Eager for Siena matchup
Golden Knights to play Saints for first time Monday at TU Center
The College of Saint Rose men’s basketball team is happy to be playing a full schedule in front of fans after being limited to seven games in an empty gym last season because of COVID -19.
That they’ll able to start the 2021-22 campaign unofficially against Siena before a potentially big crowd at Times Union Center only adds to the excitement.
The Division II Golden Knights will meet the Division I Saints for the first time in an exhibition game on Monday at 7 p.m.
“Everything,” said Saint Rose senior guard Adam Anderson of Saratoga Springs, when asked what the game means. “It’s a great opportunity for us to play. We had a great offseason, preseason, so it’s a great start to the year.”
College of Saint Rose guard/ forward Shane O’dell of Schalmont got a small taste of college basketball as a true freshman last season.
O’dell will get the full course this season as the Golden Knights return to a 27-game schedule. And the appetizer is a preseason game against Siena, the school that his mother, Valerie Higgins-o’dell, played for. He attended Siena games with her as a child.
“It’s going to be fun,” O’dell said. “Everyone in the area is going to come, playing another team from Albany, so it should be good.”
The Siena-saint Rose game, announced on Sept. 16, had been in the works for years. It finally came together partly because of the longtime friendship of Saint Rose coach Mike Perno and Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello, who played AAU ball against each other in the 1990s. Perno suited up for the Long Island Lightning and Maciariello, a Shenenendehowa graduate, played for the Albany City Rocks.
They were Saint Rose teammates for a few days in 1999. Maciariello transferred to the Golden Knights briefly from the University of New Hampshire before deciding to end his playing career at Siena.
Perno pointed out there are other Division I vs. Division II exhibition matchups of schools in relatively close proximity, such as Vermont against St. Michael’s and St. John’s facing St. Thomas Aquinas.
“It just makes sense,” Perno said. “Siena’s down the block. We’ve been trying to play it. I think the fact they didn’t let fans in last year, this’ll be a pretty good turnout. I’m anticipating it.”
Saint Rose will also honor former guard Steve Dagostino at halftime. He was elected this year to the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame.
Perno said he hopes his players aren’t overwhelmed by the trappings. The Golden Knights have rarely played at TU Center, one instance being a 1998 loss to the University at Albany when the Great Danes were still Division II.
“I just want them to play hard,” Perno said. “I know Siena’s going to be real good and I don’t want them to be intimidated by the moment. We’ve got mostly freshmen and sophomores, so I think for them to be on that kind of stage, it’s a big stage for them. We’ve just got to go out and be prepared and play with poise, play hard and compete for 40 minutes just to stay in the game with them.”
O’dell, who averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game last season, said he spoke with Maciariello but Siena never offered him a scholarship. O’dell said that would not motivate him on Monday.
“Nah, just going in trying to win the game,” O’dell said.
The Golden Knights only began practicing on Friday because of Division II rules. They’re trying to contend in the Northeast-10 Conference. Before that, they’ll start with Siena in the downtown arena.
“I just hope it’s electric,” Anderson said. “It’s the atmosphere you look for when you play. It’ll be fun.”