Saints ready for key road contest at Loyola
The Siena men's basketball team was just a few minutes past surviving an overtime scare when coach Fran McCaffery, in his postgame address to the players, mentioned another upset bid that did come to fruition.
On what was a surprising Saturday in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Rider fell to Loyola, which is the team Siena faces today in Baltimore.
There was more: On the same day Siena held off Mount St. Mary's, 79-76, at Times Union Center, Iona knocked off Niagara, and previously winless Marist beat Manhattan.
The league results, coupled with a scare from the 3-10 Mountaineers, gave the Saints (10-4) a reminder not to take anything for granted as they move into the heart of the MAAC schedule during the next six weeks.
"Iona beat Niagara?" Siena forward Alex Franklin said. "That's our league in nutshell. It's crazy. Every year our league just gets really, really wild. That's why you have to be in control of your own destiny and take care of business every night."
Strangely enough, even with everyone only having played three league games, just two MAAC teams are undefeated: Siena and Fairfield. Rider and Niagara, expected to be Siena's top two challengers, are 1-2 and 2-1, respectively.
Loyola, which last season was just 12-20 overall and 7-11 in the MAAC, is among the teams that appear to be much better. The Greyhounds have won four consecutive games, the most recent three of which are particularly impressive.
In the past two weeks, Loyola (8-5, 1-2 MAAC) recorded arguably the best win program history by upsetting Indiana on the road, won at Bucknell and then topped Rider at home.
"When coach said Loyola beat Rider, he kind of opened our eyes," Siena forward Edwin Ubiles said. "That shows a lot about our league. We can't take any team lightly."
Loyola struggled last season because it was small and unable to get stops on defense. But both of those problems were addressed.
The Greyhounds added size to the lineup with 6-foot-10 forward Shane Walker, a Maryland transfer who leads the team in rebounding (6.6 per game), and 6-9 freshman Julius Brooks.
Not coincidentally, Loyola is much better defensively. The Greyhounds are allowing only 63.7 points per game, third best in the MAAC, and are holding opponents to 38.2 percent shooting, which is second best.
Their leading scorer is a familiar face: senior guard Brett Harvey, who averages 14.2 points per game and scored 25 in the upset of Indiana.
The usually raucous Reitz Arena may be quiet, with Loyola's students away for semester break. But it's been a troublesome gym for the Saints, who have lost on two of their past three trips there.
"They're at home, they're comfortable and they just had a great win," Ubiles said. "I'm sure they'll be ready for us, so we better be ready for them."
The Siena men's basketball team was just a few minutes past surviving an overtime scare when coach Fran McCaffery, in his postgame address to the players, mentioned another upset bid that did come to fruition.
On what was a surprising Saturday in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Rider fell to Loyola, which is the team Siena faces today in Baltimore.
There was more: On the same day Siena held off Mount St. Mary's, 79-76, at Times Union Center, Iona knocked off Niagara, and previously winless Marist beat Manhattan.
The league results, coupled with a scare from the 3-10 Mountaineers, gave the Saints (10-4) a reminder not to take anything for granted as they move into the heart of the MAAC schedule during the next six weeks.
"Iona beat Niagara?" Siena forward Alex Franklin said. "That's our league in nutshell. It's crazy. Every year our league just gets really, really wild. That's why you have to be in control of your own destiny and take care of business every night."
Strangely enough, even with everyone only having played three league games, just two MAAC teams are undefeated: Siena and Fairfield. Rider and Niagara, expected to be Siena's top two challengers, are 1-2 and 2-1, respectively.
Loyola, which last season was just 12-20 overall and 7-11 in the MAAC, is among the teams that appear to be much better. The Greyhounds have won four consecutive games, the most recent three of which are particularly impressive.
In the past two weeks, Loyola (8-5, 1-2 MAAC) recorded arguably the best win program history by upsetting Indiana on the road, won at Bucknell and then topped Rider at home.
"When coach said Loyola beat Rider, he kind of opened our eyes," Siena forward Edwin Ubiles said. "That shows a lot about our league. We can't take any team lightly."
Loyola struggled last season because it was small and unable to get stops on defense. But both of those problems were addressed.
The Greyhounds added size to the lineup with 6-foot-10 forward Shane Walker, a Maryland transfer who leads the team in rebounding (6.6 per game), and 6-9 freshman Julius Brooks.
Not coincidentally, Loyola is much better defensively. The Greyhounds are allowing only 63.7 points per game, third best in the MAAC, and are holding opponents to 38.2 percent shooting, which is second best.
Their leading scorer is a familiar face: senior guard Brett Harvey, who averages 14.2 points per game and scored 25 in the upset of Indiana.
The usually raucous Reitz Arena may be quiet, with Loyola's students away for semester break. But it's been a troublesome gym for the Saints, who have lost on two of their past three trips there.
"They're at home, they're comfortable and they just had a great win," Ubiles said. "I'm sure they'll be ready for us, so we better be ready for them."
