Jan. 23, 2012

Final Stats

Every once in a while, the duck shoots the hunter. Exactly 20 days after suffering its worst Division I conference loss ever at the hands of highly-hyped Iona under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, Siena shook off an early 20-2 deficit and drove right past the Gaels, 65-62, here at Times Union Center.

"Everyone counted us out, very few people thought we could win this game," Siena head coach Mitch Buonaguro said afterward. "We did."

Buonaguro called the win the biggest of his 50-game tenure at Siena. If the Saints play the way they did Monday night, that may not be the case for long.

Siena didn't take its first lead until senior Kyle Downey banged a three from the top of the key with 4:22 to play. It was the second of three huge shots Downey would make in the final moments. The last came when he circled to the left elbow, collected a feed from Evan Hymes, turned and rose in one motion, and calmly drilled a 17-footer that gave the Saints the lead again, 63-62, with 51 seconds left.

Then it was Iona's turn.

Lamont "Momo" Jones had taunted the Siena crowd all night with a smug smile that belied what was unfolding on the court. In the first half, he led his teammates and coaches in an odd, mocking-clap following an Iona technical foul. After the Gaels' turned back a Siena run early in the second half with eight unanswered points to push their expected lead to double digits again, he winked at the Saints' bench.

With 20 seconds left, Jones drove the lane, drew a triple team, slid the ball into his right hand, and lofted it high off the backboard. The ill-advised attempt was way off the mark.

The Gaels got the rebound, but Randy Dezouvre misfired on a contested, hurried three from the left wing. OD Anosike soared for the rebound, Siena's Rob Poole drew a foul, sank two free throws on the other end, and Kyle Smyth's rushed three to tie it as the final seconds ticked away crashed wildly off the background.

It was then Jones' eyes found a different target: the scoreboard.

Downey shot 7-13 and finished with 16 points in what may have been the defining game of his career.

"Kyle Downey deserved a night like this," Buonaguro said. "People have said he's a role player. He's not. He's the hardest worker we have had since I've been at Siena. He spent three hours in the gym every day over the summer."

Anosike pushed the nation's longest double-double streak to 15 games with 17 points and 15 boards. Rob Poole had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists off the bench - perhaps the best effort of his promising career. Hymes had 11 points, but was as important as any player on the floor, managing the Gaels' press and keeping the game at a reasonable tempo. Even seldom used sub Marcus Hopper contributed, playing 10 key minutes in the first half after Downey picked up his third foul.

Mike Glover led Iona with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Machado played through foul trouble to finish with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Jones ended with 14 points. He also attempted 20 shots.

Iona missed a chance to sweep Siena for the first time since 1996-97, and the Saints have now won 11 of the 12 games between the two schools here in Albany since 2000. Much more was at stake for the Gaels.

Iona had won seven of their first eight league games, and entered Albany with a 15-4 record that included wins over Maryland, Denver and Saint Joseph's. Their success had drawn comparisons to the Siena teams that won three straight MAAC Championships and two NCAA games. But if the Gaels are headed to "The Big Dance", they'll likely need to win three games in March to get there now.

How did Siena pull off the upset? Consider this: Sean Armand made a MAAC-record 10 3-pointers, finishing with 32 points in the Gaels 95-56 romp at The Garden. Iona fell just one three shy of the conference record that day, making 17 shots from distance. On Monday, they made just 3-16, and Armand didn't score, missing his only field goal attempt. In crunch time, Iona couldn't score. They had five points in the last nine minutes.

Meanwhile, the Saints entered the game as one of the 20 worst 3-point shooting teams in Division I, but they made 7-19 3-pointers, including 5-10 in the second half, on Monday.

Iona's swagger was not unsolicited. Siena did some talking prior to the beatdown in New York. Anosike told local reporters he felt Siena was still the "Cadillac" program in the MAAC. Scott Machado took those comments in stride, simply agreeing and offering that Iona was a "Bentley" program after the Gaels big win.

Anosike didn't say it, but plenty of Siena fans left Times Union Center thinking the same thing Monday night: The Cadillac is back.