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%).

J.S. Carras/The Record

LOUDONVILLE — When Ali Jaques was hired as the new women’s basketball coach in April, it was made quite clear how important the Pink Zone game is to the program and the community.
Jaques, whose father, Steve, has battled cancer, knew it was something that she cared passionately about as well.

“Everybody’s been touched by cancer at some point in their life, whether it’s a loved one or a friend,” she said. “Anything we can do to promote research and promote raising money is really important.”

Siena and Capital Region Action Against Breast Cancer (CRAAB!) have been partnering for 13 years, bringing awareness and raising money to fight cancer. Last year, the Saints raised $25,853 in there game and tonight, when they take on Rider, at 7 p.m., they are shooting to raise $30,000.

“Our players love this game,” Jaques said. “It’s become a fantastic tradition on the campus and in this community and I’m just lucky to be a part of it.”

Jaques also had the chance to coach against the late Kay Yow, who coached N.C. State to more than 700 victories and passed away from cancer in 2009.

“It’s special,” Jaques said. “It’s like Coach (Jim) Valvano is for the men and Coaches vs. Cancer.”
The game is also important, as the Saints (5-7, 9-14) and Broncs (6-6, 11-12) are both right in a logjam in the middle of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings. Jaques, a native of Rosemont, N.J., got her coaching start, at Rider as an assistant (1998-99).

Like in past years, the Saints will wear pink jerseys and encourage fans to wear pink to the game. Siena will hold a special survivors recognition honoring local breast cancer survivors on the court, recognizing their courageous battles against the disease. CRAAB! will also have tables and displays set up with vital information on the fight against breast cancer.

“In our community, it’s extremely well supported and I think that’s a great indication of the community of Albany and Siena itself and how this community can rally and care about something more than just a basketball game,” she said.

For more information, visit SienaSaints.com/PinkZone.

The University at Albany bounced back from its 25-point drubbing against Vermont, with a solid performance against Binghamton.

The Great Danes knocked off the Bearcats, 71-59, behind 21 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore Sam Rowley, in his first career start.

UAlbany (2-1, 13-4) is now off until Saturday's home game against Maine.

On the other hand, Siena continues to slide.

The Saints (0-4, 2-13) have now lost 11 straight games and are still in search of their first league victory.

After taking a step forward on Friday, in a narrow loss to a very talented Iona team, Siena was blown out on Sunday by Rider. 

The Saints are off until Friday night's game against Canisius. 

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.

Siena sophomore Rob Poole talks about the team's struggles and what they have to do to be successful in the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game against Rider.

Here is UAlbany coach Will Brown, reacting to his team's 70-61 victory over Rider.


Below is Rider coach Tommy Dempsey and his opening statments to the media.

ALBANY - It was the Jacob Iati show on Saturday evening.

The senior, academically, scored a career-high 20 points, as the University at Albany earned a 70-61 victory over Rider.

Iati was honored on Senior Night and then went out and knocked down six 3-pointers in the win. 

Mike Black added a game-high 23 points, while Jayson Guerrier, who knocked down four treys, finished with 15 points.

The Great Danes (17-13) have more wins than they did last season, when they finished 16-16 and finish the regular season 10-3 at home. They also picked up their ninth non-conference victory, the most in the program's Division I history.

UAlbany played without Gerardo Suero (ill), Logan Aronhalt (knee), Luke Devlin (knee) and Ralph Watts (hamstring).

The Broncs (11-18) played without second leading scorer Brandon Penn (knee) and were led by Jeff Jones, who finished with 18 points, while Novar Gadson added 11.

The Great Danes finish up America East Conference play, against Binghamton, on Thursday, out in Vestal.

ALBANY - No players, no problem for the University at Albany.

Well, the Great Danes actually have players on the court, but it's certainly not their regular attack.

Gerardo Suero (shingles), Logan Aronhalt (knee), Luke Devlin (knee) and Ralph Watts (hamstring) are all sitting out with injuries.

UAlbany has hit seven 3-pointers and is shooting 7-for-12 (58.3%) from beyond the arc. Mike Black leads the way with 12 points, while Jayson Guerrier added 11 for the Great Danes.

Jacob Iati, who was being honored on Senior Night, here at SEFCU Arena, has hit three 3-pointers and has nine points.

Rider is led by Jeff Jones, who has 10 points, while Anthony Myles has eight. Myles had an icebag on his hand as he walked to the locker room for intermission.

J.S. Carras/The Record

Tonight's regular season home finale for UAlbany will be interesting.

The Great Danes will likely be without three-fifths of their starting lineup because the game doesn't mean as much as the regular season finale or the upcoming conference tournament.

Rider could be without some players as well, as they have had a couple players miss games recently due to sickness.

If both teams were at full strength, this would be a track meet.

As it is, UAlbany will try to slow things down.

Both teams would like finish the regular season strong and the winner will get some momentum, heading into the final week.

UALBANY VS RIDER

Where: SEFCU Arena (4,538), Albany
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
Radio: WOFX – 980-AM (Rodger Wyland)
Last Meeting: Rider 52, UAlbany 42, at Trenton, N.J. on March 6, 1958 — Rider leads the all-time series 1-0
Records: Rider (11-17) UAlbany (16-13) 

Probable Starters

RIDER

No    Player     Pos.    Yr.    Ht.    Ppg
5    Jonathon Thompson    G    Jr.    6-4    7.1
10    Anthony Myles    G    Sr.    6-5    10.2
13    Daniel Stewart    F    So.    6-7    11.7
23    Novar Gadson    F    Sr.     6-7    10.2
31    Brandon Penn    F    Sr.    6-8     12.5

UALBANY

No    Player    Pos.    Yr.    Ht.    Ppg
1     Jacob Iati    G    Jr     5-10     2.7
10    Mike Black    G    Jr.    6-0    13.0
30    Jayson Guerrier    G/F     Jr.    6-4    5.9
22    Ralph Watts     G/F    So    6-5     2.6
21     Blake Metcalf    F     Jr.     6-9     4.8

Today’s Games

Stony Brook at Northeastern    1 p.m.
Niagara at Vermont     2 p.m.
Marist at Maine     2 p.m.
UMBC at Canisius    2 p.m.
UNC-Wilmington at Manhattan    2 p.m.
Hartford at Saint Peter’s    2 p.m.
Towson at New Hampshire    3 p.m.
Binghamton at Radford    4 p.m.
Fairfield at Milwaukee    4 p.m.
Nevada at Iona (ESPN2)    4 p.m.
Siena at Hofstra    4 p.m.
Rider at UAlbany    7 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Boston U. at Loyola (Md.)    12 p.m.

J.S. Carras/The Record

The University at Albany learned of its ESPN BracketBusters opponent on Monday evening.

The Great Danes will get MAAC foe Rider, which just beat Siena on Sunday, 83-72. The Saints beat the Broncs earlier in the season.

The game is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m., at SEFCU Arena.

“Facing Albany will be a real test for us,” Rider coach Tommy Dempsey told The Trentonian's Kyle Franko. “We look forward to the challenge.”

The Broncs are 6-5 at in fifth place in the MAAC, with a 9-14 record overall. They have played much better recently, as they started the season 1-11. Rider was picked fourth in the MAAC preseason poll.

It should be a good, exciting matchup as both teams can score and are pretty talented. 

Jackie Schear/For The Record

Here is a link to Sunday's game story, won by Rider of Siena, filed by Kyle Franko, a writer at our sister paper, The Trentonian.

Also making news for Siena was the fact that OD Anosike was named MAAC Player of the Week, while Rob Poole was named MAAC Rookie of the Week.

Siena will take on Hofstra, of the Colonial Athletic Association, on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m., in an ESPN BracketBusters game.

J.S. Carras/The Record

Below is a game capsule for Sunday's pivotal MAAC game between Siena and Rider. 

The two teams are 5-5 in the league and if Siena can win they'll earn the tiebreaker of Rider, because they beat them earlier this season. 

SIENA AT RIDER

When: Today, 2 p.m.
Where: Alumni Gymnasium (1,650), Lawrenceville, N.J. 
Radio: TALK 1300-AM (Robert Lee, Andy Grazulis)
2011-12 Records: Siena (5-5, 10-10) Rider (5-5, 8-14) 
Last Meeting: Siena 83, Rider 79 at Times Union Center, Albany, on Jan. 12, 2012 — Siena leads the all-time series 25-11

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
SIENA

No., Name, Pos., Yr., Ht., Avg.
5, Evan Hymes, G, Fr., 5-8, 14.1
3, Kyle Downey, G, Sr., 6-2, 12.7
31, Owen Wignot, F, Sr., 6-6, 5.7
1, OD Anosike, F, Jr., 6-8, 15.2
0, Brandon Walters, C, Sr., 6-8, 6.1

RIDER

No., Name, Pos., Yr., Ht., Avg.     
5, Jonathon Thompson, G, Jr., 6-4, 7.0 
15, Eddie Mitchell, G, Fr., 6-0, 4.8
13, Daniel Stewart, F, So., 6-7, 12.5
23, Novar Gadson, G/F, Sr., 6-7, 9.4
31, Brandon Penn, F, Sr., 6-8, 12.6

MAAC STANDINGS

School, Conference, Overall
Iona, 8-2, 16-5
Loyola (Md), 8-2, 15-5
Manhattan, 8-2, 15-7
Fairfield, 5-4, 10-10
Rider, 5-5, 8-14
Siena, 5-5, 10-10
Niagara, 4-6, 9-13
St. Peter’s, 3-7, 4-17
Marist, 2-7, 7-13
Canisius, 1-9, 4-16

Today’s Games

Marist at Fairfield, 1 p.m.
Siena at Rider, 2 p.m.
Loyola (Md.) at Canisius, 2:15 p.m.
Manhattan at Niagara, 4 p.m.
Iona at Saint Peter’s, 4:30 p.m.

Siena Athletics

ALBANY - There have been a few constants this season for Siena.

When the Saints play well, it's likely that senior Brandon Walters is doing the same.

Walters had a career night on Thursday, posting 14 points and 12 rebounds in the 83-79 victory over Rider.

Siena jumped all over Rider early and led by as many as 21 points in the first half.

“We just came out and played harder," Walters said. "Our team chemistry has been very good and we're just trying to build on that.”

Walters has averaged 7.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in Siena's eight victories. He has also posted his only three career double-doubles (Rider, UAlbany. Mount St. Mary's) in wins. 

In the Saints eight losses, Walters is averaging just 4.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. 

“I've had an up and down season," he said. "But the coaching staff still has confidence in me.”

Walters bounced back from one of his worst games of the year, in the victory over Niagara, where he scored zero points and grabbed just two rebounds. 

“OD (Anosike) played a pheonmenal game," Walters said of his frontcourt mate. "So it took a lot of pressure off me.”

 

Walters and OD Anosike really give Siena a nice 1-2 punch down low, especially for a mid-major school.

Walters scored four of the Saints' final 11 points, running a fast break and putting back a miss and then calmly knocking down two free throws in the final moments, to help seal the victory.

Thursday's victory also got Siena back to .500 in both the MAAC (3-3) and overall (8-8). 

“We've been trying to get to .500," Walters said. "And we did it tonight.”

ALBANY - The Siena men's basketball team is back to .500

The Saints have won five of their past six games, maybe the best win coming Thursday evening, posting an 83-79 victory over Rider.

OD Anosike posted his 12th consecutive double-double, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Brandon Walters set a career-high in points (14) and matched a career-high in rebounds (12).

Siena (3-3, 8-8) also got 20 points from Evan Hymes.

The Saints led by 22 points, with 12 minuets to play, but the Broncs (3-3, 6-12) came storming back.

Rider was led by Jeff Jones, who scored 17 points off the bench. Jones was one of five Broncs in double figures.

The Broncs finished the game on a 19-9 run, after senior Kyle Downey fouled out for Siena.

The Saints head out on the road to take on Manhattan, on Saturday.

ALBANY - Siena couldn't have played a much better first half than they did on Thursday evening.

The Saints led by as many as 21 points, going up 47-26 after a layup from Brandon Walters.

Rider finished the half on a 7-0 run, to get back into things.

The Saints were led by OD Anosike, who finished the first half with 15 points and eight rebounds. The junior is well on the way to a 12th consecutive double-double. Evan Hymes added 11.

The Saints have such a big lead, in part, because they are attacking the Broncs zone. Meanwhile, Rider has been very passive against Siena's zone.The Broncs are shooting 5-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Siena is outrebounding Rider big and already has 10 offensive rebounds. Brandon Walters is playing very well for the Saints,.

Rider was led in the first half by Novar Gadson, who has eight points.

Siena suddenly finds itself right in the middle of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings.

Six of the MAAC's 10 teams are either 3-2 or 2-3, after five league games and two of those teams meet tonight in downtown Albany.

It's a critical game, as both the Broncs and the Saints have been playing much better of late and one team will continue that with a win.

Here is a link to the game advance that appears in Thursday's print edition.

Below, junior forward OD Anosike talks about the game, before Wednesday's practice at the ARC.

ALBANY - Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro talks about Monday night's 68-60 loss to Rider.

ALBANY - Siena played better in the second half, but it wasn't good enough.

Ryan Rossiter finished with 26 points, but the team had trouble finding more scoring and dropped their second straight conference game.

Justin Robinson led four Rider players in double figures with 19 points.

Novar Gadson added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Broncs (6-3, 14-7).

Rakeem Brookins chipped in 10 for the Saints (4-5, 7-12).

ALBANY - The Saints played pretty horrible in the first half.

They shot just 22.9 percent (8-35) from the field.

Ryan Rossiter leads the way for the Saints with 10 points.

Novar Gadson and Justin Robinson each have eight points for the Broncs.

Clarence Jackson is not playing for Siena, as he misses another game with an ankle sprain.