Monday, February 28, 2011

MAAC postseason awards

Here are the all-MAAC teams for the 2010-11 season.

Men's
First Team
Ryan Rossiter, Siena
Justin Robinson, Rider
Scott Machado, Iona
Mike Glover, Iona
Derek Needham, Fairfield

Second Team
Ryan Bacon, Saint Peter's
Wesley Jenkins, Saint Peter's
Ryan Olander, Fairfield
Anthony Nelson, Niagara
Novar Gadson, Rider

Third Team
Yorel Hawkins, Fairfield
Shane Walker, Loyola
George Beamon, Manhattan
Mike Ringgold, Rider
Elton Frazier, Canisius

All-Rookie Team
Maurice Barrow, Fairfield
Justin Drummond, Loyola
Michael Alvarado, Manhattan
Marvin Jordan, Niagara
Danny Stewart, Rider

Women's Teams
First Team
Taryn Johnson, Fairfield
Miriam McKenzie, Loyola
Abby Wenworth, Manhattan
Erica Allenspach, Marist
Corielle Yarde, Marist
Serena Moore, Siena

Second Team
Katelyn Linney, Fairfield
Desiree Pina, Fairfield
Anda Ivkovic, Iona
Erica DiClemente, Loyola
Katie Sheahin, Loyola
Jynae Judson, Saint Peter's

Third Team
Kristina Ford, Iona
Lindsey Loutsenhizer, Manhattan
Brandy Gang, Marist
Liz Flooks, Niagara
Cristina Centeno, Siena

All-Rookie
Jen Morabito, Canisius
Jamie Ruttle, Canisius
Monica Roeder, Manhattan
MyNeshia McKenzie, Rider
Aziza May, Saint Peter's

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MAAC postseason awards - Feb. 28

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UAlbany finishes hard/Devlin for ROY???

The University at Albany men's basketball team finished off a positive regular season on Sunday, defeating Maine to finish in a tie for third place in the America East.

"I thought our guys were resilient, tremendous poise and composure yesterday, when Maine went on that run," UAlbany coach Will Brown said Monday morning on his radio interview with WOFX 980-AM.

The Great Danes are the No. 4 seed for the upcoming America East tournament and will play Stony Brook, who they beat twice during the regular season, on Saturday, March, 5, at 12 p.m.

In that game, sophomore point guard Mike Black, who had a calf injury, scored a game-high 26 points.

"Mike Black was best player on the floor," Brown said.

Also in the game, freshman Luke Devlin continued his terrific rookie year.

He had his head cut open and required stitches, but returned to the game in the second half and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"He had a headaches," Brown said. "He wasn't feeling well, but he told me he wanted to play."

Devlin is certainly a frontrunner for the league's rookie of the year, which will be handed out on Friday.

"You can't get enough Luke Devlin's," Brown said.

The voting is due today at 2 p.m., and Brown tried to make an argument for his guy.

"I'm hoping the other coaches in the league appreciate what Luke means to us and our program," Brown said.

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The Record's All-MAAC team

In just a few hours, we'll find out who lands where on the all-conference teams.

Below, I'll select my all-conference teams.

This isn't my projection of how the vote will go, rather how I would vote if there was a media poll.

First Team
Ryan Rossiter, Siena
Michael Glover, Iona
Scott Machado, Iona
Justin Robinson, Rider
Derek Needham, Fairfield

Second Team
Anthony Nelson, Niagara
Ryan Bacon, Saint Peter's
Wesley Jenkins, Saint Peter's
Novar Gadson, Rider
Ryan Olander, Fairfield

Third Team
Clarence Jackson, Siena
Nick Leon, Saint Peter's
Brian Rudolph, Loyola
Gaby Belardo, Canisus
George Beamon, Manhattan

All-Rookie
Rakeem Brookins, Siena
Marvin Jordan, Niagara
Justin Drummond, Loyola
Danny Stewart, Rider
Sean Armand, Iona
Maurice Barrow, Fairfield

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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Siena 81, Marist 73 FINAL

ALBANY - Ryan Rossiter and the rest of the Siena seniors go out on a high note.

Rossiter and Clarence Jackson came out of the game with a little more than 30 seconds to play, to a standing ovation.

It will be the final time they play in downtown Albany, where they went 53-12 in their careers.

Rossiter scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

In the final minute, he broke Troy native Billy Harrell's 61-year single-season record. Rossiter now has 388 rebounds in his senior season.

Anell Alexis scored a team-high 22 points for the Red Foxes, who will play Niagara in the first men's game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m.

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Marist 34, Siena 30 (half)

ALBANY - The Saints aren't playing for anything, in terms of seeding or finish in the standings.

At times, their play looks like they know they aren't playing for anything.

Siena got good play from Ryan Rossiter and O.D. Anosike, but not really anyone else in the first half and trail the Red Foxes.

Coach Mitch Buonaguro picked up his first technical foul of the season as Marist was on a 7-0 run, to take a 32-25 lead.

The Red Foxes were led by Dorvell Carter and Anell Alexis, who each scored nine points in the first half.

The Saints got into the bounus in the first eight minutes as Marist was fouling like crazy.

Rossiter scored 10 of the Saints' first 14 points and finished the half with a game-high 13. Anosike chipped in 10 and Clarence Jackson chipped in five.

Siena has defeated rival Marist eight times in a row and they'll need a comeback in the second half, to make it nine.

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Siena faces Manhattan in MAAC play-in round

ALBANY - Before Siena even tips off their final game of the 2010-11 regular season, the Saints know where they will be next weekend in Bridgeport, Conn.

Siena is the No. 7 seed, after Canisius defeated Loyola (Md.) Sunday afternoon.

The Saints will play No. 10 seed Manhattan in the play-in round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, on Friday, March 4, at 9:30, at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

Siena and Manhattan have played in the conference tournament three of the previous four season, ending the Jaspers season each time.

The winner of Siena/Manhattan will advance to play No. 2 seed Iona, on Saturday evening, at 7:30 p.m.

The Saints are the only team to win four games to win the league tournament, doing so in 2002, when they were the No. 7 seed.

Here are the seeds for next weekend's tournament.

1. Fairfield
2. Iona
3. Rider
4. Saint Peter's
5. Loyola
6. Canisius
7. Siena
8. Niagara
9. Marist
10. Manhattan

The Siena women's team earned the No. 4 seed and will take on Fairfield at 3:30 p.m., on Friday, March 4.

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Thursday, February 24, 2011

MAAC Chat - Feb. 24

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VIDEO: UAlbany/UMBC postgame

UAlbany coach Will Brown talks about his team's 83-67 victory over UMBC on Wednesday evening at SEFCU Arena.

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

America East Conference bracket

While UAlbany's play down the stretch has been good and can push them into a tie for third with Maine, if they can beat the Black Bears in Orono on Sunday, the Great Danes will be the No. 4 seed for next weekend's conference tournament.

Things are starting to come in to form.

This is what we know so far.

Thursday, March 3
UMBC vs. Binghamton, 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, March 5
No. 4 UAlbany vs. No. 5 Stony Brook, 12:05 p.m.
UMBC/Binghamton vs. No. 1 Vermont, 2:15 p.m.
No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 7 (Hartford or New Hampshire), 6:05 p.m.
No. 3 Maine vs. No. 6 (Hartford or New Hampshire), 8:15 p.m.

Hartford and New Hampshire play on Sunday at 3 p.m., so the winner will take the sixth seed.

Even if Stony Brook loses and finishes with the same record as the winner of that game, they have swept both schools, so they would win the tiebreaker.

If UAlbany wins their game, they would play in the first semifinal at 5:04 p.m., on Sunday.

It's a long way from where the Great Danes were last season, where it took Binghamton leaving the tournament, for UAlbany to move up to the No. 8 seed, after a 2-14 conference record.

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UAlbany 83, UMBC 67 FINAL

ALBANY - The UAlbany team played a great game on Wednesday night, sending their seniors out in style.

Logan Aronhalt scored 19, Mike Black finished with 18 and Tim Ambrose chipped in 17 as the Great Danes improved to 8-7 in the America East Conference.

Chris De La Rosa scored a game-high 25 points for UMBC, who was down big right from the start.

The Great Danes shot terrific, 54 percent (30-55) and also got 12 points off the bench from Luke Devlin.

UAlbany ends the season on Sunday at Maine.

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UAlbany 44, UMBC 28 (half)

ALBANY -If there was any emotional hangover from the Senior Night festivities it wasn't evident as the Great Danes streaked out to a 13-3 halftime lead, hitting their first five shots.

It didn't slow down from there.

The Great Danes played one of their best halves of the year and have a big lead at halftime.

UAlbany shot an unbelievable 57 percent (16-28) and was led by both Logan Aronhalt and Mike Black, who each have 10 points.

Former Siena guard Chris De La Rosa leads the Retrievers with 13 points.

If UAlbany wins and Stony Brook beats Hartford, the Great Danes will be the No. 4 seed and play in the first quarterfinal next Saturday (March 5) at the University of Hartford.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

UAlbany's Allen moving on

ALBANY - Billy Allen will be playing his last game in SEFCU Arena on Wednesday evening.

Allen is just a fourth-year junior, but the dual major in physics and mathematics, will graduate in May and then move on to the next chapter in his life after the season concludes.

Allen, who redshirted his freshman season because of a back injury, made the decision that he will not return to the UAlbany team and will instead start an internship at an engineering firm in Syracuse and hopes to then land a job with the company.

“It’ll be said,” said Allen, who will be honored along with Tim Ambrose and Fran Urli before the game against UMBC. “But I’m taking another step in my life and coach understands that.”

Allen waited to tell coach Will Brown because he thought it might be a distraction.

“Nowadays, anytime a kid can graduate college with a job in hand, you’d be foolish not to explore or take it, especially if it’s a good job,” Brown said.

Allen is only averaging 1.3 points per game, but he hit some big free throw to seal Sunday's victory over Binghamton.

"There's not enough kids out there like Billy," Brown said. "He just wants to be a part of it and he's going to do really well for himself."

Allen is hoping that the team, which has won two in a row can get hot and do something special.

“March is that time of the year to be playing well,” Allen said. “I don’t think a lot of teams will want to be playing us in a week or two.”

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Sunday, February 20, 2011

VIDEO: Siena/Maine postgame

Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro talks about his team's 71-60 victory over Maine on Saturday night.

The Saints are now 4-2 all-time in the ESPNU BracketBusters event, with wins over Maine, Northern Iowa, Boise State and James Madison.

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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Siena 71, Maine 60 FINAL

ALBANY - The Saints played much better in the second half.

They came out of the gate with a 15-2 run to take the lead for good.

After a Rakeem Brookins 3-pointer, Siena had outscoring Maine 29-8 to start the second half and take a 57-41 lead.

It still wasn't an easy win, but it does snap a season-long four-game losing streak for the Saints, which improve to 11-16.

Siena shot 53.8 percent (14-26) in the second half, while holding Maine to 25 percent from the field (8-32).

Ryan Rossiter finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, while fellow senior Clarence Jackson added a game-high 17 points.

The Black Bears, who now have lost six games in a row, were led by Troy Barnies, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

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Maine 33, Siena 28 (half)

ALBANY - Siena didn't play great in the first half and they couldn't really get a hold of the lead.

Maine shot better and actually outrebounded the Saints, 18-15, in the first half.

Ryan Rossiter played all 20 minutes, so it doesn't seem as if he will get a break from playing nearly the entire game, especially with the score.

Rossiter has eight points and six rebounds, while freshman Trenity Burdine added eight points off of the bench for Siena.

Gerald McLemore and Terrance Mitchell each scored seven points for Maine in the first half.

O.D. Anosike had six points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.

The Saints were hurt by 10 turnovers.

It should be a good second half.

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Friday, February 18, 2011

Saints hoping for a spark

LOUDONVILLE - After another frustrating loss against Saint Peter's on Wednesday, Siena's three seniors and assistant coach Craig Carter addressed the team in the locker room.

On Friday, coach Mitch Buonaguro said he hopes that will spark a resurgence in his team, which has lost a season-high four straight games.

“They guys respect the three seniors and they’re three great kids,” Buonaguro said of Ryan Rossiter, Clarence Jackson and Steven Priestley. “I think they expressed what they thought we had to do the rest of the year to be successful.”

With only three regular season games remaining in their careers, the senior are starting to feel a sense of urgency to start winning and keep the season going as long as possible.

“These are three guys that have played on three NCAA teams,” Buonaguro said. “They don’t want it to end. I think they’re realizing that we have to pick it up, get these wins and get a decent seed in the tournament.”

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

MAAC Chat - Feb. 17

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VIDEO: Canisius/Saint Peter's final play

This is the last play of the Canisius/Niagara game.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

VIDEO: Siena/Saint Peter's postgame

Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro talks about his team's 67-57 loss to Saint Peter's on Wednesday evening.

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Saint Peter's 67, Siena 57 FINAL

ALBANY - The Siena Saints have seen this script before.

They had a six-point lead in the second half, but it wasn't enough as they went ice cold down the stretch and dropped their fourth straight conference game.

The Peacocks used an 18-4 run midway though the half to take the lead for good.

Siena scored just 10 points in the final 7:51.

The Saints were led by Ryan Rossiter, who finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Clarence Jackson added 13 points.

Saint Peter's was led by Jeron Belin, who scored 19 points off the bench and also grabbed seven rebounds.

The Saints (7-9, 10-16) didn't lose any ground because Loyola (Md.) and Canisius both lost Wednesday night.

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Saint Peter's 31, Siena 30 (half)

ALBANY - A pretty even first half.

Saint Peter's went up by nine, 27-18, about three-quarters through the half.

Siena fought back and two free throws from Ryan Rossiter with four tenths of a second to play cut the lead to one at intermission.

The Saints haven't lost four MAAC games since the 2004-05 season.

The Peacocks are 11-2 so far this season, when they have a halftime lead.

Rossiter finished the half with nine points and six rebounds, well on the way to another double-double.

Nick Leon has a game-high 11 points for Saint Peter's.

Rakeem Brookins started for the Saints, after missing two straight games, because of a rib injury suffered against Loyola (Md.).

The Saints made 11 free throws and put the Peacocks in foul trouble early, something to watch out for as Ryan Bacon has two fouls and Darius Conley has three.

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UAlbany - the case for 4th (or 5th)

So I don't usually sit around the office just kicking ideas about where teams will finish in the league (at least not until February).

Here the cliff notes of this post - for if you don't have much time - UAlbany should prefer to finish fourth (or fifth) than third.

There's still a chance that UAlbany could finish third - if they win out and Maine loses at least two of three. The Great Danes could finish as high as 9-7 and Maine is currently 8-5. The two teams meet in Orono on Sunday, Feb. 27.

While there's no way to predict or choose where you finish, the Great Danes would be better served finishing fourth or fifth.

Here's why:

Vermont has all but wrapped up the No. 1 seed and the regular season championship.

UAlbany has a better chance to beat the Catamounts in the semifinals than they would at beating Boston University (the hottest team in America East and winners of five straight).

The Great Danes have always had a chance, when they play Vermont (see 2008 America East quarterfinal).

While both Vermont and Boston University swept UAlbany this season, the Great Danes played their best game (of those four) against the Terriers at home, leading by 16 at halftime, before losing by three.

The Terriers have adjusted to playing without Jake O'Brien, who I believe is out for the season. Boston University has rattled off 10 victories over their last 13 games and continue to get hotter, after Tuesday's 22-point victory over UMBC.

While there's still a quarterfinal matchup to worry about, I think that UAlbany's easiest path to the title game would be playing Vermont rather than Boston U.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Breeden has a big weekend for Saints

LOUDONVILLE - It took Jonathan Breeden just one week to go from reserve to key player.

Breeden scored a combined 44 points over the weekend, in losses to Iona (Friday) and Manhattan (Sunday).

The sophomore led the Saints in scoring, in both games, playing for the injured Rakeem Brookins, who was out with a rib injury.

“I was happy for Jon,” said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro. “He’s been through a lot his first two years. Last year, he didn’t get a chance to play with Ronald (Moore). This year, I’ve played him and have confidence in him. I had a good meeting with him before we left for the trip and he responded with two great outings. It’s a real positive we took out of the weekend, with him playing that way.”

Buonaguro called Breeden a "key player" on Tuesday, at his weekly luncheon.

He said that Breeden should start Wednesday against Saint Peter's and Brookins will likely come off of the bench.

Breeden's play didn't surprise any of his teammates.

“I don’t think that was any surprise to me,” said senior Clarence Jackson. “Jon has shown flashes. When he gets an opportunity, he makes the most of it.”

With Siena dealing with so many injuries this season, the younger players have received a chance to step up and play big minutes, something that could really help the team down the stretch.

“I think that was a great step for Jon in building his confidence,” Jackson said.

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Sunday, February 13, 2011

VIDEO: Siena/Manhattan postgame

Saturday, February 12, 2011

VIDEO: Siena/Iona postgame

from Siena athletic department

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Friday, February 11, 2011

Saints falls into play-in round

With Siena's loss to Iona on Friday, they are staring at the play-in round, with four conference games to play.

The only thing positive was that Loyola (Md.) lost to Niagara, keeping them just one game ahead of the Saints.

Here are the rest of the league matchups for those three teams.

Loyola (Md.) (8-6)
vs. Canisius
vs. Rider
@ Niagara
@ Canisius

Canisius (7-7)
@ Loyola
@ Niagara
vs. Manhattan
vs. Loyola

Siena (7-7)
@ Manhattan
vs. Saint Peter's
@ Fairfield
vs. Marist

I think Siena will go 9-9 and they could possibly go 10-8.

Loyola has the tougher schedule with a game against Rider upcoming.

But if the Greyhounds and Golden Griffins split, they could both end up 10-8 and the Saints would finish in seventh place and in the play-in round.

It could all come down to Loyola playing Canisius on the final night of the season.

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sights of UAlbany/Boston U. at MSG

MAAC Chat - Feb. 10

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Rossiter climbing MAAC rebound list

LOUDONVILLE - Siena senior Ryan Rossiter had already earned his title as the top rebounder in school history.

Rossiter now has his sights set on the MAAC record, although he won't catch Lionel Simmons from La Salle, who has grabbed more than 1,400.

Here are the top five rebounders in MAAC history.

1. Lionel Simmons (La Salle) '90 - 1,429
2. Jason Thompson (Rider) '08 - 1,171
3. Drew Henderson (Fairfield) '93 - 1,080
4. Juan Mendez (Niagara) '04 - 1,053
5. Ryan Rossiter (Siena), '11 - 1,045

Rossiter has at least seven games remaining (including one in MAAC tournament) and at his current pace of 13.1 per game, he would end up with 1,137.

He could end up with more games and therefore has a shot at finishing second all-time, ahead of current NBA player Jason Thompson.

"What's been amazing about him is how much he's improved every year," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro. "Normally, there's an improvement level and then it levels off, but this guy has gotten better, significantly, every year."

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

UAlbany's Brown knows about MSG

ALBANY - Will Brown knows what it's like to play at Madison Square Garden.

The University at Albany coach got a chance to play their twice as a collegiate player.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of him playing for Penn or Dowling College, so the one on the left will have to do.

“It’s just a great experience,” he said Tuesday, before his team's practice. “I’m a Long Island guy, so I’m very familiar with the Garden.”

Some of the UAlbany players have never been to Madison Square Garden and never even been to New York City, like sophomore Mike Black.

"I'm just excited to go down there," Black said.

Brown went to events at MSG growing up.

“I went to pro wrestling events there, when I was a little kid,” he said. “Islander/Rangers games. I’ve been there several times, but playing there is different. You walk in and you look around. You just can’t caught up in all of that.”

It's those games, at great venues, that players remember throughout their careers.

“I was fortunate,” Brown said. “I got a chance to play at Rupp Arena, Rick Pitino’s first game at Kentucky. I got a chance to play at the Garden. Those are things you remember. You ask guy like Brent Wilson or Brian Lillis, playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke), playing in Pauley Pavilion (UCLA), those are things they remember."

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Saints let game get away quickly

ALBANY - Ryan Rossiter was breaking program records and single-handedly outrebounding Loyola (Md.).

Siena was cruising along, again playing without key pieces, but somehow maintaining a lead and then something happened.

Just like that the Saints fell behind and fell into sixth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings, losing to the Greyhounds 76-69.

The Saints didn't play their best game on Monday night, but they played all right - until the final five minutes.

The Greyhounds snatched the lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Justin Drummond and it seemed like the game ended just as quickly.

“We have to a better job of pushing our leads and building on them, as opposed to giving them back up,” said senior Ryan Rossiter.

Rossiter scored 23 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, but the rest of the team struggled.

Siena shot okay without Rossiter's 9-for-20, going 19-for-47 (40.4%), but again, when it came time for someone else to make a basket, no one did.

“It's frustrating watching, sometimes, Ryan do it by himself,” said fellow senior Clarence Jackson, who shot just 2-for-12.

Still, the Saints led 58-50 with 12:12 remaining and scored just 11 points the rest of the way.

“It's very frustrating,” Jackson said. “We had the game right on the ropes.”

After falling behind 69-65 with 3:21 to play, the next points didn't come until 36 seconds remained, after Siena finally fouled.

“Instinctively, we should have fouled,” said sophomore Jonathan Breeden, who played a season-high 23 minutes, after Rakeem Brookins went down with an injury. “I think we were trying to gamble for a steal first.”

The Greyhounds avenged a 17-point loss to the Saints, which was probably Siena's best all-around game of the season, only a 11 days ago.

“They had the loss in their mind,” Rossiter said. “They wanted to come out and prove something tonight and they definitely did.”

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Patsos bites his lip....sort of

ALBANY - Loyola (Md.) coach Jimmy Patsos is usually a media favorite.

His love for the city of Albany should have him on mayor Jerry Jennings' good list.

Patsos has said numerous times that he thinks the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament should be held in Albany because it's the best place for it.

“For once in my life, I'm not going to say what I think,” Patsos said, after his team's 76-69 victory over Siena on Monday evening. “I love this town and I love this building and hopefully someday we'll be back in this building in March.”

Patsos is one of the most outspoken coaches in the MAAC and probably the entire country.

His antics are pretty wide-ranging, from double teaming Davidson guard Stephen Curry for an entire game or sitting in the stands, after a call he disagreed with.

MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor was in the building on Monday night, but he departed before the press conferences began.

Remember, the tournament will be held in Bridgeport, Conn., this season and then in Springfield the next three years.

Patsos was very complimentary of Siena senior Ryan Rossiter, saying that he feels like Rossiter could be a second round selection in the NBA Draft.

He called Rossiter a "terminator" going after the ball and there's always a spot for a guy like that on an NBA roster.

He also said it's obvious from an opposing coach standpoint that senior Clarence Jackson isn't at 100 percent.

The Boston native said, you think of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant, but Rossiter's partner in crime isn't at full strength.

“All of a sudden, Rossiter's out there as a one-man wrecking crew,” Patsos said.

Patsos knows that, at full strength Siena is very dangerous and the three-time defending champions won't give up their crown that easily.

“You wait, Siena's going to be there,” he said.

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Loyola 76, Siena 69 FINAL

ALBANY - That was a disappointing end for the Saints.

Loyola scored 15 of the game's final 23 points and also finished the game on a 26-11 run to take a critical conference showdown.

Ryan Rossiter did about everything he could for Siena, scoring a game-high 23 points, grabbing a game-high 20 rebounds and also dishing out five assists.

Rossiter also became the program's all-time leading rebounder, early in the second half when he grabbed his 13th rebound and put it back in for a bucket.

Rossiter currently has 1,045 career boards.

The Saints really had trouble scoring late, making just one field goal in the game's final five minutes.

The Greyhounds were led by Erik Etherly, who led five players in double figures, with 15 points.

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Loyola 40, Siena 39 (half)

ALBANY - Siena and Loyola are engaged in a very entertaining, very high-flying first half.

Rakeem Brookins and Robert Olson dominated the first portion of the first half, each scoring eight points quickly for their respective teams.

Loyola shot 48.4 percent (15-31) from the field, while Siena was 15-for-35 (42.9 percent).

Olson had 10 points at intermission to lead the Greyhounds.

Brookins finished the half with 11, but went to the locker room early, after taking a charge from Brian Rudolph.

Ryan Rossiter has already grabbed 12 rebounds to tie Lee Matthews ('93) for the school record of 1,037 career rebounds.

Rossiter also has eight points and four assists.

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VIDEO: Jimmer piece from College Gameday

I've been trying to find a link for this piece that ran on College Gameday on Saturday on Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette.

Here is the piece.

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Sunday, February 6, 2011

VIDEO: UAlbany/Hartford postgame

University at Albany men's basketball coach Will Brown talks about his team's 62-59 victory over Hartford in the 14th annual Big Purple Growl.

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

It's about more than looks for UAlbany's Iati

ALBANY - After UAlbany played Georgia Tech, earlier this season, a UAlbany alumnus came up to assistant coach Jeremy Friel and said that his son could definitely play for the Great Danes, if the kid playing point guard could.

That player playing point guard was Jacob Iati.

Iati started a number of non-conference games when Mike Black went down with his ankle injury.

Iati, who transferred to UAlbany from High Point, also played some big minutes on Saturday night, in UAlbany's 62-59 victory over Hartford.

"He doesn't pass the look test," said UAlbany coach Will Brown. "His brother didn't either."

Jon Iati was a 1,000-point scorer for UAlbany and helped lead the Great Danes to two America East Conference championships.

Jon was the 2004 America East Rookie of the Year and is currently an assistant coach for Quinnipiac University.

Both Jon (5-foot-9) and Jacob (listed at 5-10) are undersized, but both play with a tremendous amount of heart.

"He's unbelievable in practice," Brown said of Jacob. "Every day I know the effort I'm going to get from him. If I tell him don't let (Hartford senior Joe) Zeglinski get the ball or go jump on Western Ave and take a charge from the next SUV that comes down the road, that's what he's going to do."

Iati came into Saturday's game averaging just 1.7 points per game, but he finished with five points in 12 minutes.

"That's what I want to do is win games," Iati said. "When the opportunity comes, you have to do what you want to do to win."

"I'm glad he was able to go in there and play down the stretch," said Brown.

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Putting up a fight

ALBANY - As Hartford coach John Gallagher prepared to leave the team hotel on Saturday afternoon, he was watching a friend coach his team, on television.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery grew up in the same neighborhood in Philadelphia as Gallagher and the first-year Hawks head coach watched McCaffery's team battle against Indiana.

"They fought Indiana like it was a fist fight," Gallagher said.

Iowa ended up beating Indiana, 64-63, for the Hawkeyes third Big Ten victory of the season.

Putting up a fight is what Gallagher said he wants his team to do, especially without leading scorer and rebounder Morgan Sabia, who is out with a knee injury.

Gallagher's wife, Geneva went to Notre Dame with Margaret McCaffery, Fran's wife.

"I know Fran," Gallagher said. "I know Margaret. I know the whole family. I'm recruiting the boys right now."

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UAlbany 62, Hartford 59 FINAL

ALBANY - The University at Albany men's basketball team did just enough.

Milton Burton and Joe Zeglinski almost carried the Hawks back into the game, with their 3-point shooting.

Burton had a good look at a tying trey with the clock running down and it bounced off the rim.

The Hawks shot 13-for-32 from downtown, making 10 in the second half.

The Great Danes got 20 points from Tim Ambrose and 11 each from Luke Devlin, Logan Aronhalt and Mike Black.

UAlbany is now in fourth place and they take on Boston University at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

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UAlbany 28, Hartford 21 (half)

ALBANY - This game started off slowly offensive for both teams.

The two teams started a combined 5-for-23 (21.7%) from the field.

The Great Danes snapped out of the funk and went on a 10-0 run to take a 25-14 lead.

Tim Ambrose leads the way for UAlbany with 13 points, while Logan Aronhalt added eight.

The Hawks got eight points off the bench from Ross Erickson.

Hartford's leading scorer and rebounder, senior Morgan Sabia, isn't playing because of a knee injury.

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VIDEO: Siena/Manhattan highlights

Highlights from Friday's Siena/Manhattan game, courtesy of Siena athletics

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Friday, February 4, 2011

Anosike becoming "a monster"

ALBANY - O.D. Anosike had another big game on Friday.

He finished with a career-high 17 points, despite finishing 1-for-7 from the free throw line.

Anosike is now averaging 9.0 and 6.7 rebounds per game.

“He's coming on,” said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro. “He's a good complement to Ryan (Rossiter).”

Anosike and Rossiter have formed a dangerous 1-2 punch.

“He's been playing great,” Rossiter said.


Anosike has continued to progress over the season.

“He's been playing well,” said senior guard Clarence Jackson. “He's becoming a monster down there.”

Following Siena's 64-57 victory, Jackson compared Anosike to Alex Franklin, in the team's defensive scheme.

"He's athletic and quick," Jackson said. "When you have a guy like that in the back, who can come up and get steals, that's dangerous."

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Siena 64, Manhattan 57 FINAL

ALBANY - The Saints are currently the hottest that they've been all season.

The first three-game winning streak of the season puts Siena at 7-5 in the MAAC and 10-12 overall.

O.D. Anosike scored a career-high 17 points for the Saints, while Ryan Rossiter picked up another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

George Beamon finished with 17 points for Manhattan, while Demetrius Jemison finished with nine points and 16 rebounds.

Clarence Jackson finished with nine points and three assists, in 24 minutes off the bench.

The Saints host Loyola on Monday.

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Siena 29, Manhattan 21 (half)

ALBANY - The Saints struggled early in the first half and really struggled from the free throw line, but they do have the lead at intermission.

Siena shot 5-for-15 from the charity stripe and had just 14 points in the game's first 15 minutes.

They came alive late and took the lead.

The Saints were led early by O.D. Anosike, who finished the half eight points.

Ryan Rossiter had just three points for Siena, but grabbed 10 rebounds.

Clarence Jackson played nine minutes and hit one 3-pointer for the Saints.

The Jaspers were led by Demetrius Jemison, who scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds in 19 minutes.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011

MAAC Chat - Feb. 3

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New Hampshire 62, UAlbany 59, OT FINAL

The Great Danes dropped a tough game Wednesday night.

They had a couple of chances to win the game, including freshman Ralph Watts, missing two free throws in the waning second of regulation.

Watts was 2-for-7 from the free throw line and the team shot an awful 7-for-20 (35 percent), but of course, that's not the only reason UAlbany dropped the game.

It was not a shooting clinic, as both UAlbany (22-67) and New Hampshire (22-69) shot less than 33 percent from the field for the evening.

One positive was the play of freshman Luke Devlin, who 10 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, made two blocks and grabbed two steals.

Devlin is making a great case for an all-rookie selection.

This game hurts UAlbany in the standings and it's the first conference game they've lose to a team with a worse record than them.

Here are the America East standings
Maine 8-2, 14-8
Vermont 8-2, 17-5
Boston U. 6-4, 11-13
Hartford 4-4, 7-14
Stony Brook, 4-5, 9-12
UAlbany 4-6, 11-14
New Hampshire 4-7, 10-13
Binghamton 3-6, 6-16
UMBC 2-7, 3-19

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