The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament began in earnest on Thursday in Atlantic City, but by the time the final buzzer sounded, somewhere in the neighborhood close to midnight, knowing how the men's games tend to slow down with all the time outs, Siena College's chances of sweeping this year's events were cut down.
The Siena men were hoping to snap a five game losing streak entering play Thursday as the #4 seed. However, Niagara had other ideas, and held off a late second half rally by the Saints to advance, 71-65. The early exit means Siena will begin the 2023-4 season on a 6 game losing streak.
Javian McCollum led the Saints with 24 points. Andrew Platek (Guilderland/North Carolina) added 5 in what likely is his final game in a Siena uniform.
Earlier Thursday, the women advanced by defeating Fairfield for the 3rd time this season, 59-53. Angel Jones and Valencia Fontanelle-Posson (Guilderland) led Siena with 10 points each, while Ahniysha Jackson (Albany) added 9, as Siena used more of a balanced scoring offense. They'll play Iona in the semi-finals next. Iona swept Siena in the regular season, so Siena has that to contend with.
Even if the Lady Saints don't win, there's always the prospect of being invited to a secondary tournament, like the women's NIT. As for the men? Possible, but not probable.
No comments:
Post a Comment