Siena's dream run ends in Dayton

Siena gave the nation's top team a scare, but ultimately, Louisville persevered and now Marist fans can breath a little lighter.
Siena held a 63-62 lead with a little over five minutes left in regulation, but Louisville's Terrence Williams took over and led the Cardinals to a 79-72 win.
Poughkeepsie product Edwin Ubiles delivered a career performance that is likely to earn him preseason player of the year honors next season. The junior scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Fellow junior Alex Franklin poured in 19 points beside Ubiles. Siena's one impacting graduating senior, Kenny Hasbrouck, fought injury late and finished with 11 points. The loss ends Hasbrouck's historic career at Siena.
With Hasbrouck out of the picture next season, it is interesting to see how Siena will replace him. Freshman Kyle Downey took his place in Poughkeepsie after Hasbrouck fouled out late and emerged as the hero that night. That performance alone likely earned Downey a spot on the all-rookie team. Although Downey is tabbed as the team's strongest player in the weight room, he really only stepped up against Marist in the team's miraculous overtime win on Jan. 15.
Siena will still enter next season as the consensus favorite for No. 1 spot in the MAAC and rightly so. Hasbrouck's loss makes the team a little more interesting though. No. 2 Niagara will only lose center Benson Egemonye, but he was a central part of their offense. His presence down low opened up the floor for Tyrone Lewis and the team's two Big East transfers.
Had Siena upset No. 1 Louisville, the rest of the MAAC teams might have been in serious trouble. Siena has brought great attention to the conference, but Marist and the other schools don't want to see Siena turn into the Gonzaga of the east. NCAA Tournament wins will only help Siena's recruiting. On the plus side, Marist has arguably the best recruiting coach in the conference now. Martin was able to secure R.J. Hall late in the signing period last spring and lured Villanova bigman Casiem Drummond away from Boston University and the aforementioned Siena. For the coach of a 10th place team to coax Drummond away from Siena, a perennial NCAA tournament participant, is a major boon to Chuck Martin's resume.

Familiar faces finding national success

With March Madness in full swing, two Marist foes are enjoying Cindarellia status in the NCAA Tournament.
Marist rival Siena knocked off No. 8 Ohio State, 74-72, in double overtime on the heels of two clutch three pointers from Ronald Moore. The biggest upset of the tournament goes to Cleveland State, a team Marist has faced two straight years, including this past season on Dec. 13 in Poughkeepsie. The Vikings handed a short-handed Marist team a 66-47 loss.
J'Nathan Bullock starred against No. 4 Wake Forest last night, pouring in 21 points in the 84-69 win.
Both Siena and Cleveland State came to McCann this past season. The match-up with Siena proved much more competitive with the Saints ultimately winning, 91-85, in overtime. Cleveland State topped a David devezin-less Marist team.
One note about Marist's schedule this year was the increase in difficulty. Marist's schedule grew much tougher under Chuck Martin than under previous head coach, Matt Brady.
Marist played five teams that went to the NCAA Tournament this year. The Red Foxes posted a 1-4 record against those teams. The lone win came in the Garden State Classic when Marist routed Robert Morris, 72-55. Robert Morris won the NEC and lost to No. 2 Michigan State in the first round of the tournament. Marist also faced Binghamton and Memphis on the road.

Marist-Niagara postgame audio

A pretty good press conference from Marist considering the circumstances. Niagara coach Joe Mihalich, Tyrone Lewis, and Rob Garrison speak for Niagara while Marist coach Chuck Martin is accompanied by seniors Ryan Schneider and Kaylen Gregory. The Marist portion of the press conference begins at the 6 minute mark.

Schneider scores 1,000th point in season-ending loss

For Marist fans, Ryan Schneider burying a three-pointer from the right wing to eclipse 1,000 career points will be the lasting memory from tonight’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament game against Niagara. For Niagara, the team defense employed on Schneider for 40 minutes will be the final thought.

The No. 2 seeded Niagara Purple Eagles smothered Marist with their defense en route to a 79-50 blowout win over the Red Foxes.

Niagara held Marist to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 18.8 percent on three-point field-goals for the game. Niagara first-teamer Bilal Benn drew the assignment of covering Schneider and blanketed him as soon as the senior captain crossed midcourt.

Schneider entered the game needing only 10 points to eclipse the 1,000 mark, but the senior struggled to get to double digits. He scored just one point in the first half and was 1-of-10 shooting with under 10 minutes to play in the game.

After two field-goals and three free-throws, Schneider found himself with nine points and less than two minutes to play. Fittingly, senior co-captain Kaylen Gregory found an open Schneider, who flushed a three-pointer with 1:55 left to play.

Schneider exited the game to a standing ovation despite Marist’s lopsided loss.

Coach Martin said that he was looking to get Schneider that record after it became apparent the game was out of reach.

“Our first thought was win the game, that’s always our first thought,” Martin said. “Obviously towards the end of it the game was out of reach and now you want to think, okay, let start trying to get the ball to Ryan…we were conscious of it; we were aware of it.”

Although Schneider admitted he would have traded 1,000 points for a win against Niagara, the moment was special for the senior, albeit bittersweet based on how the year unfolded.

“I mean it felt great. I really thank coach for that,” Schneider said. “It was a great gesture…it’s been a tough year, it really has, it’s been tough.”

After averaging a little over seven minutes per game (mpg) last season, Schneider finished third in the conference with 37.5 mpg this season.

For the game, Schneider and Gregory led Marist with 12 points apiece while point guard David Devezin scored 10 points. Niagara guard and UConn transfer had a game-high 21 points while MAAC defensive player of the year Tyrone Lewis notched 13 points.

Marist finished the season 10-23 overall and 4-14 in regular season conference play. The season also capped off the first for head coach Chuck Martin.

“It’s a humbling experience but a good experience, a really good experience,” Martin said regarding his first season. “I’m glad I got a chance to coach the kids that I coached, really good kids who gave me everything they had every night, our seniors, in particular Ryan Schneider and Kaylen Gregory. It’s been a really good experience for me and I think it’s going to pay off in years to come.”

Schneider and Gregory both found opportunities under Martin that did not exist under previous head coach, Matt Brady.

Schneider emerged as a second-team all-conference player while Gregory became a starter after spending four years on the bench.

“I thought the opportunity [to play for Coach Martin] was tremendous,” Gregory said. “The most important part of this year was that I grew as a person, not only on the court but off the court. I learned that I can do a lot more than I thought I could and I have a lot in me and I thank Coach Martin and his staff for that.”

Marist vs. Niagara LIVE from the TU Center; Niagara romps, 79- 50

FINAL SCORE Niagara 79-50

Ryan Schneider also scored his 1,000th career point on a three-pointer with a little more than a minute to play. Schneider finished his career with 1,002 points.

*****

Along with the game, it looks like Marist's Ryan Schneider will lose his pursuit of 1,000 points. The senior captain just missed a pair at the line and is 1-of-9 from the field on the night. He has four points. Marist trailing, 61-39, with 7:53 left.

Niagara's lead has ballooned to 58-35 with 10:57 remaining.

Niagara came out of the gates with a 7-0 run and Marist's season is now on life support. Niagara up big, 46-26, with 17:59 left.

*****

**On a side note, Marist's mascot drained a jumper in the annual mascot game. One Red Fox has scored tonight...Shooter Fox: 1-1.

At the half, Niagara is all over Marist, 39-23. Niagara's largest leads has been 18 at 37-19. Rob Garrison has a game-high 10 points. Tyrone Lewis has eight points and David Devezin leads Marist with eight. Devezin scored his eight relatively early and was quiet for much of the last 10 minutes. Ryan Schneider has one point and needs nine to reach 1,000 career points.

The blowout is officially in full force. After Fairfield and Manhattan played a competitive game, the Albany fans have been treated to two one-sided affairs. Niagara is up, 34-18, with 3:06 left in the first half. Marist got away with sloppy offense against Iona, but the No. 2 Niagara Purple Eagles aren't letting the Red Foxes off the hook. Outside of Devezin and Kaylen Gregory's seven points, Marist has little to show offensively. In other news, Ryan Schneider is still 10 points shy of 1,000 as he has zero for the night.

Niagara is starting to pull away very early in this game. The Purple Eagles have a commanding 28-13 lead with 8:16 left in the first half. Outside of David Devezin, Marist has not gotten anything going offensively. The Red Foxes are shooting 37.5 percent from the field while Niagara boasts a 45.5 shooting-percentage.

Tyrone Lewis' three-pointer plus the harm has given Niagara an 18-10 lead. Rob Garrison since added a layup and Niagara is doubling up Marist early, 20-10. Marist has had open looks but has failed to knock them down. Niagara is not having the same problem. David Devezin has a game-high eight points so far.

Niagara opened the game with a quick Bilal Benn bucket, but David Devezin countered with a layup. Tyrone Lewis just hit a three-pointer to make the game 11-6 Niagara. Devezin has gotten to the lane early, which is a good sign for Marist.

*****

After advancing last night, Marist is set to take on the Niagara Purple Eagles. Tip-off is slated for 1:50 from now.

Siena and Canisius LIVE from the TU Center; Siena rout continues, 67-43

Siena is showing no mercy to the No. 9 Griffs as the blowout is officially on. Siena leads, 67-43, with 8:31 left and Canisius has brought on its famous walk-on, Bob Bevilacqua. Siena will take on Fairfieild tomorrow. On a side note, Hasbrouck has gone below 50 percent shooting on the night. He's 7-of-16 for 16 points.

With 15:14 left in the game, Siena has opened up a wide margin and looks poised to move on. The Saints lead, 50-36. Kenny Hasbrouck has a game-high 16 points while Frank Turner leads Canisius with 12.

*****

An awkward play led to a lengthy delay after Robert Goldsberry fouled Alex Franklin and landed strangely. Goldsberry was called with an intentional foul, but he needed to be helped off the floor. Right now, Siena leads, 29-24, as halftime approaches.

Canisius pulled into a 13-13 tie, but Siena countered with a 6-0 run. With 7:35 remaining in the first half, Siena is leading by a small margin at 19-15. Hasbrouck has a game-high 10 points, but Frank Turner has been the best player on the floor so far for either team. Poughkeepsie's own Edwin Ubiles has spent a considerable amount of time on the bench and hasn't gotten anything going.

MAAC player of the year Kenny Hasbrouck has been lighting up the net early with eight points. Although Siena looked like it was going to pull away, Canisius has hung around and trails by only three at 13-10. There is 11:57 remaining in the first half.

Siena jumped out to the early 5-0 lead, but Canisius responded with a 4-0 run of its own. Siena leads, 7-4, at the first official timeout, although the Saints don't look particularly impressive. Luckily for them, they have probably the easiest path to the MAAC finals that a team could possibly have. A win here this afternoon means a date with all seven of Fairfield's players tomorrow.

*****

A raucous crowd has filled the Times Union Center for Siena's first game against No. 9 Canisius. Canisius played last night and arrived here today by virtue of knocking off Jimmy Patsos' Greyhounds. Tip-off is slated for three minutes. Marist and Niagara will follow at 7:30 with Rider and Saint Peter's getting the luxury of the 9:30 p.m. slot.

In the game prior to this one, Fairfield pulled a slight upset by beating the No. 4 Manhattan Jaspers. Even with Fairfield missing half its team and Greg Nero battling multiple injuries, Manhattan still crumbled. Fairfield will play the winner of the Siena-Canisius game.

Marist-Iona Postgame

I got a chance to speak with Coach Martin and Ryan Schneider following last night's opening round win over Iona. For the full audio, click below:

Marist survives to play another day

As Chuck Martin has said several times this season, an ugly win beats a pretty loss any day of the week.

In the match-up of No. 7 Iona and No. 10 Marist, both teams sputtered offensively and yielded late runs before the Red Foxes eventually closed out the Gaels, 43-40.

In a game where a short spurt looked like it could win the game, Marist gained separation with an 8-0 run to take a 38-30 lead with 7:30 left in regulation.

Iona clawed back, however, and responded with a 7-0 run of its own. Marist senior Ryan Schneider put the game out of reach though when he sank a straightaway three-pointer with 3:22 left. Marist led 41-37 and would hang on in the final minutes.

Schneider and point guard David Devezin each scored a game-high 14 points.

Although Marist finished last in the conference, the tough losses have given Chuck Martin’s team a wealth of experience to draw on for this tournament.

“The one thing we’ve learned through all our games this season is, we’ve learned how to have composure in the last 10 minutes,” Martin said. “We’ve had leads and gotten down and we just don’t know how to get back, but it’s paid off for us, all of these games.”

Although the team finished 10^th, Martin and Schneider both know that the team played better than the record indicates and this conference win validates a lot of the effort during the season.

“I think for the team and the people who followed us all season, [they] understood we finished 10^th but we played much better than a 10^th place team,” Martin said. “I think the coaches in this league, I don’t want to speak for them, but I think they would say, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good for a 10^th place team.’”

“I think we’ve worked really hard even though our record doesn’t show it and to go out and get a win today, it really shows that we haven’t given up and we’re going to keep playing hard,” Schneider said.

Marist’s largest lead came at 38-30 in the second half. Both teams exchanged leads multiples times and were tied, 21-21, at the half. Marist held Iona to 31.9 percent shooting from the field.

Marist will meet up with the No. 2 Niagara Purple Eagles tonight at 7:30 p.m. Like with Iona, both teams split the season series. Marist won, 86-68, in Poughkeepsie on Jan. 11 and fell, 80-72, six days ago in Buffalo.

Marist knows it can beat Niagara and the team now has a win to build upon.

“I think internally they’ve got the confidence of knowing that we did beat them and that we did play well last Sunday although we lost by eight, they’re a really talented team,” Martin said. “We respect them, we know they’re talented, we know they can put numbers up so it’s going to be a challenging game for us but we’re excited.”

Schneider feels he and his teammates have that confidence going into the game tonight.

“I think we have all the confidence in the world, especially coming off a hard fought, really tough win tonight,” Schneider said. “I think we’re really excited about the fact that we match up really well with Niagara and we’re excited about tomorrow.”

Marist vs. Iona LIVE from the Times Union Center; Marist wins, 43-40

FINAL SCORE: Marist 43 Iona 40

With 42 seconds left, Marist is up, 43-40, and has the ball.

A Ryan Schneider three-pointer broke Iona's 7-0 run and Marist has opened up a six point lead after squandering an eight point advantage minutes earlier. With 2:32 left in possibly the season, Marist clings to a 43-37 lead against Iona.

Jonathan Huffman just drained a straightaway three-pointer and Iona climbed to within three points. Iona is on a 5-0 run after going 4:40 without scoring a single point. Marist leads, 38-35, with 6:02 left.

"When was the last time Iona scored?" - Ted Remsnyder
Kevin Willard called another timeout as Marist has gone on an 8-0 run. David Devezin has scored the Red Foxes' last four points. Marist leads, 38-30, with 7:24 remaining.

At the second official timeout, exactly six points have been scored. The teams are still tied, 30-30, with 11:31 left in the game. If either team has a four or six point run in them, that may just be enough. Ryan Schneider and Scott Machado have a game-high nine points. Interestingly, Gary Springer has not scored since he scored the Gaels first eight points.

There's been an offensive explosion to start the second half. Each team has put up seven points and the game is knotted at 28 with 15:03 remaining. The last bucket came courtesy of Kaylen Gregory, a corner three-pointer.

*****

"This is unbelievable. This is one of the worst MAAC games I've ever seen." - Ted Remsnyder

The quote says it all, folks. Both teams have no compunction about throwing blind passes all over the court and having big men shooting contested three-pointers. At halftime, this game is fittingly tied at 21.

An irate Kevin Willard called for an immediate timeout after Marist big man Korey Bauer drained an open three-pointer from the left wing. Marist is winning a sloppy game, 21-15, with 4:47 left in the half.

Marist went on a 9-0 run to grab a 13-9 lead. With 7:52 left in the first half, Marist has an 18-15 lead on the heels of strong play from David Devezin and Ryan Schneider. The duo has six and seven points, respectively.

With 11:54 remaining in the first half, Iona is holding onto a 9-8 lead. Gary Springer has eight points, meanwhile Schnider has four for Marist.

Gary Springer opened the game with a lay-up, but Marist responded when David Devezin found Korey Bauer underneath the basket for a two-handed jam. Springer has four points for Iona and this game is shaping up to be a low-scoring affair, as the first two meetings have been.

*****

The start of the game has been delayed due to the late finish of Canisius and Loyola. Canisius got past the No. 8 Loyola Greyhounds, 74-68. Canisius will play Siena tomorrow in the second game of the day. Siena won the last match-up, 78-74. Tip-off is slated for 10 p.m. in the Marist-Iona tilt. The winner will play Niagara tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Schneider, Hall earn MAAC honors

Despite finishing last in the MAAC, the Red Foxes received some good news today from the conference. Senior captain Ryan Schneider garnered Second-Team All-MAAC honors while freshman R.J. Hall was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Schneider played sparingly under former head coach Matt Brady, but the Vermont transfer played at an all-conference level the entire season. The only thing that kept him from the first team was Marist's poor record. The first team is typically reserved for players on the top couple teams in the league. Kenny Hasbrouck, hardly deserving of First-Team honors, earned that designation based on Siena's dominant display in the MAAC.

The First-Team looks like this:
Edwin Ubiles, Siena
Kenny Hasbrouck, Siena
Tyrone Lewis, Niagara
Bilal Benn, Niagara
Ryan Thompson, Rider

R.J. Hall, who played substantial minutes this season, joined four other freshman on the All-Rookie team. Hall emerged as a key contributor when David Devezin was injured and sick earlier in the season. Devezin's absences provided valuable experience for the freshman from Bloomfield Tech in New Jersey.

The All-Rookie Team looks like this:
Scott Machado, Iona
R.J. Hall, Marist
Kyle Downey, Siena
Anthony Winbush, Loyola
Novar Gadson, Rider

Red Foxes can't repeat January magic

Marist took advantage of a slow-Niagara start, but the Purple Eagles finished strong in dealing Marist an 80-72loss assuring the team of a 10th place finish.
Marist jumped out to an early 15-7 lead and last led at 24-18, but Niagara pulled off a 15-0 run when Marist went scoreless for nearly five minutes.
Niagara leaned on its mountain, center Benson Egemonye, who scored a team-high 19 points. Egemonye attempted 17 free-throws and frustrated Marist's big men throughout the game. Foxes' senior forward Ryan Schneider tallied a game-high 21 points in his final regular season game.
Three Marist players scored in double-figures. In addition to Schneider, freshman guard R.J. Hall and junior swing man Javon Parris scored 11 and 12 points, respectively. Hall also dished out a game-high seven assists. Hall's performance is certainly encouraging because of the uncertainty surrounding David Devezin's eligibility.

The final MAAC standings look like this:
1. Siena
2. Niagara
3. Rider
4. Manhattan
5. Fairfield
6. Saint Peter's
7. Iona
8. Loyola
9. Canisius
10. Marist

Marist will face Iona in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. Both teams defended their home-court with 1-point wins.