Dec. 22, 2010
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
Were You Seen at the Game? Check Out Our Facebook Fan Gallery
Add Georgia Tech to the list. Again. Siena spoiled the homecoming of former head coach Paul Hewitt, and added another BCS school to its list of conquests. Riding a heroic effort from unstoppable Ryan Rossiter, the Saints overpowered and out-worked the Yellow Jackets in a potentially season-changing 62-57 triumph in Albany Wednesday night.
Prior to the game, the video scoreboard played highlights of the last time an ACC school visited Siena in this building, a 76-68 win over Georgia Tech in the 1994 NIT - considered the greatest home win in program history. The highlights foreshadowed what was about to unfold.
"I'm so elated," Siena head coach Mitch Buonaguro said after the biggest win of his young tenure at Siena. "The guts and grit of the team tonight was phenomenal."
Senior Clarence Jackson sat out with an ankle injury, and Rossiter played through a sickness that required two IVs, and a blow to the face late in the first half that sent him to the lockerroom for medical attention.
It didn't matter.
The senior scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half, and rounded out the 40th double-double of his stellar career with 13 rebounds. In a game against an ACC school featuring a probable all-league player, there was no questioning who the best player on the floor was.
"What a phenomenal performance," Buonaguro said of Rossiter. "After what he's been through this week, to play the way he did...I'm just so blessed to coach him."
If Rossiter was the star, Buonaguro was the director. Given eight days to prepare after last Monday's 72-69 win over Florida Atlantic, Siena's coaching staff put together a flawless gameplan.
The Saints played zone for nearly the entire game, and Georgia Tech struggled to find any clean looks, while committing nine second half turnovers. Buonaguro described the defense as a morphing zone, one that appeared to be a match-up but really wasn't. The ameba look worked, especially during a 13-2 second half run that turned a six-point deficit into a 49-44 lead with 9:51 to play. The Yellow Jackets would tie the game twice after that, but never regain the lead.
Siena limited Georgia Tech to just 21 second half points, and 8-26 (31%) from the field. It was an impressive effort for any team, but especially for this one which entered the game eighth in the MAAC in scoring defense with over 74 points allowed per game.
In the four games the opposition has failed to reach 70, Siena is 4-0. In fact, it was the 50th straight victory for the Saints when holding their opponent to fewer than 70.
The Saints threw the first punch, jumping out to a 20-10 lead on a dunk by Davis Martens, but Georgia Tech scored 26 of the next 32 points to take a 36-26 lead with 2:07 to play in the first half. In the process, Rossiter was knocked out of the game after being poked in the eye by Mfon Udofia and the energy was knocked out of the building. Temporarily.
Siena rallied to score the final four points of the first half and went to the lockerroom down just 36-30. It turned out to be a key sequence in the game, as the Saints were in striking distance to make their critical second half run.
Rossiter did have plenty of help. Kyle Downey scored 12 points in just the third start of his career in place of Jackson, and OD Anosike added 11 points and eight boards in 31 strong minutes. Davis Martens played a huge role off the bench scoring eight points and pulling down nine rebounds.
Rossiter, Anosike and Martens fortified Siena's frontline which was instrumental in the Saints' +5 rebounding margin.
Siena made 6-8 free throws in the final 40 seconds to make sure Georgia Tech got no closer than three points. Maurice Miller missed two 3-pointers on the same possession with his team down 56-53 and just over a minute to play. It was the last time the Yellow Jackets would have the ball with a chance to tie.
Georgia Tech was flying high after a 67-54 pasting of CAA contender Richmond in the Bahamas Saturday. Siena meanwhile entered the game just 3-6 and 1-4 at home, but has been in all 10 games against one of the more challenging schedules in the nation.
"This is the win we needed now," Buonaguro told his team in the lockerroom moments after the win. "We should have confidence going into any game the rest of the way."
The next one is at Saint Bonaventure December 28. There will be time to prepare for that one, but for now these Saints can enjoy their Christmas Holiday knowing they were part of one of the great wins in program history. Again.
