Siena Stops Men's Basketball

ALBANY, N.Y. ? Siena junior Edwin Ubiles scored a game-high 18 points and MAAC Player of the Year Kenny Hasbrouck added 16 as the host Saints defeated Canisius 77-52 Saturday night in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Citizens Bank MAAC Men's Basketball Championships in the Times Union Center. The win allows Siena (24-7) to advance to the semifinal round on Sunday where the team will meet Fairfield, while the Golden Griffins see their season end with an 11-20 overall mark.

For Canisius, Julius Coles and Elton Frazier scored 13 points apiece, while junior guard Frank Turner added 12 points and four assists. Siena shot 46.2 percent from the field and forced 22 Canisius turnovers.

Ryan Rossiter had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Saints, which used an 9-0 run that spanned both halves to take a 41-27 lead with 19:54 left on the clock. Canisius trailed 27-22 after Elton Frazier drained a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:56 left before the intermission to make the score 32-27. Habrouck got the run started for Siena with a jumper at the top of the key and moments later, Owen Wignot knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Saints a 37-27 cushion. Siena went into the locker room at the half with a 12-point lead after Alex Franklin was able to tip in an in-bounds pass with less than a second to play in the first stanza.

“This was obviously a frustrating day coming off the big win last night,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “Quite honestly, I think we just ran out of gas. We had the game down to a couple of possession in the first half and I think we shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers. Against a quality team like that, you have little room for errors and that some of our mistakes proved to be the deciding factor in the game.”

Wignot finished the day with 10 points off the bench for Siena, which has now won eight straight against Canisius. The Griffs closed out the season with wins in three of their final five contests.

Game Notes: Canisius is now 21-19 all-time in MAAC Tournament games and 2-5 in games against Siena... Sophomore Robert Goldsberry left the game in the first half after a collision under the basket... He did not return to the game with a mild head injury... Turner led the team in scoring for the second straight season and will enter his final year in Blue and Gold ranked among the program's top-15 scorers... Tomas Vazquez-Simmons had three blocks Saturday to give him 16 blocked shots in four career MAAC Tournament games.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Julius Coles: G; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#24 Elton Frazier: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#3 Robert Goldsberry: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#2 Frank Turner: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#15 Julius Coles
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: G

#24 Elton Frazier
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#3 Robert Goldsberry
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G

#2 Frank Turner
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F