By Stuart Seidel
ALBANY, NY – Friday night’s game at the Times Union Center was important for both the Siena Saints and the Quinnipiac Bobcats as it was the first conference game for both teams. Last year the two teams split the season series with the visiting team winning both contests, but this year Siena made sure they protected their home court.
Going into the game one might have bet on the Bobcats since the Saints were tied at third in the country for most fouls per game at 26, and Quinnipiac was making teams pay from the line shooting 80% ranking sixth in the country. Siena did their part committing 27 fouls but Quinnipiac shot only 70% from the line and even worse 36% from the field.
Staying out of foul trouble combined with solid play from sophomore Marquis Wright helped the Saints get the lead and maintain it for the first 15 minutes of the game. However the Saints quickly fell back into old habits and the fouls started to come. That combined with the Bobcats moving the ball well and getting a lot of open looks resulted in Quinnipiac closing in and even taking the lead before trading baskets until the final minute of the half. The final minute of the first half certainly belonged to Siena as they rattled off five points, one rebound and one block to help them steal the lead before the half. Senior Rob Poole energized the building and the team creating a three point play by going hard to the basket and drawing a foul just before the buzzer to give Siena the lead 40-38.
That momentum seemed to carry over into the second half as the Saints absolutely took the game over. They opened the half with a 20-4 run to push the score to 60-42. Quinnipiac was forced to call a time out in the eleventh minute after freshman Willem Brandwijk slammed down an alley-oop from Marquis Wright to push the lead to 65-44 causing the Times Union Center to erupt.
Coming out of the timeout Quinnipiac was able to get Siena back on their heels cutting the lead down to 13 after just two minutes, and down to 10 after three. The Bobcats were able to keep it close for a short time but never got within single digits again and Siena put their foot back on the gas, eventually winning the game 88-67.
Siena played a great team game getting production from a lot of different players but Marquis Wright lead the way. Coming off the best game of his career with 31 points against Fordham he followed that up tonight with 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Wright has certainly turned it on since their game against Vermont scoring double digits in all his games and leading the conference now with a 3.9 assist/turnover ratio. He had 0 against Quinnipiac.
Willem Brandwijk played a great game off the bench with some big plays and really energized his team, and the crowd, finishing with 12 points. Three other players also scored in double digits including Lavon Long who also added 5 steals. Head coach Jimmy Patsos certainly enjoyed the all around team game his players played. “I thought we played with good energy,” he said after his teams convincing win, “our team is growing, (they) get all the credit.”
The Siena Saints certainly have a good basketball team and it showed tonight, but they need to consistently play a full forty minutes. In their previous two games the Saints had outscored their opponents Loyola and Fordham in the second half but not in the first, while their first three games were the opposite, outscoring their opponents in the first half but slipping up in the second. This game they outscored their opponents in both halves but really dominated the second half outscoring Quinnipiac 48-29.
Siena kicked off their conference play the right way with a convincing win. Having the good fortune of playing seven of their next ten games at home, this is their chance to jump out in front of the MAAC conference. Siena’s next home game is next Saturday against their cross town rivals, the UAlbany Great Danes.
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