Siena seniors make statement
Coach starts his five seniors in the final home game of regular season
Siena men’s basketball coach Jamion Christian started all five of his seniors for the last home game, delivering a 67-55 blow to Marist.
Siena men’s basketball coach Jamion Christian decided to start all five of his seniors on Senior Day.
That meant putting an unusual quintet on the court to begin the game against Marist on Sunday. One player had last started at a Division III school in Iowa. Another is a walk-on who began his Saints career as a practice body against the women’s team.
But to Christian, the Saints’ first-year coach, it was the only combination that made sense in the regular-season home finale.
“I think you always want to be better to people than they expect,” Christian explained. “You always want to set that as a standard. You want to be really good to people. There are a lot of guys who are making this thing work. We’re putting together a really special season. Some never anticipated us having a season like this but the guys in that locker room believe that. The seniors, they’ve earned it.”
Appropriately enough, those seniors led the way in a 67-55 victory over Marist in their regular-season home finale before a crowd of 6,806 at Times Union Center.
Senior forward Kevin Degnan, who scored 26 points all last season as a seldom-used reserve, had a career-high 25 points and made six 3-pointers against the Red Foxes. He and senior forward Evan Fisher (16 points) combined to score the Saints’ first 26 points on Sunday.
“This team is everything to me, and I speak from the heart,” Degnan said. “The amount of effort and concentration these guys
spend on a daily basis is tremendous and I honestly wouldn’t rather do it with any other group than those guys in the locker room right there. They’re amazing.”
The Saints improved to 15-14 overall and 10-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, good for a four-way tie for second place, just a half-game behind league-leading Iona.
They conclude the regular season next weekend with games at Canisius and Niagara with a realistic chance of winning the regular-season title after being picked last in the preseason coaches poll. The MAAC Tournament begins at Times Union Center on March 8.
“It’s everything. You have a chance to go on the Buffalo swing, which is the toughest swing in MAAC play,” Christian said. “We have to do a great job of preparing ourselves all week and just trying to put ourselves in position to win those games at their places.”
Christian had put Degnan and Fisher in the starting lineup all season long. On Sunday, he gave redshirt senior guard Kadeem Smithen his first start of the season. He also gave the nod to graduate guard Braedon Bayer, whose last start came at Division III Grinnell during the 2015-16 season. Walk-on Paulo Morastoni got his first career start with his parents in attendance from Brazil.
Morastoni, the former women’s practice player and men’s team manager, grabbed three rebounds in the opening 3:08 before coming out.
“Being able to start on this team, it’s something I’m going to take with me forever,” Morastoni said. “I really appreciate Coach Christian and his staff taking care of me, taking care of all the seniors.”
With the seniors getting the attention, standout freshman guard Jalen Pickett receded into the background for one of the few times this season. The presumptive MAAC Rookie of the Year still had 11 points (all in the second half ), eight rebounds and 10 assists.
In addition to that, he set Siena’s freshman scoring record with 448 points this season, breaking the mark of 447 previously held by Nico Clareth in the 2015-16 campaign.
“Just trying to get (the seniors) a win,” Pickett said. “That was the most important thing, trying to get them a win on their Senior Night so they can always remember that.”
Siena trailed 17-6 early, but tied the game with an 11-0 run. The Saints led 31-28 at halftime and pulled away in the second half.
“I inherited just some great seniors with great chips on their shoulders who wanted to be successful,” Christian said. “These guys mean as much to me as any group I’ve had just because of their resiliency.”
“To be able to (play) at Siena for a coach like Coach Christian, I couldn’t ask for a better ending,” Fisher added.
Note: Junior forward Sammy Friday (knee) will redshirt this season and have two years of eligibility left, Christian said.