By PAUL GOTHAM
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A blinking transmission light in the team bus forced a 30-minute delay to the Siena Saints trip across New York state.
Their offense had no problem finding another gear Sunday afternoon.
A scintillating performance left school representatives scrambling for the record books as Siena defeated Canisius, 99-78 in MAAC action at the Koessler Athletic Center.
Siena coach Jimmy Patsos put the victory in perspective.
“The MAAC schedule has been an interesting thing with 11 teams,” the third-year coach said. “I really admire our league for playing everyone twice.
“Unfortunately for them (Canisius) I think this is one of days they got kinda yahtzeed because we’re sitting here waiting, and they’re playing their most emotional game on the road. I know it wasn’t a long road trip, but that’s a war, and we got lucky.”
The Golden Griffins downed arch-rival Niagara Purple Eagles, Friday night while Siena’s most recent contest was at home against Rider on Thursday.
“That’s a blood war up here in Buffalo. That’s Steelers-Ravens. That’s Red Sox-Yankees. Niagara-Canisius it’s the same level, They have to play on the road their most emotional game of the year and win.
“We didn’t watch it as a team. We took the night off. I was at home watching that game with my wife. They (Siena’s players) were in their dorms. That’s a big difference. I’m watching guys play blood, sweat and tears. We’re worried about should we watch Mad Max Fury or Fast Times at Ridgemont High the next day.
Brett Bisping notched a double-double scoring 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor including 4-of-5 behind the arc. Lavon Long shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and 11-of-11 from the free throw line for a career-high 27 points.
“They were a little step slow,” Patsos. “We were a little step fast. Then you got Brett lightin’ it up.”
That’s putting it lightly.
Long handed out a career-high eight assists part of an overall effort in which the Saints assisted on 27 of 33 made field goals.
“First thing on the board was share the ball,” Patsos added. “When your forward has eight assists before your guards, you’re usually in pretty good shape.”
Siena hit its first seven shots of the second half and never looked back. Long’s layup made it 66-52 with 14:01 remaining in the game.
A 21-5 run pushed the lead to 30 at 90-60 with 6:43 left in the game.
The Saints tied a 48-year Koessler Center record for a road team hitting 33-of-50 (66 percent) from the floor. It also marked the best in the MAAC for a road team since 1989.
Long was the first player since Chattanooga’s Clyde McCully in 2001 to go perfect hitting seven shots from the floor and 11 at the free throw line.
The outcome also carried some payback for Siena which had lost six straight in the series including an 83-49 beatdown in Buffalo last year.
“That was meaningful,” Bisping said of the losing streak. “I think it was more meaningful that they beat us so bad the past two years. I think they had 62 in the first half my sophomore year. They’ve always just come in and shot lights out. We just never had a chance. We wanted to get this one bad.”
Canisius came into the game with a three-game winning streak in which they held opponents to 59 points a game.
“I told our guys ‘they’re going to hit us right between the eyes the first five minutes of the game, and that’s what they did,” Canisius coach Jim Baron said. “I told our guys ‘that’s the way the game is going to be.’”
“There was no crazy game plan,” Patsos said. “I don’t expect that to ever happen again when we play Jim Baron’s team. I’ve been on the other end of that a few times.”
Nico Clareth added 19 points for Siena. The Saints committed 13 turnovers. They outscored Canisius 21-4 in fast break points.
Phil Valenti finished with 17 for Canisius. Kassius Robertson added 13. Jermaine Crumpton and Malcolm McMillan chipped in 11 apiece.
“We all have to play defense,” McMillan said. “One play it might be me. Next play it might be another guy. We got to be solid every time down. I don’t think we made them make any tough shots today. They were all open shots. Shots that Division One players will make. They ran us out of our own gym today.”
About that movie choice
The Saints (13-7/6-3) get a day off before heading to Niagara for a Tuesday game against the Purple Eagles (5-15/3-6).
“It was a toss up,” Patsos said. “We watched Mad Max Fury because it’s the road warrior. In other words, our theme was to come here and get a win, one way or the other with both (Canisius and Niagara) teams. Of course, we’d like to sweep. Everybody wants to sweep. If you go one for two on this trip, you’ve done a good job.”
While in Buffalo
Patsos heads to Jim’s on Chippewa for a steak and cheese.
“I get pickles and ketchup on it. They know we’re coming. I say ‘hello. They’re like Coach, you’re back in town.’”
Always time for a good recruiting story
Siena finished the game scoring 1.375 points per possession. Saint Mary’s (CA) leads the nation at 1.24. The Saints were going at a clip of 1.5 midway through the second half. It was reminiscent of Paul Westhead’s Loyola-Marymount teams of the late 80s which put points on the board at breakneck speed.
“One of my good friends was on that team,” Patsos said. “He was supposed to go to La Salle, a great recruiting story. He lands. Westhead picks him up. They go to the Forum. They’re in the locker room with Magic Johnson before the game, and he goes ‘I think I might come here.’
“It was the fabulous Forum. It’s like (James) Worthy, (Kareem Abdul-) Jabbar all in there. He commits. He hasn’t gotten back in the car yet, and he says ‘I’m coming here.’”
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