March 3, 2007

Final Stats

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Freshman Ronald Moore's 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining gave Siena the lead for good and senior Michael Haddix connected on two free throws with 16 seconds left to help the Saints stave off Manhattan 75-72 in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championship Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport.

Manhattan had two cracks at game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds, but Antoine Pearson and Darryl Crawford both misfired badly.

Siena used an attacking offense to get to the free throw line 33 times. Kenny Hasbrouck scored 11 of his game-high 20 points on free throws, freshman Alex Franklin had six of his 10 points from the line and Haddix scored all six of his points in the second half from the charity stripe.

Haddix helped the Saints to a 38-31 halftime lead, scoring 11 of his 17 points before the break.

Manhattan jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and the Jaspers were much more efficient on offense than they had been when the two teams met previously.

Siena defeated Manhattan 80-69 in Riverdale and 78-61 in Albany last Thursday.

Manhattan connected on 11-28 3-pointers after going just 10-37 combined in the regular season encounters.

Devon Austin led Manhattan with 19 points after seeing limited action in the Jaspers' final two games of the regular season. Arturo Dubois - another uncertainty at tip time - played 25 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Siena placed four scorers in double-figures for the fifth straight game and shot 50% from the field for the fifth time in its last six games.

Senior David Ryan scored all 10 of his points in the first five minutes of the second half as the Saints pushed their lead to as many as 10 before the Jaspers rallied. Manhattan came all the way back to grab a 69-68 lead on Patrick Bouli's fourth 3-pointer with 2:18 left. Moore had the answer on the ensuing position to recapture the momentum.

"We beat a very good basketball team today," head coach Fran McCaffery said. "I thought they had an excellent game plan and their kids really stepped up and made shots. I also thought we made enough plays down the stretch to move on. It's about survival at this stage and we expect the same type of game every night from now on."

Siena advances to Sunday's first semifinal and will face the winner of the Marist and Canisius game (in progress) at 6 p.m. here in Bridgeport.