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%).

ALBANY - For about six minutes on Monday evening, the Siena men's basketball team played about as well as it possibly can.

The Saints went on a 22-0 run to turn a 13-point deficit into a lead they wouldn't surrender, eventually knocking off Fordham 79-69, in front of 6,131 fans in downtown Albany.

“It was a pretty big win," said junior Evan Hymes, who finished with 12 points and three assists, off the bench. 

What it means: Siena doesn't have the best record, but the team has picked up some nice victories, beating two Atlantic 10 teams (Fordham, St. Bonaventure) and knocking off Hofstra here last week.

This team was picked 10th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference poll, but if they play like they have been over the past few weeks, they will almost certainly finish higher in the standings.

Player of the game: Siena coach Jimmy Patsos said it was Hymes' emotion that got the team over the top, but fellow junior Rob Poole was awesome. He scored 20 of the team's first 40 points and finished with a career-high 28. Poole also chipped in six rebounds and helped guard the terrific guards Fordham has. Poole has elevated his game at both ends of the floor and is playing like an all-conference play.

Play of the game: Trailing 53-40, the Saints went on a 22-0 run that spanned 6:35. Siena went into a zone defense and the crowd helped spur them on offensively. The Rams couldn't score and the Saints couldn't be stopped.

“Without the fans, we wouldn’t have been as pumped up," said Poole.

Up next: Siena only has a few days off before their first game in 2014, at Monmouth, on Thursday. From here on out, it's all MAAC play for the Saints.

ALBANY - The Siena men's basketball team played its best half of the season in the second half on Monday night.

The Saints scored 52 points and erased a 13-point deficit to post a 79-69 victory over Fordham, in front of 6,131 fans in downtown Albany.

Siena (5-8) was led by junior Rob Poole, who scored a career-high 28 points, to lead four players in double figures.

The Rams (7-5) were led by Mandell Thomas, who scored 20 points.

After an abysmal shooting first half, the Saints finished 16-for-29 (55.2%) after intermission.

The Saints trailed 53-40, before going on a 22-0 run that gave them the lead for good.

Siena has now won two straight games and three of its last four. The Saints travel south to take on Monmouth, on Thursday.

ALBANY - To say Siena struggled to start Monday's game would be a strong understatement.

The Saints figured some things out and trail Fordham just 34-27 after the first half.

Siena got 12 points from Rob Poole, but not much else. The Saints shot just 8-for-28 (28.6%) for the half. 

The Rams didn't play much better, getting 11 points from Branden Frazier, who heated up late in the half.

ALBANY - Siena's young players keep maturing right before our eyes.

The Saints have been in a number of close games and yet they haven't really played like inexperienced players.

Siena used a balanced effort to get past Hofstra, 67-59, on Friday evening. The Saints are now 3-3, in games decided by eight points or less (two of the losses came to Purdue).

What it means:  The Saints have proved they are a better team at home, with a 2-1 record, and having won their past two games. That should bode well for this team, which plays four of its next five on the road, including three MAAC games.

Siena got a lot of balance in this game, having four players in double figures and Marquis Wright adding eight. If they can get that kind of balance, they will be a tough team to defend, come the return of conference play.

Player of the game: Rob Poole didn't have a terrific game offensively, but he finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. In addition, he guarded Hofstra's top player Zeke Upshaw, who had a miserable game, going 2-for-17 from the field and finishing with just seven points.

Play of the game: After Dion Nesmith drained a 3-pointer to cut Siena's lead to 53-51, Wright got an open look at calmly drained a 3-pointer to put the Saints back five. Wright was just 2-for-10 from beyond the arc coming into the game, but didn't hesitate to let it fly.

On that play, Patsos moved Evan Hymes to the point guard position and that allowed Wright to find himself open.

Injury Update: Freshman Javion Ogunyemi played for the first time in a month, after suffering an ankle injury in the St. Bonaventure game. While he finished with zero points (0-3 shooting), he played 12 minutes and had two rebounds.

“I just have to work on my conditioning and my game will get back to where it needs to be," he said.

Up next: The Saints are off for a week before they host Fordham, in the final non-conference game of the year.

ALBANY - The Siena men's basketball team closed out another game on Friday evening.

The Saints held the lead throughout the second half, despite Hofstra constantly coming closer and closer, to post a 67-59 victory.

Maurice White, Lavon Long and Rob Poole all scored 14 points for the Saints (4-8).

The Pride (3-7) were led by Jamall Robinson, who scored a career-high 16.

ALBANY - The Siena men's basketball team played well for about 15 minutes, but finished very sloppy.

The Saints led by as many as 13, but lead Hofstra by just five, 28-23, at intermission.

Siena was led by freshmen Lavon Long and Maurice White. Long had 10 points, while White scored eight and grabbed eight rebounds, already a career-high.

The Pride started the half shooting very poorly from the field, but were led by Chris Jenkins, who scored eight points off the bench in the first half.

Troy High grad Javion Ogunyemi played his first action since the last home game, Nov. 19 against St. Bonaventure. Ogunyemi played seven minutes and missed all three shots he took.

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.

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.

The Siena men's basketball team started way too slow on Friday evening, falling to Saint Joseph's 78-66, in the Old Spice Classic.

The Saints were down by 20 points at halftime and basically out of it.

"I thought we came out awful slow," assistant coach Greg Manning said on the radio postgame. "We were disappointed with the effort in the first half."

Here is link to the box score.

Freshman Lavon Long led the way for the Saints (2-6), with 13 points, while junior Rob Poole added 12.

The Hawks (3-2) were led by Langston Galloway, who scored a game-high 27 points. 

Siena will place in the 7th place game, on Sunday at 5 p.m., against Purdue. It will be a rematch of last Sunday's game (11/24), which the Boilermakers won 81-73.

AP

AP

The Siena men's basketball team started well, but No. 21 Memphis was far too good on Thanksgiving
evening.

The Tigers had just too much offense and size for the younger Saints, posting a 87-60 victory at the Old Spice Classic.

Coach Jimmy Patsos wasn't thrilled with the effort, especially in the middle of the game, saying, "I expect us to compete a little harder."

Memphis coach Josh Pastner had high praise for Patsos and the Saints.

"I think Siena should give him a lifetime contract," Pastner said to the AP. "He's the best. His teams play so hard. If I'm Siena's president, I would lock Coach Patsos up right now. I wouldn't wait. That program is going to get to where you're consistently going to the NCAA tournament."

The Saints play Saint Joseph's on Friday evening, at 8 p.m., on ESPNU.

Siena has already played two Atlantic 10 schools, losing at La Salle and defeated St. Bonaventuue, at home.

AP

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