Over and Out

Two weeks, three big games, and zero wins to show. That was the story last night at McCann as the Marist Red Foxes suffered a devastating overtime loss to arch rival Siena on ESPNU. The loss was the Foxes 3rd straight (Rider, Siena, Siena) dropping them into a 4th place tie in the MAAC standings.

The Red Foxes failed to take advantage of the key part of their schedule, they began the stretch in first place and after the loss Friday, find themselves in the middle of the conference. Now at 8-5, they will have to battle through the remaining games of MAAC play to get at least the 4th seed for the tournament (I say at least because that is what they'll need to have any chance in March).

However, they HAVE been playing extremely hard and extremely well against heavily talented teams and last night's game was by far the Foxes most exciting game since they knocked off the Saints last year in Overtime Thriller Part I.

A raucous, whiteout, sellout crowd saw six ties and six lead changes at McCann, where the energy is like no other in the MAAC. The Red Foxes charged a thunderous comeback, trailing at one point 25-12 and cutting the deficit to 4 before the end of the first.

In the second, Marist could not hold on to a 7 point lead and guard Kenny Hasbrouck killed the Red Foxes down the stretch. With his game high 35 points, Hasbrouck had the game-tying bucket in the final seconds and stole the ball from Jay Gavin with 2.2 left to send it into OT. In the extra period, Hasbrouck led the way with two dagger 3's as the Saints outlasted Marist 97-88.

The crowd was electric and deafening the entire game and the 'McCann Crazys' were tough on Siena players. "There was a lot of energy," Hasbrouck told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "The fans were talking a lot."

But Hasbrouck and the Saints got the final say as Siena won for only the second time in 9 years at McCann.

The Red Foxes have come a long way since the start of the season and as of late, have been going toe-to-toe with better teams (Rider, Siena). The growth is surprising considering how young their guards are. However, while Goodwin and Gavin have played well and really helped the Foxes the last couple weeks, their turnovers have also killed them.

Last night the two had a combined 7 turnovers.....the entire Siena team only had 8 for the game. The Red Foxes for the game had 18 ... that was your ballgame, that was the difference.

"The turnovers are bizarre to me," Brady told the Poughkeepsie Journal. It's an Achilles heel with this group. I'll give you my e-mail address, if you have an answer for it, hit me up."

First Place Foxes..with Rider,Siena

The battle for the MAAC regular season championship is heating up as the Marist Red Foxes, following Sundays beat down of Canisius, are in a 3-way tie for 1st place along with Rider and Siena. All three teams are boasting a conference best 8-3 record at the moment, but the top should be a little less crowded by the end of next week.

There is no better time for the Red Foxes to make their case in the MAAC then right now. Facing Rider on Wednesday at McCann( where they are still unbeaten this season) and Siena for a home and home (Times Union on Monday and McCann on Friday), the Red Foxes are hitting stride for the harder portion of their schedule at the right time. Winners of 8 of their last 9, the Foxes are playing better basketball then anyone could have expected in the 'post-Jordan' era that has 9 new comers this season.

Sunday's beat down of weak Canisius saw the Red Foxes flex their muscles the way they have been during this winning streak. On the Offensive end the Foxes had 4 players score in double figures, featuring another solid performance from freshman Jay Gavin (MAAC rookie of the week, 5th time) and a breakout performance from my man Ryan Schiender (PoJo player of the game) who had a double-double off the bench. The Defense was again shut down, as the Red Foxes allowed only 44 points, their second lowest since 1985.

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Siena is Ready

The boys up in Albany say they are ready for next weeks big battle(s) between the two MAAC rivals, first at Times Union on Monday then back at McCann on Friday. Last weeks Times Union Siena hoops blog is apparently doing their homework on Red Fox Nation reporting on this writers previous entry titled "We Want Siena."

Marist students: “We want Siena!”
January 24, 2008 at 1:37 pm by Pete Iorizzo, Staff writer http://blogs.timesunion.com/collegesports/?p=564

The Marist students have spoken.

According to an item in the Poughkeepsie Journal blog, Marist students chanted “We want Siena” as the Red Foxes completed an 84-65 rout of Niagara on Monday.

The Saints enter tonight’s game against Loyola in first place in the MAAC, one game ahead of Marist and Rider.

The Saints and Red Foxes meet Feb. 4 in Albany and again Feb. 8 in Poughkeepsie, which figures to deliver one of the best college-basketball atmospheres you’ll see in the MAAC all season.

True. The energy at McCann is by far the most electric and intimidating atmosphere in the MAAC....part of the reason the Red Foxes are undefeated at home. The Feb. 8 match-up will hold true to this, it is an ESPNU game and is a "white-out McCann" game.

After being crushed and embarrassed by Loyola 85-65 the Siena Saints put up another poor performance against weak Iona, where they trailed at halftime and barley scraped away with a win. Against Loyola the Saints look flat-out out of it, shooting a season low 29 % from the field while looking undisciplined throughout.

Against Rider earlier in the season the Red Foxes came away with a thrilling one-point victory beating the Broncos 81-80 on a Ryan 'Steady' Stilphen 3-point play.

Prediction: The Red Foxes stay hot at home and win vs Rider on Wednesday in a dog fight. However, a home-and-home with Siena will be tough to sweep, and the Red Foxes will split, losing in Albany and winning yet another home game in what should be a thriller at McCann.

With Rider and Siena facing off on Saturday the picture in the MAAC should be a lot clearly come next week. Next weeks standings:
Rider 10-3 Marist 10-3 Siena 9-4

Stay Tuned....