LOUDONVILLE -  The mood in the locker room was one of despair and dejection.

The Siena players sat somewhat in disbelief, not that they had lost to Purdue for the second time in eight days, but how it had happened.

AP

The Saints led the Boilermakers by 16 points in the second half and watched it all slip away, as Purdue scored the game's final nine points to post a 68-63 victory at the Old Spice Classic.

There was plenty of blame to go around, but the Saints were hurting.

Lavon Long and Rob Poole had fouled out before the final media timeout. Brett Bisping and Evan Hymes each had shots late to keep the Saints' lead in tact.

"I was definitely disappointed -- we all were -- because it was definitely a winnable game," said Hymes.

Coach Jimmy Patsos was okay with the loss hurting because he wants the team to start

"That loss hurt," he said. "We could have beaten Purdue. We had a great opportunity to beat a Big Ten team."

Hymes, who matched for team-high honors with 17 points, took the loss especially hard, posting the following tweets not long after the loss and the 0-3 finish at the Old Spice.

So disappointed
— Evan Hymes (@EvanHymes5) December 2, 2013

Completely my fault
— Evan Hymes (@EvanHymes5) December 2, 2013

On Tuesday, coach Jimmy Patsos said this team needs to work better as a "we" and think less about the "me."

"We have to be careful in thinking one player is going to take us out of the situation that's occurred the last few years," he said. "We're doing fine. Organizations win."

Patsos said he spoke with Hymes on Monday about how he likes that he's been solid since being removed from the starting lineup and is helping to lead the younger guys.

"I really respect Evan for handling coming off the bench well," said Patsos.

He also said that he didn't fault Hymes for trying to do something late in the game, even though he would have preferred Hymes didn't try to do it all himself. Patsos also said it certainly wasn't Hymes alone that lost the game.

"No he didn't," Patsos said. "He's trying hard. He made a shot (attempt) to put us ahead."

Patsos said that Athletic Director John D'Argenio told him to plan out the work and then start working the plan.

"No one guy's going to say 'We're back, we're Siena and I did it,'" Patsos said. "It's going to be a 'We did it' and it's going to be a 'We did it', in terms of this great school the 25 years of great tradition and this great community."

Hymes said he spoke with former Siena player Conner Fenlon, when the team was down in Florida. Fenlon was a part of the 2008 team that also lost three games at Olld Spice and was reminding Hymes that team went on to win the league championship.

"That just shows you the MAAC championship is where you want to be and you want to be playing your best coming into March," said Hymes.  

While the team is just 2-7, the Saints have shown flashes that they can make a run come conference time.

"We just have to keep playing hard and playing well together," said junior Rob Poole.

The Siena men's basketball team wrapped up an unsuccessful trip to the Old Spice Classic on
Sunday.

AP

The Saints played well in spurts and would have felt good about coming home, had they closed the door against Purdue.

Siena led by 16 points in the second half, but the Boilermakers scored the game's final nine points, to post a 68-63 victory.

Here is postgame reaction from coach Jimmy Patsos, provided by the Siena athletic department.

It was the second time in eight days that the Boilermakers and Saints had met, with Purdue winning the two contests by a combined 13 points. 

The Saints lost to Memphis, Saint Joseph's and Purdue at the Old Spice and still have never won a game at this event.

In 2008, Fran McCaffery's eventual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, lost to Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Wichita State.

This year's bunch of Saints need to regroup quickly, as they open MAAC play on Friday, traveling to the Buffalo area to take on Niagara (Friday) and Canisius (Sunday).

On the other side of town, the University at Albany is back over .500, following Sunday afternoon's 66-55 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The win is the Great Danes' second victory this season over the Highlanders.

Senior guard DJ Evans led the way with 17 points, which is good since I wrote about him for Sunday's paper. 

UAlbany travels to Holy Cross on Wednesday evening.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Siena's season came to an end on Friday against Purdue.

Here are some stories from today's print edition.

One & done for Siena

End of line for Siena's sensational seniors

SPOKANE, Wash. - It was a big early second-half run that undid the Saints on this night.

Purdue started the second half on a 20-3 run to take a commanding 14-point lead.

Siena on 12-0 run to cut lead to three, 66-63, but couldn't get any closer.

SPOKANE, Wash. - It's been a pretty good first half.

Both teams started slow from the field, but things have picked up.

The Saints got things going as they mustered a 10-2 run to take a 3-point lead midway through the first 20 minutes.

From there, it's been pretty much back and forth.

The largest lead for either team was five, when the Boilermakers led 15-10.

Edwin Ubiles has 11 points to lead all scorers and Alex Franklin added 10.

It seems as if Franklin is getting to the basket whenever he wants to, although the referees were letting the teams play early and there were only about 10 fouls in the entire first half.

E'Twaun Moore leads Purdue with 10 points.

Clarence Jackson had not played for Siena.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Siena has taken the floor and Clarence Jackson is warming up with his teammates.

That could be a good sign for Saints fans.

Siena and Purdue tip off in about 50 minutes.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Hello all.

It's gameday here in Spokane.

The game is about an hour away, which means it almost mid-afternoon back home.

Here are the stories from today's paper if you haven't seen them.

Time for tip-off

Jackson plays waiting game

Purdue's Kramer sticks like glue

News

Siena fans ready to support team today

Two stories on Siena and their trip to the 2010 NCAA Tournament in today's paper.

The links are below.

'Team Rebound Supreme' tough on the opposition

Purdue a dangerous team

LOUDONVILLE - The Siena men’s basketball team will face Purdue in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

The Saints (27-6) were selected a No. 13 seed and are in the South Region where they will face the Boilermakers (27-5) on Friday in Spokane, Wash.

Siena will be making their third consecutive tournament appearance and sixth in school history.

The Saints earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s automatic bid after knocking off Fairfield 72-65 in overtime last Monday.

Siena’s 27 wins tie for the most in program history, matching both the 1949-50 team and last year’s squad.

Purdue enters the tournament after finishing tied for first in the Big Ten with a 14-4 conference record.

Siena and Purdue are meeting for the first time.

The Saints are 2-4 all-time against Big Ten opponents, but did beat Ohio State last season in the NCAA Tournament.

The winner of Friday’s matchup will play against the winner of No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 12 Utah State on Sunday.