Nov. 19, 2013
Box Score
Chances are Jimmy Patsos will never forget his first Siena win.
Freshman Marquis Wright made a wild, contested layup with 0.2 on the clock to lift Siena past sister school St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10, 72-70, in the annual battle for the Franciscan Cup Tuesday night in Albany.
"What a gutty win," Patsos said.
How gutty?
Consider this: Siena lost starting center Javion Ogunyemi to an ankle injury less than four minutes into the game, and then saw big men Imoh Silas and Lavon Long foul out, but they managed to hang on against one of the biggest teams in college basketball.
Sophomore reserve Brett Bisping was a major reason why.
Bisping played the game of his career, logging 13 points, seven rebounds and a block in 28 minutes played. His three-pointer with three minutes left put the Saints up two, and although St. Bonaventure tied the game twice in the final minutes, they never led again.
Bisping's biggest play may have come on the Bonnies' final possession when he induced a traveling violation on Youssou Ndoye when isolated in the post with nine seconds left and the game tied 70-70.
Patsos called timeout to setup the final play of the game, and Wright never gave the ball up after taking the inbounds pass 90-feet from the basket. He came off a high ball screen by Poole with three seconds left and drove hard right, banking the winning basket with an impossible angle.
Patsos said the final score was modeled off an Orlando Magic play, and Wright had the option to pass back to Poole, but instead seized the moment.
The Cup arrives in Loudonville for the first time since the trophy was created in 2010, and it will reside in the office of the man who designed it - Siena president Fr. Kevin Mullen. That fact wasn't lost on Patsos, who told media after the game that his final message to his team was to: "Win the Cup for Fr. Kevin".
"He signs your scholarships," Patsos joked.
The Saints never would have been in position to win had it not been for a 48-point first half. Maurice White's corner 3-pointer with five seconds left capped off a 10-2 run that put Siena up 10 at the break. The first stanza was made more impressive by the fact that leading scorer Rob Poole was held scoreless. Wright had seven assists without a turnover before intermission.
"It's been different guys and that's encouraging," Patsos said.
St. Bonaventure used an 8-1 run to pull within 51-48 less than four minutes into the second half, but the Bonnies led just once in the final 20 minutes, taking a 66-65 lead with 3:31 to play before Bisping's key shot.
Long had another complete game, posting 15 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals in just 23 minutes. Silas was also a huge factor before fouling out with 13:02 to play. He ended with six points, five rebounds and three blocks. Maurice White had nine points, three rebounds and three assists.
"This proves we can be pretty good," Patsos said.
The next test comes Friday night at Cornell.
