Jan. 17, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
Ryan Rossiter wasn't about to let this one slip away. Just 10 days after his last second jumper was swatted away as the buzzer sounded in Siena's 62-61 loss at Canisius, the senior rocked the Griffs for 28 points and 10 rebounds, including the go-ahead free throws with 59 seconds to play in Siena's 73-69 win Monday night in Albany.
It was Siena's fourth straight home win after starting the season with four consecutive losses in this building.
Rossiter's monster effort offset a sensational performance by Canisius guard Gaby Belardo, who scored a game-high 29 points, and helped his team rally from a 15-point first half deficit to set up a scintillating finish.
Belardo's last basket of the night was a contested, rainbow three from the right wing that gave Canisius its only lead of the game, 69-68, with 1:20 to play.
Siena worked the ball to Rossiter on its next possession, and the senior drew contact inside, setting up the winning free throws.
Belardo misfired on a go-ahead three on the Griffs next possession, and after a timeout, Rossiter found Clarence Jackson with a homerun pass, and the senior's dunk put the Saints up three with 15 seconds to play.
Up three, the Saints chose not to foul, and forced Belardo to take a wild, contested three with two seconds left. Jackson made one of two free throws with 0.7 on the clock to seal the win and account for the final margin.
Siena came out firing, grabbing a 27-12 lead less than 12-minutes into the game on Owen Wignot's layup. The Griffs cut that lead to 41-34 at the break, scoring nine of the last 11 points of the half.
Canisius quickly closed the lead to 43-42 on a conventional 3-point play by Belardo, but Siena regrouped and ran off seven unanswered points to push the lead back to eight. The Griffs used a late 12-3 run, sparked by eight straight points from Belardo, to take their only lead.
Siena dominated the game inside, controlling a 38-31 edge on the glass. OD Anosike scored all 10 of his points in the first half to complement Rossiter's huge effort.
Freshman point guard Rakeem Brookins continues to develop. He ended with 10 points, six assists and a turnover. Jackson scored 15 points, despite missing 12 of the 17 shots he took, including eight of 10 3-pointers.
Julius Coles was the only other Canisius player to reach double-figures, finishing with 10 points.
Siena will try for its first three-game win streak of the season on national television when they travel to face Saint Peter's Friday night at 9 p.m.
