Siena men's basketball resumes play at Bryant

Loudonville

The Siena men's basketball team gets a break from its punishing nonleague schedule at struggling Bryant on Sunday afternoon, not that the Saints are portraying it that way.

"No game is a breather,'' Siena junior guard Nico Clareth said. "Every game is hard, nasty, fighting, mean, ready to play. You know how it is."

"I don't want to give (Bryant) any stuff for their locker room,'' Saints head coach Jimmy Patsos added.

The Saints (2-8) take on the Bulldogs (1-10) of the Northeast Conference in Smithfield R.I. as part of the Gotham Classic event. Bryant is on a six-game losing streak and has played its past two games without leading scorer Adam Grant, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, who sprained his ankle in an 84-68 defeat to the University at Albany on Dec. 6.

A Bryant spokesman said Grant's availability was to be determined. He's averaging 15.7 points per game.

Siena has lost its past three games, running a gauntlet of UAlbany, Louisville and Vermont over a six-day stretch. The Saints' nonconference schedule is the 37th-toughest in the country out of 351 Division I teams, according to the RPI. Ken Pomeroy ranks it 61st-hardest and Jeff Sagarin rates it 59th.

The Saints are 0-5 on the road entering Bryant.

Patsos was asked if Siena overscheduled this season with a team that has no seniors on its roster and three freshmen in the starting lineup.

"I don't really go into that,'' said Patsos, who collaborates on scheduling with athletic director John D'Argenio. "I mean, it's not a question for me. I'm not in total control of the schedule. I do think that playing tough games gets you ready for the (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). By the way, these are good games to go to because you're seeing quality opponents. Whether we win or lose, I hate to say that, but it's how you play the game. We've done some really good things against really tough opponents."

Siena has three more nonleague games remaining, against Bryant, Memphis and Holy Cross, before opening MAAC play at Marist on Dec. 29.

Patsos said the scheduling could work in Siena's favor next season, when they're meeting some of these same teams again.

"Was it a tough schedule? Sure,'' Patsos said. "But it cycles out. A lot of teams we play next year don't have four seniors and we will be older. You roll the dice. Me and John work well together on scheduling, and it's not how you start, it's how you finish."

In fairness, Bryant has played a challenging schedule of its own. The Bulldgs have losses to Georgia, North Carolina State, Rutgers, Memphis and Louisville. Bryant has the 62nd-hardest strength of schedule, according to the RPI.

The Saints are playing their first game since Monday after taking final exams. Classes don't resume until Jan. 16, and freshman center Prince Oduro said the time off should help Siena.

"I'm really looking forward to this break since school's over for a little while,'' he said. "We can keep focusing on basketball right now. I'm just trying to focus on getting better from these past 10 games."

Oduro said he doesn't view Siena's schedule as being too difficult.

"I look at them as opportunities to keep getting better,'' he said. "We may have went 2-(8), but I like the way the process is going right now. I want to play the best so I know what I have to do to be the best. I think we've played a harder schedule than many teams, so we should use the experience from those other games to help us win this game."

There could be a change in Siena's starting lineup on Sunday. Patsos said he's considering giving sophomore forward Sammy Friday his first career start with junior forward Evan Fisher coming off the bench instead.

msingelais@timesunion.com • 518-454-5509 • @MarkSingelais