ALBANY - Siena played well in the second half, but Iona had just too much offense on Sunday afternoon.

The Gaels finished the game on a 22-9 run and got out of Albany, with an 87-78 victory, in front of 5,793 fans.

When Marquis Wright fouled out with 7:12 to play, the Saints led 69-65. Siena (3-3, 7-10) lost the lead for good , when Mike Poole hit two free throws, with 4:27 remaining.

Iona (5-1, 8-7) hit 15 3-pointers and was led by A.J. English, who scored a career-high 31 points.

The Saints got 19 points from Evan Hymes and 16 from Rob Poole.

Siena plays at Manhattan, on Thursday evening.

ALBANY - Iona is pretty darn good.

The Gaels came into Albany as one the top scoring teams in the country and they haven't disappointed. Iona made nine 3-pointers and leads Siena, 50-40, in the first half.

Siena actually outshot Iona by percentage (48%-45%), but those many three's gave the Gaels a double-digit lead.

A.J. English scored 15 straight Iona points late in the half and he leads all scorers with 17. Sean Armand also started getting heated up, scoring 15 for Iona.

The Saints were led by Evan Hymes, who has 12 points off the bench.

Siena actually ran with high-flying Iona pretty well, but can they keep it up and keep up scoring at this pace.

ALBANY - Siena is on a roll at home right now.

The Saints won their fifth consecutive home game on Friday night, downing rival Marist, 67-58, in front of 5,864 fans in downtown Albany.

Siena (3-2, 7-9) got 17 points off the bench from Evan Hymes and 16 more from Brett Bisping, who also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

Marist (2-3, 5-10), which played without center Adam Kemp, was led by freshman Khallid Hart, who scored a game-high 22 points.

The Saints will be back at home on Sunday, when they host Iona.

ALBANY - The first half was certainly a foul fest between Siena and Marist.

The two teams combined for 24 fouls (two technicals) and 33 free throws attempted (28 made).

Still, the Saints scored the half's final six points and lead, 32-25, at intermission.

The teams didn't shoot well. Siena was 8-for-25 (32%), while Marist was 5-for-24 (20.8%)

The Saints were led by Brett Bisping, who scored 11 points.

The Red Foxes, who had to deal with foul trouble with both Chavaughn Lewis and Jay Bowie, were led by Khalid Hart, who had 10 points. 

ALBANY - Siena didn't allow a second-half lead to slip away on Saturday.

The Saints powered through Rider, handing the Broncs their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference loss, 62-47, in front of 6,180 fans in downtown Albany.

Siena (2-2, 6-9) has now won four straight home games. The Saints got a career-high 20 points from Brett Bisping, while Rob Poole added 12.

The Broncs shot just 27 percent (14-51) for the game, missing their first 12 shots of the night. Rider (3-1, 7-6) was led by senior Anthony Myles, who scored a game-high 21 points. 

ALBANY - That was an ugly first half on the offensive end.

Siena jumped out to an 11-1 lead, while Rider missed its first 12 shots from the field.

Both teams figured things out eventually and started shooting the ball okay from the field.

The Broncs lead the country in 3-point field goal percentage and got back into the game thanks to the long-distance shot and Anthony Myles. Myles had 13 points and was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Saints were led in the first half by Brett Bisping, who scored seven points. 

Siena shot 7-for-25 (28%) in the first half, while Rider was just 7-for-24 (29.2%).

The NCAA announced a number of sites for future championships on Wednesday.

The Times Union Center in Albany was selected to host the 2015 Division I Women's Basketball Regional and the 2016 Division I Men's Hockey first round.

"We're going to put on two excellent events for local fans in men's hockey and women's basketball," Times Union Center general manager Bob Belber told The Record.

Belber announced in August that the arena would be bidding for these events

The arena announced back in May that the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament is returning to Albany in 2015.

The women's tournament will be the first NCAA event in women's basketball to be played in Albany and will be hosted by the MAAC and Siena.

.@SienaAD: "I know #SienaSaints basketball fans will enjoy seeing NCAA Tournament basketball played in Albany on our home court next March."
— Siena Saints (@SienaSaints) December 11, 2013

"The 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Regional is a landmark sporting event for the Capital Region," said Siena College director of athletics John D'Argenio, in a release. "The bid process was more competitive than ever. The NCAA selected Times Union Center because of the great fans in the area, and first class job Siena, the Arena and MAAC have done hosting NCAA Championships in the past. I know Siena basketball fans will enjoy seeing NCAA Tournament basketball played in Albany on our home court." 

The event should be a big one, as the team to emerge from Albany, will be headed to the Final Four.

Congrats to Albany, Greensboro, Oklahoma City and Sacramento on hosting the 2015 Regionals! #ncaaHost pic.twitter.com/ca6LAGNBrB
— NCAA Women's BKB (@NCAAWomensBKB) December 11, 2013

Full lists of the sites selected for NCAA competitions can be found here. 

Siena opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play with a resounding 84-71 road victory over Niagara on Friday evening.

Here is the game story, from our stringer who was at the Gallagher Center.

The Buffalo News looks at how the Saints held the nation's leading scorer, Antoine Mason, who came in averaging 30 points per game, to just 18. 

Here is the school's release, with postgame video from coach Jimmy Patsos.

The Saints remain in western New York, to take on Canisius on Sunday, at 2 p.m.   

The Siena men's basketball team and new coach Jimmy Patsos kick off Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play on Friday evening, with a game against Niagara.

AP

This is the last conference opponent the Saints faced, losing to the Purple Eagles, 74-62, in the 2013 MAAC quarterfinals, in Springfield, Mass. That game was the final game in O.D. Anosike's career. It also marked the final game for coach Mitch Buonaguo, who was fired, three days later.

Nine months later, life springs etnernal for this (mostly) new bunch of Saints, as they head out to western New York to meet Niagara and Canisius.

Siena will be up against the two top scorers in the MAAC, and the leading scorer in the country, in Niagara's Antoine Mason (30.0 ppg), the son of former NBA player Anthony Mason. 

The Saints haven't won at Niagara's Gallagher Center since the 2007-08 season, which was the last year they swept this difficult road trip.

Tonight's game will be broadcast across the state of New York, on Time Warner Cable Sports.

J.S. Carras/The Record

Siena freshman Marquis Wright had a great week last week.

Wright hit a game-winning shot against St. Bonaventure and scored a career-high 12 points against Cornell. On Monday, he was honored as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.

“For Marquis to get rookie of the week was fantastic," said Siena coach Jimmy Patsos on Tuesday. "It was a great thing. He deserves it.”

Wright is the first Siena player to earn this honor since  Evan Hymes, who won the award four times during the 2011-12 season. Rob Poole also won rookie of the week once that year.

Wright has started all fives games this season for the Saints. The freshman from Maryland is averaging 7.3 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Wright also only is averaging 2.5 turnovers per game.

“I just have to keep working hard and see if I can earn another one, maybe," said Wright. 

Here is the school's release.

Here is the MAAC's release. 

Here are the past MAAC winners.

Player of the Week
11/25 - Sean Armand, Iona
11/18 - Antoine Mason, Niagara
11/11 -  Michael Alvarado, Manhattan

Rookie of the Week
11/25 - Marquis Wright, Siena
11/18 - Kasim Chandler, Quinnipiac
11/11 - Josh James, Monmouth

Siena freshmen have already played a huge role for both the men's and women's basketball teams.

On the women's side, forward Meghan Donohue was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week on Monday.

She scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds against the University at Albany, in Friday's season-opening loss. Donohue became the first Siena women's freshman to start the season-opener since 2008, when Cristina Centeno and Brittany Wilwohl started against Syracuse.

Here is Siena's release.

Here is the MAAC release.

J.S. Carras/The Record

The Siena women's basketball team held its media day event on Monday afternoon at the ARC.

Second-year coach Ali Jaques (left) is optimistic that the team can have a good season, despite losing leading scorer Lily Grenci to graduation.

The Saints are picked seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll, but do have some intriguing pieces. If they come together, they may be able to finish near the top.

Marist has won eight straight tournament titles and newcomer Quinnipiac finished 30-3 last season and went to the NCAA tournament.

The Siena men's basketball team is counting a lot on its new faces and new coach Jimmy Patsos, who are trying to get the program back in the right direction.

Here is a story from Wednesday's paper (right) on freshman Marquis Wright, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland, last season as a senior at North Point.

Wright is expected to start at point guard for the Saints, when the season begins on Nov. 8, against crosstown rival the University at Albany.

Also of note, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference released its preseason third team on Wednesday. Siena junior Rob Poole was one of the five players mentioned.

"It's no secret, Rob's going to be a huge key for us," coach Jimmy Patsos said in a release from the school. "He took a big step in Montreal. I think he has the ability to be one of the top players in the league."

The other four players were Chris Manhertz (Canisius), Maurice Barrow (Fairfield), Emmy Anduar (Manhattan) and Ike Azotam (Quinnipiac).

The MAAC will release its second team on Thursday and the preseason first team on Friday.

Mike McMahon/The Record

ALBANY – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball is coming back to Albany.

On Tuesday, the MAAC Council of Presidents voted unanimously to return the league’s men’s and women’s postseason tournaments to the Times Union Center in 2015, for a three-year stay.

“We’re going to flourish as a school, as the league flourishes,” said Siena President Fr. Kevin Mullen, who was delighted with the decision to return to the Capital District.

Since the tournament departed Albany in 2011, the attendance figures have suffered significantly. In 2010, a record crowd of 53,569 crowd watched Siena capture its third consecutive tournament title. In the three years following, the total crowd has been just 55,261. Last year, at the MassMutual Center, in Springfield, Mass., the tournament drew just 14,394 fans, the lowest number in three decades.

“The bigger question is – do MAAC fans travel?,” said MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “They travel to here, as well as anywhere.”

The tournament will still be held in Springfield, as planned, in 2014, but then will be held at Times Union Center from 2015-17.

“It’s huge,” said Times Union Center General Manager Bob Belber. It’s enormous.”

Albany was one of two finalists, along with Bridgeport, Conn., which hosted in 2011. The other two proposals came from Springfield and the Izod Center, in the Meadowlands.

The arena has guaranteed $250,000 per year to the MAAC, a number much smaller than the millions the tournament has produced for the city in previous years.

The city of Albany has hosted 15 of the past 24 tournaments, dating back to 1990. Siena has won the tournament four times when it has been played on its home floor. Even when Siena wasn’t strong, the tournament has still produced sufficient attendance totals.

“The Capital Region fans have proven they will come out and watch college basketball,” said Siena Athletics Director John D’Argenio.  

The biggest reason the league decided to leave in Albany was the idea of playing on a neutral court, but as the league found out, that came at the cost of having more fans in the building.

“It hasn’t worked particularly well,” said Ensor.  

Only three times has the overall attendance of the league tournament topped 50,000, and all three of those came in Albany (2010, 2009, 2000).

“There is something special about this city and it didn’t take me long to realize that,” said Siena women’s basketball coach Ali Jaques.

J.S. Carras/The Record

The Siena men's lacrosse team takes to the field Friday evening in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals.

The Saints play the Dolphins of Jacksonville in a game that can be seen on ESPN3.com, and on tape delay on Time Warner Cable Sports.

In the other semifinal, top-seed Marist takes on Detroit.

The championship game is on Sunday, at 1 p.m., and can be seen live in the Capital District on Time Warner Cable Sports.

The Siena women's team is also in the MAAC semifinals, held at Marist College. The Saints play top-seeded Canisius on Friday afternoon.

Below, is video of junior midfielder Mike Battaglia, a Shaker High grad, talking after practice on Wednesday, about the upcoming tournament.

Siena Athletic Director John D'Argenio talks about the decision to fire men's basketball coach Mitch Buonaguro and where the program goes from here

Below Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro and senior O.D. Anosike talk about the 74-62 loss to Niagara in the MAAC quarterfinals. 



Anosike talks about the game and his career.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - It was a valiant effort, but Siena didn't have enough firepower to stay with top-seeded Niagara on Saturday.

The Purple Eagles just had too much offense and advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals, with a 74-62 victory on Saturday afternoon.

The loss marks the final game for Siena senior O.D. Anosike, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Antoine Mason led all scorer with 21 points, while Juan'ya Green added 15.

The Saints finish the season at 8-24, tying the program mark for most losses in a season.

Following three consecutive losing seasons, the question now is will coach Mitch Buonaguro be back for a fourth season as the head coach.

"I'm the coach," he said. "I have a contract through next year and I'll see what happens."

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Siena men's basketball team will play another day.

The Saints topped Marist 70-64, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first round game on Friday evening, at MassMutual Center.

Senior O.D. Anosike led the way, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for Siena, which takes on top-seeded Niagara, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Chavaughn Lewis scored 24 points, while Jay Bowie added 16 points for the Red Foxes.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Siena women's basketball team has advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals.

The Saints led the entire second half, downing Fairfield, 52-48, in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. Siena advances to take on No. 2 seed Iona, at 9:30 a.m., on Saturday morning.

The victory marks the first MAAC postseason win for Saints coach Ali Jaques.

“That was a really hard-fought win. We’re happy to be here for another day," she said. 

Senior Lily Grenci led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Kanika Cummings came off the bench to scored 12 points. Cummings scored seven of her team's final 10 points, hitting some huge shots, including a 3-pointer with three minutes to play.

It was close down the stretch, as the Saints (13-17) missed four free throws in the final 1:17, but they hung on for the win.

The Stags (17-13) were led by Brittany Obi-Tabot, who scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Alexys Vazquez finished with a team-high 15 points.