Nov. 16, 2010

Final Stats

Siena (0-2) had every opportunity to pull off a big upset at Big Ten foe Minnesota on national television Monday, but ultimately the Saints gave that chance away. Siena played well in every area except one, committing 24 turnovers allowing Minnesota (2-0) to rally from an 11-point first half deficit, and a six-point second half deficit, to pull out a 76-69 win at Williams Arena.

"It was our turnovers that lost the game," a frustrated Mitch Buonaguro said after the game. "There was no other area. The only difference in this game was the turnovers. It's as simple as that."

Clarence Jackson scored a career-high 29 points and made 11-18 field goals and 5-8 3-pointers. He nearly won the game by himself.

Siena made its first five field goals, and behind Jackson led 27-16 with 10:24 left. Minnesota was able to rally after three Siena starters were forced to the bench with two fouls by the 4-minute mark, but the Saints clung to a 34-33 lead at the break.

Siena scored the first five points of the second half to push the lead back to six, but the Gophers used a 7-0 run to take a 43-42 lead into the first media timeout. Siena's last lead, 48-47, came on a Jackson 3-pointer with 12:19 left.

The Gophers pushed the lead to 59-49 just three minutes later, forcing Siena to burn its final timeout. But the Saints kept their composure, and behind 10 late points from freshman point guard Rakeem Brookins, they closed the gap to four three times in the final two minutes.

Every time it seemed the Saints were geared up to turn the corner and really put the heat on, a costly turnover bailed Minnesota out.

"They were turnovers on entry passes," Buonaguro said. "It wasn't anything Minnesota did."

Still, Buonaguro was encouraged by the effort his team gave, especially down the stretch.

"I'll be honest, it's really encouraging how hard we played at the end of the game," he said. "It's the second game in a row now that we really battled back, and Brookins was in the middle of both those comebacks. He's going to be a really good player for us, but right now he's out of control."

Brookins finished with 12 points but had six of Siena's 24 turnovers and no assists.

Siena shot 51% from the field and 53% from 3-point range. They also hung in there on the glass against the bigger Gophers, trailing just 36-32 in rebounding. On Saturday they'll try for their first win at Northeastern.