March 10, 2002
GAME: Siena (16-18) vs. Alcorn State (20-9).
REGIONAL: East, Play-in Game.
TIME: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EST.
SITE: Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio.
Siena fought its way into the NCAA tournament by winning four games in four days while playing host to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. The Saints will now try to fight past Alcorn State to reach the field of 64 as the bottom two teams in the field of 65 meet Tuesday at Dayton, Ohio.
The Saints (16-18) are the only team in the NCAA tournament field with a losing record this year, and the first since the 1999 Florida A&M squad reached the first round after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament. That Rattlers squad needed those three wins just to enter their game against Duke with a 12-18 record.
Yet Rob Lanier's team is riding the momentum of its conference tournament victory. Despite being a seventh seed, the Saints were able to use their home-court advantage at the Pepsi Center in Albany, N.Y., to reel off four wins in four days, capped by their 92-77 victory over Niagara in the championship game Monday.
"They know that we weren't a group of losers," Lanier said. "We just didn't do enough winning to have the kind of confidence it takes to be a great team, but we kept working hard. They continued to trust in what we were doing and we continued to have patience with them."
Dwayne Archbold, who averages 20.3 points, again proved to be Siena's go-to player by averaging 27.8 points in the four MAAC tournament victories. He scored 30 in the championship game, his third 30-point effort of the season.
Siena's lone tournament win came in 1989, when the 14th-seeded Saints upset third-seeded Stanford in the first round. Their last appearance was in 1999.
Alcorn State is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999, when the Braves - who won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles - pushed Stanford hard in the first round as a 15th seed in the West Region.
The Braves, who carry a six-game winning streak into this contest, captured the automatic bid with a 70-67 victory over Alabama State on Saturday. Marcus Fleming had 20 points and eight rebounds for Alcorn State, which avenged a loss to the Hornets in last year's SWAC tournament title game.
"You make your own fortune," said coach Davey Whitney, who has led the Braves to all six of their NCAA tournament appearances in 26 years. "We forgot about last year. That game was not even in the picture at the beginning of the season."
Aside from a victory over Division I newcomer Morris Brown, the Braves have no non-conference victories over established schools. Alcorn State started its season with losses at New Mexico State, Southern Mississippi, New Mexico, UAB and fellow tournament participant Hawaii.
The winner of this game will face top-seeded Maryland on Friday.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Siena - F Archbold (20.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg), F Justin Miller (6.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg), C James Clinton (6.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg), G Andy Cavo (6.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg), G Prosper Karangwa (10.6 ppg, 2.9 apg).
Alcorn State - F Brian Jackson (10.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg), F Fleming (14.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg), C Walter Harper (8.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg), G Jeff Cammon (6.9 ppg, 4.2 apg), G Jason Cable (11.9 ppg, 2.4 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Siena - Automatic bid, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion. Alcorn State - Automatic bid, Southwestern Athletic Conference champion.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Siena - 1-2, 3 years. Alcorn State - 3-5, 6 years.
