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

The Siena men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season on Tuesday evening, defeating St. Bonaventure, 72-70.

Here is a link to the game story, which focuses on the game-winning shot from freshman Marquis Wright (which can be viewed a few posts previous to this). The win gives the Saints the Franciscan Cup for the first time in four years against their rival.

Here's a link to a photo gallery from the game, shot by photographer J.S. Carras.

J.S. Carras - The Record

Here is the game-winning shot from Siena freshman Marquis Wright, which propelled the Saints to a 72-70 victory over St. Bonaventure.

Courtesy Siena Athletic Department

LOUDONVILLE - Jimmy Patsos balked at the fact that his team played well for just the early portion of Friday's 74-62 season-opening loss against the University at Albany.

Starting three freshmen and having a fourth as the team's leading scorer, he may be correct.

“We played well in the game for having four freshmen," said Patsos, on Monday, before practice and the team's departure north to Vermont.

There were more than 11,000 people in the crowd and yet, none of the freshmen seemed fazed in the slightest.

“It was intense the whole game," said point guard Marquis Wright. "A lot of people — bright lights, but I don’t think it affected us any."

Mike McMahon/The Record

Wright and the Saints jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half, riding the energy from the crowd and the emotion of starting a new era, with coach Patsos.

“We just have to keep it that way ­— play that way the whole game," Wright said. "I’d say we didn’t play as well the last 10 minutes, but it’s all going to come.”

Wright, who was named a captain, something very rare for a freshman, scored eight points and finished and five rebounds, with six assists against just three turnovers in 34 minutes of action. 

“I think I did well for my first college game," he said. "It can always get better — cutting down turnovers and helping my team more.”

Maurice White (left) scored 17 points to lead the team in scoring, off of the bench, a place he may not be too much longer, Patsos indicated on Monday.

"I think I played really well," said White, who was dealing with a groin issue and wasn't sure how much time he would see.

White ended up playing 26 minutes and grabbing six rebounds. White also became the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Alex Franklin (20 points) did so, against Stanford on Nov. 11, 2006.

In total, the freshmen scored 42 of the team's 62 points, but it wasn't enough. 

“We played hard," Wright said. "We just came up short.”

The second Siena Madness event took place on Thursday evening at the ARC, on Siena's campus.

The event was pretty well attended and it was exciting to see the men's team compete against each other for a little while in a 10-minute scrimmage.

A few wild Siena fans and a roaring mad #Patsos at #SienaMadness pic.twitter.com/KfpImwowlN
— Andrew Santillo (@AndrewSantillo) October 25, 2013

Read more »

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