Siena falls 7767 in exciting start to Christian Era
PROVIDENCE, RI>> An exciting new era of Siena Basketball is off to an encouraging start. The Saints whittled an 18-point second half deficit down to as little as seven with 3:25 to go in a hard fought 77- 67 season- opening loss at BIG EAST power Providence in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Tip- Off presented by Citi.
Freshman A. J. Reeves poured in 29 points in his collegiate debut on 10-13 shooting including 7- 9 from three for Providence which has won 16 of its past 17 openers. Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection Alpha Diallo added a double- double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists for the Friars which improved to 54-2 in home non-conference action under head coach Ed Cooley.
Freshmen Sloan Seymour and Jalen Pickett led the way for Siena in their collegiate debuts. Seymour scored a team-high 15 points on 5-9 shooting from distance, while Pickett added seven points and nine assists for the Saints which battled down to the wire against a Providence
squad which was projected to finish third according to the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Friars are receiving votes in both major national Top-25 Polls after winning 21 games an earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament last spring.
Providence scored 28 points over the final 7:27 of the first half to break a 22- all tie and claim a 5034 lead at the break. The Friars shot 65.5% from the field in the opening stanza, including 10- 16 (62.5%) from three- point range.
Providence pushed its advantage to as much as 18 at 66- 48 with exactly 13 minutes remaining. But Siena’s defensive adjustments began to pay dividens as the Friars cooled to just a 42% shooting clip in the second half – including a pedestrian 3- 9 from distance – which helped allow the Saints to creep back into the game.
Meanwhile Siena made eight second half threes which helped in part fuel a 19- 8 run over the ensuing 9:35. The Saints nailed triples on three of their final four possessions during the spurt, with a Kevin Degnan three rallying Si- ena as close as 74- 67 with 3:25 left.
But the Saints missed their final four shots and neither team scored over the final 2:41 as Providence held on to capture the first meeting between the programs in 15 years.
The teams combined to make 25 threes as Siena, which ranked 250th nationally last season averaging just 6.9 three-point makes, shot a solid 12-28 (42.9%) from distance.
Four finished in double figures and combined to score 71 of the 77 points for the Friars as Isaiah Jackson added 16 points and Nate Watson scored 10 on a perfect 5- 5 shooting off the bench for Providence which improved to 84- 8 all- time in home openers.
Evan Fisher joined Seymour in double figures for the Saints, adding 11 points and six rebounds. Degnan contributed nine points, as did Sammy Friday IV in just nine minutes off the bench.
Siena continues play in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Tip- Off presented by Citi Thursday with its second of four consecutive tournament games away from home to open the season. The Saints travel to George Washington for a 7 p. m. tip in the nation’s capital on ESPN+. injury occurred.
Darnold finished the game, and said he was “a little dinged up,” but didn’t indicate he had any serious issues.
“Yeah, I feel fine,” Darnold said Monday. “Some bumps and some bruises, but everything is good.”
Bowles said Monday that Darnold had not expressed to him that he was “dinged up.” Bowles typically speaks to the team’s trainers later in the afternoon on the day after games.
“I mean, it was kind of in the midst of the action,” Darnold explained Wednesday. “Sometimes, you get hurt or nicked around and things just kind of happen. I just thought I was fine coming out of the game and went through protocol and that’s just kind of how it went. Went through some of the tests and something was obviously a little different than usual.”
Darnold dealt with a broken foot in high school that sidelined him for most of his junior season. He said this is not close to as serious an injury.
“Like any injury, I’m just going to go about protocol and do exactly what the trainers do and be in here as much as possible and get better,” he said.
If Darnold is unable to start, 39-year- old backup Josh McCown would take his place. McCown was the starter last season, but hasn’t taken a snap this year as Darnold won the job out of training camp — beating out both McCown and Teddy Bridgewater.
“When you’re in a backup role, you just go in and do your job,” McCown said. “That’s the main thing. We’ll prepare as if — like I do every week — I’m going to be the starter and we’ll go from there.”
Darnold has struggled mightily during the Jets’ three-game losing streak, and he leads the NFL with 14 interceptions.
The No. 3 overall draft pick in April has thrown for 1,934 yards and 11 touchdowns, but his 55.0 percent completion rate and 68.3 quarterback rating rank at the bottom of the league. In his past three games, Darnold has thrown two TD pass and seven interceptions.
The struggles had some fans and media wondering if perhaps Darnold would benefit from sitting a game or two.
Now, it appears he and the Jets might not have a choice.
New York has its byeweek break after the game Sunday against Buffalo, and then doesn’t play again until Nov. 25, when the Jets take on New England. That could give Darnold a few weeks to rest and heal the foot without missing much time.
“We don’t want to rush things,” Darnold said. “That’s one thing we don’t want to do. I’m eager to get back out there on the field with my guys, but at the same time, I’ve got to take care of my body, first and foremost.”