Visiting Canisius learning to win and Siena knows it
The low point came earlier this month, in the form of a loss that set a record for its lopsidedness. At one point, Canisius coach Tom Parrotta pulled his regulars from the floor and said, "You know what, we're going to learn this the hard way."
This was the hard way: Rider 102, Canisius 51 -- the most one-sided victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference history.
"We were embarrassed, starting with me and right on down the lineup and the college as a whole," Parrotta said.
Canisius learned it hurts to lose.
Now it hopes to learn to win.
The Golden Griffins enter today's game against Siena at Times Union Center coming off their season high point, a victory over Niagara on Friday, televised across the country on ESPNU.
The win, Canisius' first over Niagara since 2002, ended with students storming the floor and Griffins players carrying each other off the court. Canisius (3-14, 1-6) won its first MAAC game and snapped a four-game losing streak.
The spinach-green Golden Griffs, with no healthy seniors on the roster, are trying to learn how to script an encore.
"I told them the hardest lesson as far as maturity is concerned is not responding after a tough loss, but a very big win," Parrotta said. "We've felt the frustration from losses. But on the other end, kids get carried off the court on national TV. Where do you go from there? This is all new to us."
The Saints preyed on the Griffs' youth Jan. 13 at Koessler Center, winning 72-44. Siena's advantages were many: The Saints shot better, won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, and forced 23 turnovers with an aggressive man-to-man defense that exploited individual matchups.
But after the game, Parrotta, a second-year coach, praised his team for competing for 40 minutes. He emphasizes small victories before greater ones.
"The kids know we're locked in for the long haul," Parrotta said. "You have to keep a stiff upper lip. I have to remind them not to get too down. It's frustrating when you work hard and you don't get a win."
Parrotta, too, acknowledges learning on the job.
A year ago, the Griffins started 1-5 in the MAAC before winning five consecutive league games. But that happened with two seniors in the starting lineup.
Instead, Parrotta this year turned to sophomore point guard Frank Turner, Canisius' leading scorer and last year's co-Rookie of the Year, to be the on- and off-the-floor leader. But Parrotta later realized he placed too heavy a burden on the still-maturing Turner.
"It's probably a lot of undue pressure on him that I've fed into," Parrotta said. "As I've looked back on the whole thing, I probably put too much on his shoulders. That's something you learn."
The Rider game aside, Parrotta lauded his team's work ethic, something also noted by Siena senior captain Tay Fisher, who described the Griffins as "scrappy."
"We have to respect them just as much as we did last time," Fisher said. "Otherwise they'll come in here and beat us, and it won't be a fluke."
Indeed, Siena coach Fran McCaffery said Canisius' victory over Niagara "wasn't a fluke." Canisius went ahead by six points on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 52 seconds to play and never saw the deficit trimmed after that."This wasn't a tip-in at the buzzer," McCaffery said. "They won the game."
Canisius' next lesson: Learn to follow the win with another.
"Now, our challenge as coaches and as a program is to put that behind us," Parrotta said. "We didn't have a parade downtown. We turned it right around and went full throttle and made sure we learned from that."
The low point came earlier this month, in the form of a loss that set a record for its lopsidedness. At one point, Canisius coach Tom Parrotta pulled his regulars from the floor and said, "You know what, we're going to learn this the hard way."
This was the hard way: Rider 102, Canisius 51 -- the most one-sided victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference history.
"We were embarrassed, starting with me and right on down the lineup and the college as a whole," Parrotta said.
Canisius learned it hurts to lose.
Now it hopes to learn to win.
The Golden Griffins enter today's game against Siena at Times Union Center coming off their season high point, a victory over Niagara on Friday, televised across the country on ESPNU.
The win, Canisius' first over Niagara since 2002, ended with students storming the floor and Griffins players carrying each other off the court. Canisius (3-14, 1-6) won its first MAAC game and snapped a four-game losing streak.
The spinach-green Golden Griffs, with no healthy seniors on the roster, are trying to learn how to script an encore.
"I told them the hardest lesson as far as maturity is concerned is not responding after a tough loss, but a very big win," Parrotta said. "We've felt the frustration from losses. But on the other end, kids get carried off the court on national TV. Where do you go from there? This is all new to us."
The Saints preyed on the Griffs' youth Jan. 13 at Koessler Center, winning 72-44. Siena's advantages were many: The Saints shot better, won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, and forced 23 turnovers with an aggressive man-to-man defense that exploited individual matchups.
But after the game, Parrotta, a second-year coach, praised his team for competing for 40 minutes. He emphasizes small victories before greater ones.
"The kids know we're locked in for the long haul," Parrotta said. "You have to keep a stiff upper lip. I have to remind them not to get too down. It's frustrating when you work hard and you don't get a win."
Parrotta, too, acknowledges learning on the job.
A year ago, the Griffins started 1-5 in the MAAC before winning five consecutive league games. But that happened with two seniors in the starting lineup.
Instead, Parrotta this year turned to sophomore point guard Frank Turner, Canisius' leading scorer and last year's co-Rookie of the Year, to be the on- and off-the-floor leader. But Parrotta later realized he placed too heavy a burden on the still-maturing Turner.
"It's probably a lot of undue pressure on him that I've fed into," Parrotta said. "As I've looked back on the whole thing, I probably put too much on his shoulders. That's something you learn."
The Rider game aside, Parrotta lauded his team's work ethic, something also noted by Siena senior captain Tay Fisher, who described the Griffins as "scrappy."
"We have to respect them just as much as we did last time," Fisher said. "Otherwise they'll come in here and beat us, and it won't be a fluke."
Indeed, Siena coach Fran McCaffery said Canisius' victory over Niagara "wasn't a fluke." Canisius went ahead by six points on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 52 seconds to play and never saw the deficit trimmed after that."This wasn't a tip-in at the buzzer," McCaffery said. "They won the game."
Canisius' next lesson: Learn to follow the win with another.
"Now, our challenge as coaches and as a program is to put that behind us," Parrotta said. "We didn't have a parade downtown. We turned it right around and went full throttle and made sure we learned from that."
