Complete sweep
Siena Saints closing in on a chance to clinch title next week vs. Canisius after defeating Manhattan.
All season long, the Siena men’s basketball team has been better than anyone in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at handling the second game of the grueling back-to-back format the league adopted this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Siena is 7-0 in that second game and Saturday’s 64-56 victory over Manhattan on Saturday night exemplified the resilience that has allowed the Saints to go undefeated in those contests.
Playing with only seven available scholarship players, the Saints rallied from a 10
point deficit in the first half to complete a two-game sweep of the Jaspers and take sole possession of first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
“I think it’s about character,” Siena coach Carmen Maciariello said. “I think it’s about them understanding the game plan and making adjustments . ... These guys are growing before our eyes and I’m just super proud of their effort.”
Senior guard/forward Manny Camper had a career-high 25 points, including 12-for-14 from the foul line, and nine rebounds and junior forward Jackson Stormo added a career-high 18 points for the Saints, who improved to 11-3 overall, 11-3 in the MAAC. They pulled one win ahead of idle Monmouth (10-7, 10-6).
They can clinch the MAAC regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament when they play Canisius next Thursday and Friday to conclude the regular season. Siena owns the tiebreaker over Monmouth by virtue of a regular-season sweep.
“It’s just something that we live by — you know, toughness,” Stormo said. “Just one foot after the other. Keep going. We’ve been dealing with stuff this whole semester, this whole season, and we never quit. And so we’re still here. We might as well make the best of it.”
Siena shot 13-for-23 from the field in the second half.
Siena was without graduate guard Nick Hopkins (lower leg), freshman guard Aidan Carpenter (ankle) and graduate forward Harrison Curry (COVID -19 restrictions). Junior walk-on forward Robert Mahala played 20 minutes and grabbed four rebounds.
“Oh my God, his energy was impeccable,” Camper said. “He came in and got a few tie-ups, a few knockouts out of bounds. He just came in with the energy. They thought they could just pick on him, run (isolation) plays and he just showed up. That’s what Siena players are all about.”
Elijah Buchanan had 18 points for Manhattan (6-11, 5-11), which led 27-17 when Samir Stewart hit a corner 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the first half.
The Jaspers still led 29-21 when Siena ran off 12 unanswered points, capped by Stormo’s inside basket over Manhattan big man Warren Williams, to take a 33-29 lead with 17:07 remaining.
“You’re probably getting tired of me saying it, but this is one resilient group,” Camper said. “We stayed the course and my teammates did a great job. They outrebounded us, too, (37-34) and we still found a way to win. We made more free throws than they did (18-9) and it was a great, gutsy win.”
Siena took the lead for good on Camper’s basket inside to go up 43-42 with 8:47 to play.
Down 47-45, Manhattan squandered its final chance to tie when Samba Diallo missed a breakaway dunk. Camper answered with two foul shots for a 49-45 advantage with 5:12 remaining. That triggered an 8-2 run, capped by a Stormo jump hook, that helped put away the game.
Maciariello said he thinks he’ll have Carpenter back for Canisius but wasn’t sure about
Hopkins’ status when the Saints have a chance to wrap up the MAAC regular-season title.
Siena, the unanimous preseason favorite to win the MAAC, can repeat as regular-season champion.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about,” Stormo said. “It’s a goal that we had. Our destiny was in our own hands. If we won out that was going to happen. Now it’s about getting better every day and peaking when we’re supposed to be peaking and being the best team we can be.”