Loyola (Md.) 0-2, 3-5
Manhattan 0-2, 2-7
Niagara 0-2, 2-7

ALBANY - It was not a good night for Siena.

I'll have more thoughts on the Saints loss tomorrow, but here's video of coach Mitch Buonaguro giving his opening statement to the media after the 72-55 loss.

ALBANY - Is it possible that this game wasn't as close as the score indicated.

The crowd started filing out early as Fairfield went up by as 20 points late in the game.

Siena's loss snapped a streak of 28 straight homecourt victories against MAAC opponents.

Ryan Rossiter finished with just seven points and seven rebounds.

Clarence Jackson led the Saints with 14 points.

Warren Edney led the Stags with 16 points.

ALBANY - Mitch Buonaguro was shaking his head as his team left the floor.

Siena's head coach probably wasn't the only one.

Fairfield ended the half on an 8-0 run to take the lead into intermission.

Davis Martens leads all Saints scorers with seven points. He also has two blocks.

Warren Edney leads the Stags with eight points, while Albany native Jamel Fields added six.

Siena started the game shooting 7-for-13 from the field, but finished the half just 3-for-11, including the last shot of the half, which was hurried because Kyle Downey didn't realize that time was running out.

The Saints have won 28 consecutive MAAC home games and 48 straight games when holding their opponents to fewer than 70 points.

Both are in jeporady.

ALBANY - University at Albany coach Will Brown told his team following the Yale game that he was giving them a free pass.

He was still disappointed in the 74-53 loss to the Bulldogs, but he put some of the blame on himself.

"Even if we would have won, I shouldn't have scheduled a game that close to the Siena game," Brown said. "Whether we had beaten Siena or lost to Siena, I think you need a couple days to take a deep breath and relax."

The game was played so close to the Siena game because finals at UAlbany begin Friday and it was the only date the two teams had.

Brown said he's already looked at next year's calendar and assuming the Siena game will be played at or around the same date as its been, moved another game further back.

Brown said he likes the way his team has been playing, up until that game against Yale.

"We had been playing pretty good basketball up until Monday night," he said.

He's hoping that the team will pick up where they left off, when they take on Central Connecticut on Saturday evening at SEFCU Arena.

"We've moved forward," Brown said. "We're worried about other things."

Sophomore point guard Mike Black got a couple of days rest and should be ready to go come Saturday night.

Black took Tuesday off as did all of the Great Danes and then asked Brown if he could sit out of Wednesday's practice for my time to heal.

While Black admitted, he's not 100 percent, he said his ankle feels much better.

"It feels a lot better than the Siena game," he said.

LOUDONVILLE - I was shocked to hear that Ryan Rossiter didn't score 1,000 points in his high school career.

What I'm not too shocked about is that the guy who has been Siena's best player (if not the MAAC), wasn't too thrilled to be talking about an individual accomplishment.

Rossiter has never been a "me" guy. He's all about the team, which is pretty refreshing to see, although he's certainly not the only one that's like that.

In Siena's last game, an overtime loss to UAlbany, Rossiter scored his 1,000th career point, something I asked him about on Thursday.

“Down the road, maybe after I’m done playing, I’ll think about it,” he said. “It’s a nice accomplishment. If you look at some of the names that have done it, it’s a good family to be in.”

Rossiter said he did think about it, just for a little, but is squarely focused on what the team needs to do to get better.

“It’s a nice feeling, but wins are what this team needs and that’s my focus right now,” Rossiter said.

Rossiter also said that he and his teammates hear what people are saying about the struggles of the team and the "hot seat" coach Mitch Buonaguro is sitting on.

Rossiter (and his teammates) backed Mitch for the job, when Fran McCaffery left for Iowa and he flat out said he doesn't care what people outside of the program think.

“You could look at every game we’ve lost this year and change two plays and the outcome is different,” he said. “We haven’t gotten blown out. We haven’t been outcoached. We haven’t been outplayed and that’s how we feel. We would love to have those as wins, but we’re not down on ourselves. We’re very confident. We don’t look ourselves at a 2-5 team, we look as ourselves as a good team that just needs a little work.”

GLENS FALLS - Jimmer Fredette speaks about the "Hometown Classic" game where he scored a game-high 26 points

Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette scored a game-high 26 points in an 86-58 victory for the No. 18 BYU Cougars over Vermont, in a game set up just for him to play in his hometown.

Wednesday night will be one of the most unique non-conference basketball game in recent memory.

Brigham Young University will take on the University of Vermont at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The game will be aired nationally on CBS College Sports.

This game will take place for one reason - Jimmer Fredette.

The Cougars senior guard grew up in Glens Falls and this game will be called Hometown Classic.

Fredette was selected as a preseason All-American and has helped BYU reach the NCAA Tournament last season and defeat Florida in double overtime.

Fredette also is Section II's all-time leading scorer.
Fredette is in the Top 10 of BYU's all-time scoring list.

The 2006-07 Glens Falls Indians team went 25-2 and reached the Class A New York State title game, which was played in the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Check out my new Facebook page, which will be filled with college sports.

Just search TheRecord CollegeSports in your Facebook browser and you'll see the page.

Hope you join and continue following along for great coverage.

UAlbany ran out of gas on Monday night.

Yale went on a 26-2 run in the second half in going on to a 74-53 victory in New Haven, Conn.

"First, let's give credit to Yale, I thought they played very well," said UAlbany coach Will Brown on the postgame interview with WOFX.

Right from the start of the night, Brown didn't like what he saw.

"I didn't like our energy in warmups or in the first half," he said. "But, then we just ran out of gas. Saturday's game (against Siena) was emotionally draining."

Tim Ambrose led the way with 15 points. Mike Black added 10 and Logan Aronhalt finished with eight.

The Bulldogs were led by Greg Mangano, who scored a game-high 21 points.

"I'm disappointed with this loss and disappointed with the second half in particular, but not too upset," Brown said.

UAlbany will be back at home on Saturday, when they host Central Connecticut at SEFCU Arena.

"These guys need some rest and we need to regroup for our next game," said Brown.

LOUDONVILLE - It's good thing that the Siena Saints have a few days before their next game because they are starting to look like the walking wounded.

Owen Wignot left the hospital seemingly without a concussion, something that the Siena trainers are still unsure of though because the junior forward has some of the symptoms.

Wignot had a CAT scan and an MRI taken at the hospital.

"He might be out, I'm not sure, it's hard to say," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro.

After issues like those of former Siena player Cory Magee and the increased awareness about the problems with concussions, Buonaguro will take it slow with Wignot.

"I think it's a very serious thing, when you have a player who gets hit like that," Buonaguro said. "You have to cover all the bases with it and I'm not going to play him until he's feeling better. There's no way."

Wignot will not practice on Monday and neither will junior guard Kyle Griffin.

Griffin injured his shoulder last Thursday in practice when a teammate ran into him.

Another player who's coming back from an injury is junior Kyle Downey, who played his first nine minutes of the season against UAlbany on Saturday.

Downey was 0-for-4 from the field and had one turnover against the Great Danes.

"I'm a little worried about Kyle," Buonaguro said. "He didn't look right to me."

Buonaguro said he was unsure of if to play Downey, but that the junior guard wanted to get on the floor.

"I don't know if he's ready physically yet," Buonaguro said. "I think he's still a little hurt."

Senior Clarence Jackson has struggles with his shot over the past two games, going 8-for-36 from the field.

Jackson is now shooting just 40 percent from the field, despite averaging 16.9 points per game.

Buonaguro said Monday that Jackson may still be affected by the foot injury he sustained before the start of the season, which is causing him to wear orthotics in his shoes.

"He's not the same," Buonaguro said.

LOUDONVILLE - To those who think Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro should be on the hot seat after a 2-5 start to the season - the coach see and hears what you're saying, but that's not what he's worried about.

Coach Buonaguro sat down with the media today two days after Siena's 88-82 overtime loss to UAlbany, which had Saints fans unhappy that they did not own the local bragging rights.

"I knew the reaction was going to be overreaction," Buonaguro said.

The Great Danes are playing much better and they deserved Saturday's victory.

"The faithful don't want to admit it, but this year, the game was very even," Buonaguro said.


Asked if a win on Friday against MAAC foe Fairfield would erase most negative thoughts, Buonaguro said he can't even think about anything other than getting the team better.

"My thing is we have to get our team better to play this game," he said. "I'm not worrited about what fans think. I have to get the team better, that's what I'm paid to do, is to coach, not worry about what people write on blogs, I can't worry about that."

Buonaguro did have one other coach come out and vocalize what he thought about fans who are frustrated with Siena's start.

On his radio interview this morning with WOFX, UAlbany coach Will Brown took Buonaguro's side.

"Unfortunately expectations are unrealistic," Brown said. "A lot of the people that are being critical don't really have any idea of what they're talking about or don't have the right to be critical. Mitch has been doing this for a very long time, he was part of a national championship staff at Villanova. He had success at Fairfield as a head coach and was a big part of the reason why Fran and those teams were so successful. I think everybody should give him the time he needs and deserves."

The UAlbany Great Danes take on Yale tonight on the road, but news coming today that junior college transfer Russell Moore (left) will likely leave the team.

On his radio interview today with WOFX, UAlbany coach Will Brown said there's a "strong possibility" Moore will leave the team.

"He's got some personal issues back home that he's dealing with, so we're going to give him the space and the freedom to deal with it," Brown said. "That's really the extent of it. I expect that he would move forward, probably at the end of the semester."

Moore started the first two games of the season, but has since been replaced by senior Tim Ambrose in the starting lineup.

Brown said Moore's decision had nothing to do with playing time.

"He's a great kid, never complained once and I think he's out of his element a little bit, here in the Northeast," Brown said.

ALBANY - University at Albany coach Will Brown walked across the court and put on the headphones, just like he normally does to be interviewed by the radio broadcasters after a game.

He forgot one thing - the Albany Cup presentation.

You have to forgive Coach Brown. He is 2-8 all-time against Siena and had lost five in a row before Saturday's 88-82 overtime victory in front of 10,753.

Still, Brown realizes how big this win is for his program and this year's team.

"We grew up tonight, as a group," he said.

The Great Danes got great play from sophomore Logan Aronhalt.

It's still early, but if Aronhalt keeps playing this well, he is going to be an all-league type player if not the conference's player of the year.

He was terrific on Saturday, hitting his first six shots and finished with 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting.

Brown said he's dropped his weight from 217 to 202 pounds and his body fat from 12 percent down to 8.5.

"He tells me he still doesn't feel he has his quickness and his athleticism back, but the foot feels great."

Another big time player for UAlbany was sophomore guard Mike Black.

Brown said that Black was in tears with 9 minutes to go because of his sprained left ankle.

Black knew the team needed him and he gutted through the game.

"It was really killing me, but I was trying to block it out, trying to be tough," he said. "My team needed me to win this game, so I just tried not to think about the ankle."

The Great Danes will need Black again on Monday, when they travel to take on Yale.

ALBANY - Kyle Griffin pulled Trenity Burdine aside and said it was his time for him to dig down deep.

When Owen Wignot was elbowed by Tim Ambrose and had to leave the game, it was Burdine's time to step up.

"Truly, I did it for Owen and myself," he said.

The freshman finished with 16 points in 32 minutes. He had only scored three points all season.

"He's had a tough season early," said senior Ryan Rossiter. "He always works hard. He never gets down on himself and today, he played great. I was really proud of him."

Burdine said the whole team has to be ready to step up.

"We're a young team," he said. "Them two (Clarence Jackson & Rossiter) can't win the game by themselves, so we have to be mentally prepared as a team."

Despite the loss, Burdine said the atmosphere was great for his first taste of the rivalry against the University at Albany.

"If was fun out there," he said. "It was great to play with the team and play like Coach B wants, just play hard and I played as hard as I could."

****

As for late-game situations, Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro was clearly not happy with his team down the stretch, once again.

The players echoed his sentiment.

"We have to come out of this game and really look ourselves mirror and see what we can do better, each and every one of us," Rossiter said. "Not on a personal level, it's what can we do to help the team."

As for helping the team, Jackson knows he hasn't played well lately and he has to turn things around.

"When you don't play well on both ends, it's almost like why are you out on the floor," he said. "I feel like I was really letting my team down tonight."

ALBANY - The University at Albany captures the Albany Cup, which will stay in Albany (as it always does, I'm told).

Tim Ambrose, Mike Black and Logan Aronhalt combined for 67 of the Great Danes' 88 points and UAlbany defeated Siena for the first time since 2004.

Ryan Rossiter had game-highs 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Saints.

The Great Danes have won three in a row for the first time since January 2009 and four of their last six games.

ALBANY - UAlbany women are off to a 6-1 start after squeaking out a victory in downtown Albany tonight.

Ebone Henry and Felicia Johnson each scored 16 points for the Great Danes.

Serena Moore led the Saints with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

ALBANY - UAlbany found itself in a rare position in this rivalry.

The Great Danes enjoyed a double-digit lead for a lot of the first half.

Logan Aronhalt continues to impress, as he finished the first half with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

Siena has also found themselves in a rare spot - trailing and not looking very good.

UAlbany brought out the press, for the first time this season and it caused 13 first-half turnovers for Siena

Ryan Rossiter and Clarence Jackson, who combine to average almost 38 points per game, have just 14 total points.

Siena junior Owen Wignot left the floor after taking an elbow from Ambrose.

Kyle Downey played for the first time this season and was 0-for-2 in five minutes of action.

Like many times in this rivalry, the crowd is going crazy and it should be a terrific second half.

ALBANY - The Saints lead at halftime.

Missy Ramsey started the game and leads the way for Siena with seven points.

The Saints were 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Great Danes were led by Felicia Johnson, who scored nine points. Julie Forster added seven for UAlbany.

ALBANY - Kenny Hasbrouck has made a decision as to where he's taking his talents.

Last playing in South Beach with the Miami Heat in the preseason, the former Siena start will be playing with Meridiano Alicante, a team which is part of the ACB league, the top league in Spain.

Hasbrouck will leave Monday to join the team, which has already begun playing.

The bigger question is will he be at the UAlbany/Siena game tonight??

ALBANY - I'm here in downtown Albany, just 20 minutes from the tip of University at Albany vs. Siena, the women's version.

Men tip at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes after the women's game ends.

For updates, feel free to follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/AndrewSantillo.

I will post updates at halftime and the end of both games.

Good luck to both teams and their fans.

I decided to take a look at the matchups that will occur when Siena faces the University at Albany on Saturday night.

POINT GUARD
Rakeem Brookins vs. Mike Black This might be the most exciting matchup between two newer players to the rivalry, who are among the most athletic and creative with the ball. If Black (ankle) was 100 percent, this would be an even better matchup. Brookins is averaging 8.7 points per game and has burst onto the scene for the Saints. Black came on last year for the Great Danes and this season, the team has played well with him (he missed four games with the ankle injury). UAlbany is 2-2 with him in the lineup, but could have won the season-opener against Cornell if he hadn't misses the game's final 25 minutes. Brookins may end up being the better player, but he still has much to learn about playing point guard at the collegiate level. Right no,w Black is more essential for UAlbany's success and the more talented player.
Edge: Black

SHOOTING GUARD
Clarence Jackson vs. Tim Ambrose
This is another terrific matchup between two players who will have scored 1,000 points in their college careers (Jackson is just 54 points shy of the mark). Ambrose has terrific athletic ability, which is well documented, but he also has had trouble making smart decisions over his career. Ambrose also is about as athletic as you can get, as his nearly 500 career rebounds shows. Jackson has the ability and frame to get to the basket and the shooter's touch to let it fly from anywhere on the court. The only problem with Clarence is he's too inconsistent and when he's off his game, you can tell. Ambrose is a terrific talent, but I'd take Jackson in this matchup
Edge: Jackson

SMALL FORWARD
Owen Wignot vs. Logan Aronhalt
This is a matchup that wouldn't have drawn much attention before this season. Aronhalt is finally healthy after dealing with a foot injury and it shows as he's up to 19.5 points per game and 25 points per game in their three wins. UAlbany coach Will Brown has said that he thinks Aronhalt can be an all-league type of player and he's certainly showed it the past few games. Aronhalt can shoot the ball and take into the basket. Wignot is a good player, who has shown flashes of being a real force for the Saints. He's got the ability to do some great things, a dunk against Georgia Tech comes to mind. Wignot is averaging 8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and is still pretty much under most teams radars. He's also shooting 50 percent from the floor and 61 percent from beyond the arc. While I like Wignot, I have to go with Aronhalt here.
Edge: Aronhalt

POWER FORWARD
O.D. Anosike vs. Luke Devlin
Devlin has started off as a nice player for the Great Danes and I think he will have a nice career. He gives UAlbany some size and the ability to shoot the ball. The Aussie has the ability to score and rebound and if he becomes a little more physical, I think he could be an all-league type of player for sure. If Anosike can stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, he's going be a dominating Robin to Ryan Rossiter's Batman down low for the Saints, especially come MAAC schedule. Anosike is a tremendously agile big and he can get up and down the floor. I like Devlin, but right now I like Anosike more.
Edge: Anosike

CENTER
Ryan Rossiter vs. John Puk
Let me put this simply, Rossiter would win a one-on-one matchup with almost any big man in the country. I like Puk a lot (from what I've seen), but he's going to have his hands full with a guy who is averaging 20 points and 14 rebounds per game. Puk has been playing quite well, despite having a sore Achilles. Someone said to me recently, you can almost pencil in Rossiter for a double-double and that is incredible.
Edge: Rossiter

BENCH
Both benches have shown signs they can be good, but both are still very inexperienced. The return of Kyle Downey would give the Saints an edge I think, but I don't think he'll play in this game. The Great Danes have had some players step up in the absence of Black like Jacob Iati and Ralph Watts.
Edge: Push

COACHING STAFF
I like both staffs and I think they are pretty good at what they do. The numbers don't like though. Mitch Buonaguro is 5-0 all-time against UAlbany and has two NCAA Tournament victories. While Will Brown has gotten his team to the big dance twice, he hasn't won yet. That's surely not the only determining factor. Brown is also 1-8 all-time against Siena. In this matchup, the edge goes to the Siena staff.
Edge: Siena

That's how I see things matching up.

Let me know what you think.

Ed Bemiss, noted local stats guru, sent me over a link to a simulation for this year's Siena vs. UAlbany game.

Click the link here to check it out.

You can simulate the game as many times as you'd like (or until your team wins).

It also has stats for the actual players, which is pretty neat.