Jan. 11, 2010
Final Stats
ALBANY, N.Y. - Clarence Jackson sunk three of his five second half 3-pointers during a decisive 15-1 run that turned a one point deficit into a 13-point lead as Siena pulled away from Canisius, 82-70, in a wild, contentious contest at Times Union Center. The victory was the Saints' seventh straight and ran the nation's second longest home court winning streak to 30.
Jackson was held scoreless in just nine minutes of action in the opening half, but his 15 second half points were the difference in the game. Siena (13-4, 6-0) connected on 6-of-11 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes and tied a season-high with 10 threes on 19 attempts. The Saints entered the game shooting just 28.3% from beyond the arc this season.
In a competitive first half, the teams exchanged three early ties and four lead changes. Siena led 27-17 midway through the half, but Canisius (8-9, 3-3) answered with a 19-9 run to tie the score and trailed just 41-38 at intermission after tallying 12 second chance points.
An otherwise innocuous game turned heated in the opening moments of the second half when Siena's Alex Franklin hit the floor hard after battling for a rebound with Canisius' Robert Goldsberry. Franklin was slow getting up and the play ended with Ryan Rossiter receiving a technical foul for grabbing Goldsberry's jersey. The altercation raised the tension level in the arena and Goldsberry was booed heavily each time he touched the ball from then on. Franklin and Goldsberry collided in the MAAC Tournament last year in a play that resulted in Goldsberry being knocked unconscious.
Canisius took its only lead of the second half at 59-58 with 12:20 remaining following a go-ahead three from Alshawn Hymes.
But following the media timeout, Jackson hit back-to-back threes to begin the decisive run and Siena never looked back, leading by double figures for the final 8:40 in running its winning streak over Canisius to nine straight. Siena has won all six of its league games by double figures this season.
MAAC Player of the Week Edwin Ubiles led Siena with 22 points and Ryan Rossiter added his seventh double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Ronald Moore also tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists, while turning the ball over just once.
The conference's leading scorer Frank Turner led all players with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting. The Griffs got strong contributions from its bench as Rishawn Johnson tallied 13 points and Julius Coles added 10 helping Canisius' second unit outscored the Saints' 29-10.
The win sets up a first place showdown with Fairfield (5-1) Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport. Game time is set for 4 p.m. from the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.
