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

Former Siena basketball player O.D. Anosike has signed to play professionally in Italy.

Anosike will play with VL Pesaro of the Serie A League in Italy.

Anosike lead the nation in rebounding for the past two seasons.

Here is the Siena release.

Siena senior O.D. Anosike will be playing for the Elite Under-22 USA team this weekend, just outside of Paris.

He headed home to Staten Island from Siena on Tuesday evening and departs for France on Wednesday evening.

Here is a link to the story, which appeared in Wednesday's paper.

Below is video of Anosike talking about getting the opportunity to play for his country.

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.

The All-MAAC men's awards were announced Monday afternoon. On Thursday, one of the first team selections and one of the all-rookie choices will be selected as MAAC Player and Rookie of the Year. The Coach of the Year will also be announced.

Siena senior O.D. Anosike was selected to the All-MAAC second team, despite leading his team in scoring and being second in the nation in rebounds per game (11.4). That snaps a seven-year run of Siena having at least one player on the All-MAAC first team. The last season no Siena player was on that list was 2004-05.

Here are the teams. 

FIRST TEAM ALL-MAAC
Billy Baron, Canisius
Lamont Jones, Iona
Dylon Cormier, Loyola
Erik Etherly, Loyola#
Juan'ya Green, Niagara
Antoine Mason, Niagara

SECOND TEAM ALL-MAAC
Derek Needham, Fairfield
Sean Armand, Iona
Rhamel Brown, Manhattan
Jonathon Thompson, Rider
O.D. Anosike, Siena

THIRD TEAM ALL-MAAC
Harold Washington, Canisius
David Laury, Iona
Adam Kemp, Marist
Chavaughn Lewis, Marist
Anthony Myles, Rider
Daniel Stewart, Rider

MAAC ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Marcus Gilbert, Fairfield
Amadou Sidibe, Fairfield
Shane Richards, Manhattan
RaShawn Stores, Manhattan
T.J. Cline, Niagara

Siena senior O.D. Anosike answers questions about his final home game, which will be on Friday against Marist.

If you watch until the end, Anosike is asked about the anonymous Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference coach that said he doesn't play any defense.

The guys over at Big Apple Buckets do a solid job covering mid-major college basketball in and around New York City.

Today, the guys posted a blog handicapping the some of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference individual award races.

In the post, one MAAC coach takes a dig at Siena senior O.D. Anosike, saying “He doesn’t play defense because he doesn’t want to foul…He just wants to get his rebounds.”

The coach isn't listed, as the entire blog asked coaches from around the league for answers on the condition of anonymity.

I'm sure Anosike, who is second in the country in rebounding (11.6 rpg), would say his senior season hasn't lived up to expectations, as his team is 7-21.

As the Siena Athletic Department points out, however, Anosike is just one of seven active plays in Division I with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. The other six are not in the MAAC. They also point out that only nine MAAC players have ever done that, including Anosike's teammate Ryan Rossiter, who was named MAAC Player of the Year during his season season (2010-11).

This blog entry from Big Apple Buckets is asking about things like player of the year, rookie of the year and coach of the year, so it's a little surprising that a coach would offer up such a negative feeling about one of the more accomplished players in the league.

It's also worth noting that Anosike, who was a preseason all-conference selection didn't receive any support from the 15 coaches/administrators polled by Big Apple Buckets. None listed him as 1st, 2nd or 3rd for MAAC Player of the Year.

This is something that I would think would motivate Anosike, who could have as few as three games remaining in his college career.

Anosike will be honored Friday evening, on Senior Night, when the Saints host Marist in downtown Albany .

The Siena men's basketball team had a lost weekend, losing to Loyola (Md.) and Saint Peter's. Other bad news was Marist won two games and now the Saints sit in a tie for eighth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings, with only four games to play.

It looks like the Saints will be in the play-in round for the second time in three years, when the MAAC tournament takes place in March.

Here is a link to Friday's game story from stringer Harvey Valentine and a writeup from Sunday's game.

Sunday's game was a milestone day for senior O.D. Anosike, as he became just the third player to join the program's 1,000-point/1,000-rebound club, joining former teammate Ryan Rossiter and Lee Matthews.

Also, I had a chance to write a story on UAlbany women's senior Ebone Henry, who became the program's all-time leading scorer a few weeks back. Here is a link. 

The UAlbany men's team lost on Saturday at Maine, dropping to 7-5 in America East play. 

One last thing. For UAlbany fans, I did an interview with the Colonial Athletic Association, the football team's new league last week and it's posted here.

LOUDONVILLE - It sounds simple, but winning makes everything a little bit easier.

The Siena men's basketball team has been close -- but frankly close doesn't cut it.

The Saints (0-4, 2-13) haven't won since Nov. 17, nearly a week before Thanksgiving.

“We need a win," sophomore Evan Hymes said on Thursday. "Everybody knows that. We just have to keep competing every night.”

J.S. Carras - The Record

Siena is 2-7 in games decided by six or less points and they've lost four home games by a combined 12 points. Certainly that's about late-game execution, or lack thereof, but also some bad luck.

“It can be youth, it can be experience, you can point to a lot of things," said Saints coach Mitch Buonaguro. "But certainly we have to get a couple wins here for the team’s confidence level.”

And that's all it'll take -- one win, to get this team back thinking, no believing, that they can win.

In fact, despite an epic losing streak, the program's second longest, the players believe they still can turn things around.

“If we can get two here, at home, we’ll be right back in the mix of things," said senior O.D. Anosike. "We just have to focus on Canisius and really try to get a win.”

The Golden Griffins (3-1, 10-5) are currently in a four-way tie for first in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings, but they haven't finished in the top half of the league's standings since the 1998-99 season.

“The kids have bought in,” said first-year coach Jim Baron. “I think the area has bought in and winning helps. You have to win some games to get them to gel.”

The Saints have taken positive steps, but many times those have been quickly followed by those in the wrong direction.

“All of those good flashes give me confidence that we’re moving in the right direction," Anosike said. "It’s just a matter of putting it together consistently and doing it for 40 minutes.”

J.S. Carras/The Record

ALBANY - The Siena men's basketball team got a lift today, when sophomore Rakeem Brookins returned to the practice floor.

Brookins, who hadn't done anything since reaggravating a back injury against Maine, on Nov. 25, practiced on Thursday.

“It’s definitely a good sign for all of us," he said.

Brookins hurt his back on a hustle play, when he collided with a Maine player. He said that the doctors told him he can participate in team activities, as long as he feels okay.
 
The school had announced the sophomore, who missed all of last season with back issues, wouldn't play until at least Dec. 29, in the game against La Salle. Now, he's listed as questionable for Friday evening's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener against Rider.

Brookins' return to the floor seemed to give his teammates a little lift.

“I think we need a little bit more offense," said senior O.D. Anosike. "I think getting Rahk back soon will help alleviate some of that."

Brookins said he won't change  his game just because of the injury and he will try not to worry about it, once he returns.

“I’m not going to adjust my game for any reason because I have to play how I have to play," he said.

 In the six games without Brookins, the Saints (2-7) are averaging 55.5 points and are just 1-5.

 “It’s been a little struggle, but it’s still early in the season," Brookins said. "We’re going to get it together.”

Brookins averaged 11.7 points per game in the three games he's played this season, so his return would give this team some much needed offensive help.

OLEAN — The Siena offense has been tough to watch this season.

On Tuesday evening, the offensive woes went to a whole new level.

The Saints scored just five points in the final 12:22, as St. Bonaventure posted a 58-43 victory at the Reilly Center, on Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro’s 59th birthday.

St. Bonaventure (5-2) keeps possession of the Franciscan Cup, which they have now won in the
first three years. The previous two meetings were won by the Bonnies by only a combined nine points and the team are scheduled to meet next season in Albany. 

Siena (2-7) has still never won at the Reilly Center and have not defeated St. Bonaventure since 1998-99 season.

The Saints have now lost five straight games and the 43 points are the lowest in a game since a 61-40 loss to Manhattan, during the 1995-96 season.

The Saints scored 44 points twice last year, in losses at Georgia Tech and Saint Peter’s. The last five-game losing streak came last season, from Nov. 21-Dec. 3, and included a loss to St. Bonaventure and their first two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games.

Siena shot just 17-for-52 (33%) from the field, 4-for-15 (27%) from beyond the arc and only scored three points in the game’s final eight minutes.

The Bonnies held a 41-38 lead with 12:22 to play, but scored 17 of the game’s final 23 points.

The only Saints player who had a solid game was sophomore Trenity Burdine, who finished with a career-high 16 points.

Siena committed 17 turnovers, 13 of which came on the first half. The Saints were averaging 15 turnovers per game and now have committed 35 turnovers in their past two games.

St. Bonaventure cashed in on a big turnover, as Charlon Kloof collected a pass from Demetruis Conger and slammed it home to put the Bonnies up 43-38.

Matt Wright put the game away, with a three-point play that put St. Bonaventure up 48-40. 

Conger led the Bonnies with 14 points, while Marquise Simmons added 12 points.

Siena senior O.D. Anosike had his second straight game without a double-double, finishing with seven points and game-high 14 rebounds.

ALBANY - Another tough loss for the Siena.

Chaz Williams' bank-shot layup with 3.3 seconds to play gave UMass a 64-63 victory on Wednesday evening.

“(Coach Derek Kellogg) left the game in my hands and I had to go make a play,” said Williams, who also burned the Saints last year, scoring 22 points in an 82-78 win.

The loss is the second 1-point defeat at home for Siena (2-5) and the Saints have lost three in a row.

Siena had a 17-point lead in the first half, but watched it evaporate as UMass continued with their pressure defense throughout the game.

O.D. Anosike posted his seventh consecutive double-double, with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Evan Hymes added 15 points.

Williams finished with a game-high 23 points, while Terrell Vinson added 17 for the Minutemen (3-2).

Siena did announce that sophomore Rakeem Brookins will miss at least one month after reaggravating a back injury, in the game against Maine.

The Saints return to the floor on Saturday, when they host UAlbany, for possession of the Albany Cup.

Below Anosike talks about the loss.

ALBANY - Siena played likely the best half of the season in the first half against UMass.

The Saints made seven 3-pointers, shooting 7-11 (63.6%) from long distance. Evan Hymes has nine points and Rob Poole added eight.

Chaz Williams leads the Minutemen with nine points. He scored his 1,000th career point on a 3-pointer late in the half.

O.D. Anosike finished the half with four points and six rebounds.

Can Siena keep it up in the second half?

Siena senior O.D. Anosike talks about the upcoming game against UMass, and insists that there is no panic amongst the team, despite the 2-4 start.

AP

The University at Albany men's basketball team gave it their all on Sunday, but fell to No. 4 Ohio State.

Here is a link to the AP story. 

The Great Danes (1-1) had a lead in the first half, but then the Buckeyes turned it on, getting 20 points from Aaron Craft.  Three other players were in double figures for Ohio State.

Mike Black scored 20 points, Jacob Iati added 13 and UAlbany actually was even on the glass, 32-32.

Siena was also on the road on Sunday. The Saints (1-1) had to work overtime to pick up their first victory of the year, against Navy.

O.D. Anosike led the way with 17 points and 12 rebounds. That's his second double-double of the year. 

Here is a link to our writeup, in Monday's paper.

Below senior O.D. Anosike talks about the team's 1-point loss to Vermont.



Below women's coach Ali Jaques and senior Lily Grenci talk about their 76-56 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson.

J.S. Carras/The Record

ALBANY - OD Anosike broke a school record of a former teammate on Sunday.

He's hoping that will gain him entrance into an exclusive club - Team Rebound Supreme.

The brainchild of Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossiter, whose record of 10 straight double-doubles, was snapped by Anosike on Sunday, Team Rebound Supreme began during the 2009-10 season. Franklin and Rossiter started as a friendly competition to see who would grab more rebounds.

Anosike wants in.

“I've been trying to get in for a while now,” said Anosike, following Siena's 72-60 victory over Niagara in downtown Albany.

After acknowledging that his acceptance was up to Franklin and Rossiter -- two of the top rebounders ever to play for the Saints -- Anosike fired off some friendly shots to his former teammates.

First he this to say about snapping Rossiter's school record for consecutive double-doubles. 

“I'm sure Ryan is feeling a little bitter over in France, about me breaking his record.”

Then, he had this to say about Franklin.

“I think Alex doesn't realize that I average more rebounds than he did. In some ways, I want to kick him out of Team Rebound Supreme.”

In the end, there may still only be two members of Team Rebound Supreme, but Anosike is currently the nation's leading rebounder, at 12.4 rebounds per game. 

“Obviously, he is an outstanding player," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro. "We have geared a lot of our stuff around him.”

As we do when all years come to an end, we look back at the best performances and try to figure out what was the best.

I've covered Siena and UAlbany basketball for five seasons and put together what I think are the Top 10 moments of 2011.

See what you think...and let me know if I'm wrong (I'm not).


10. EVAN HYMES SCORES 30 (Nov. 19)
Siena point guard Evan Hymes has burst onto the scene this season. In just his second game, the diminutive point guard, who is starting because of a season-ending injury to Rakeem Brookins, went off. Hymes scored 30 points in a 65-53 victory that started the Siena 2011-12 season with back-to-back victories. Hymes was 9-for-17 from the floor and 9-for-14 from the free throw line.

9. MIKE BLACK DROPS CAREER-HIGH 26 ON MAINE (Feb. 27)
UAlbany's point guard is known more for distrubuting, but in the season finale last year Black torched Maine for a career-high 26 points in a 81-77 overtime victory. Black hit five 3-pointers, but also finished with five assists in the win, while playing 40 of the 45 minutes in the game.

8. CLARENCE JACKSON COMES OFF BENCH TO LIGHT UP MARIST (Jan. 14)
Clarence Jackson dealt with a long list of injuries during his senior season, but on this night he put the setbacks behind him and gave a clutch performance. Jackson finished with 19 points and hit five 3-pointers at the McCann Center as Siena took down rival Marist 66-59. Jackson finished 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.

7. UALBANY CLOBBERS BINGHAMTON 76-37 (Jan. 20)
The Great Danes and Bearcats have a good rivalry, both being SUNY schools. On this night, UAlbany let their state rivals have it, setting new Division I win margin, winning by 39, 76-37, over Binghamton. Mike Black led four Great Danes in double figures with 15 points. The Bearcats made just 12 field goals and shot 21 percent (12-57) from the floor.

6. ARONHALT & AMBROSE GO 20-20 on UMBC (Jan. 26)

Logan Aronhalt really burst onto the scene last season, overcoming a lot of injuries to have a breakthrough campaign. In this game, Aronhalt lit up University of Maryland-Baltimore Country for 28 points, while senior Tim Ambrose finished with 25 points in the 66-63 victory, down in Baltimore. Aronhalt and Ambrose combined to shoot 19-for-35 (54.3%) from the field in the game.  

5. UALBANY TAKES TALENTS TO MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (Feb. 11)

While this game wasn't a victory for the Great Danes, the UAlbany players got the thrill of a lifetime, as the team took the floor to play at the world's most famous arena. Boston University picked up the 63-44 win, but it's a moment that the Great Danes and Terriers both will remember forever. Tim Ambrose led the way for UAlbany with 13 points. 

4. RYAN ROSSITER BECOMES SIENA'S TOP REBOUNDER (Feb. 7)

Ryan Rossiter broke a lot of records and had a terrific senior season for Siena. On this night, Rossiter only put up 23 points and 20 rebounds in a 76-69 loss to Loyola (Md.). In the process, Rossiter became the Saints all-time leading rebounder, passing Lee Matthews ('93). Rossiter, who ended his career with 1,151 boards, finished with nine offensive rebounds on this night. 

3. GERARDO SUERO DROPS 31 ON SYRACUSE (Nov. 15)

Gerardo Suero really burst onto the scene this season, proving that he is one of the top newcomers in the America East and possibly the country. UAlbany lost on this night to Syracuse, 98-74, but Suero scored a game-high 31 points against the Orange's vaunted zone defense. Suero was 9-for-16 from the floor and 11-for-12 from the free throw line, in just his third game for the Great Danes.

2. O.D. ANOSIKE LETS HIS PLAY DO THE TALKING (Dec. 5)

Siena junior center O.D. Anosike caught the attention of nearly everyone in the Captial District when he said he thought Siena was still the favorite, heading into the Albany Cup matchup. Anosike backed it up, scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds as the Saints regained the bragging rights with a 64-60 victory. Following the game, Coach Mitch Buonaguro said he hoped Anosike would tweet less, while Anosike who hadn't tweeted the original statement, was just happy with the victory.

1. RYAN ROSSITER GIVES HOMETOWN CROWD ONE LAST THRILL (Feb. 27)

Ryan Rossiter gave the hometown Albany crowd one more thing to cheer about, in the final home game of his career. Rossiter finished with a career-high 34 points and 11 rebounds in a 81-73 victory over Marist. There's not much more you can say about Rossiter, as a week later, he was honored with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year award.

Honorable Mention:

• Ryan Rossiter 26 pts. 15 reb. in victory over Iona – Jan. 3 (Siena 1,000^th win)
• Siena's Jonathan Breeden scores 24 pts vs. Iona in loss – Feb. 11
• UAlbany's Jayson Guerrier 28 pts, 10 reb. vs. Monmouth – Nov. 21
• Gerardo Suero 29 pts. vs. Colgate – Dec. 7
• Ambrose 15 pts 14 reb. 52-50 @ Stony (3^rd double-double, career-high rebounds) - Jan. 17
• Luke Devlin 11 pts & 11 reb. In victory over Hartford – Feb. 5
• Ambrose 22 pts in victory over Stony (past 1,500 career pts) – Feb. 14

J.S. Carras/The Record

ALBANY - Mitch Buonaguro has repeatedly stated that he likes a long time to prepare for a game.

On Thursday evening, the Saints showed that they were fully prepared to take down Princeton, winning 63-59.

Buonaguro is terrific with his game prep and the Saints knew everything the Tigers were doing.

“We were able to scout this team well, with the break that we had,” said junior O.D. Anosike,

Senior Kyle Downey said the team knew everything Princeton was going to run, like the back of their hands. 

“You shouldn't really score," Downey said. "He has every play called."

Usually a team doesn't have more than a day or two to prepare between games, but the Saints had nine days off due to final exams and Buonaguro took full advantage. 

Here is the postgame reaction from Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro, O.D. Anosike and Kyle Downey