Judge Shotts, Gavin Doty, Brendan Coyle, Frances Fowler Fake and Riley Mulvey.
Those five people, and only those five people. That’s all Gerry McNamara and the Siena coaching staff have to play Thursday. These five gave Saints fans in Greenville and the country a lot to cheer about.
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Within 28 minutes, No. 16 seed Siena led No. 1 seed Duke. After the Blue Devils took an early four-point lead, Siena went eight minutes without a field goal, Coyle hit two three-pointers, and Fowler Fake showed excellent touch and footwork in the low post to lead by 10 points. At halftime, the Saints led by 11 points. In the second quarter, the lead reached 13 points.
But as Siena’s starters lost their legs and Duke’s talent began to win, the Blue Devils fought back to take the lead with four minutes left and seal the victory 71-65 after 40 minutes of battle. Siena’s bench played for a full two seconds. Drenched in sweat and exhausted, the five starting Warriors limped off the court to loud applause from fans of the Saints, the largest of the 13 MAAC schools, whose return to the NCAA tournament marks a return to what Siena basketball should be.
While Doty, Coyle and others stress there are no moral victories, it’s hard not to hold your head high if you’re a Saints fan, or if you’re McNamara.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” McNamara said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of any group of kids that I’ve been around. I think the world and college basketball saw what I’ve been so grateful and appreciative of all season, a group of kids that love each other and compete and play for each other at the highest level.”
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The Saints were already a weak team, plagued by injuries throughout the year. Freshman Owen Schrager has been out since November. Mulvey missed several weeks with a concussion. In December, the team lost big man Tasman Goodrick for the season. Last year’s legitimate contributors Ta’Ja Jones and Reed Ducharme both haven’t played a minute this year. Marcus Jackson started all 15 games last season but has not played since November.
This forced Fowler Farke into an immediate role, one in which he stepped directly into the role. He ended up being one of the most feared big men in the MAAC, and the Saints couldn’t survive without him on the floor. His scoring, rebounding, passing and defensive versatility was on display.
In the MAAC Championship game, Fowlerfalk guarded point guard Kevair Kennedy, the MAAC Player of the Year, and worked as hard as anyone in the MAAC to stop him. Then, on Thursday, he was assigned to the Blue Devils’ potential No. 1 overall pick, Cameron Boozer, who held him down for much of the game until he finally broke through.
Meanwhile, Dottie was outstanding again. He opened the game with an off-balance three-pointer, which was just a continuation of everything he’d done for the Saints all season long and earned him MVP honors in the MAAC Tournament.
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As usual, Dottie found herself diving on the floor and soaking up plenty of contact. He was tired throughout the game as he missed his final six field goal attempts. Duke came out attacking and the Saints couldn’t respond.
The game started after two missed dunks on the same possession with 17:30 left that would have put Siena ahead by 15 points. Mulvey and Fowlerfake missed, then Isaiah Evans dunked on the other end.
“It’s a running game,” Doty said. “We knew they were going to run. They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. The key is to withstand those runs. We didn’t stop fighting until the final buzzer sounded. So, I’m proud of these guys.”
McNamara never sat on his bench. He shouldn’t do this. If your bench is minus-9 points in three minutes against Albany, what can your bench do when Duke is on the other side of the floor? This can cost you a game early.
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The Saints lost the game but did everything they could to win.
“I asked them,” McNamara said. “It’s not like they’re going to tell me the truth when I say, ‘How are you?’ “They tell me ‘yes.’ I would tell my coaches the same thing, that I’m fine no matter what. They gave us everything. But that journey really took its toll on us. We missed two dunks that led to runs, but we responded. Yes, you get a little winded, but when you play against the best team in the country, sometimes you dig deeper and fight to the end. “
Duke head coach Jon Schell said in both the postgame interview and the postgame press conference that McNamara was a better coach than he was. It’s hard to argue with that.
Following last Tuesday’s matchup in Atlantic City against Joe Gallo and Merrimack, the Saints coaching staff soundly defeated the No. 1 seed and conference coach of the year in back-to-back games.
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“The key to a championship is your preparation to compete,” Scheyer said. “Siena has that as well as any team we play. We expected them to try to keep us out of the paint and they did a great job. When we made the run, they didn’t hold back. I think that’s a reflection on him and a reflection on his players. They were outstanding today and we gave everything we had to get the win.”
But for McNamara, it was just pride.
“I’m really proud,” he said. “I was blown away by them because we were fearless. We wanted to embrace that. I knew when I got them the Friday before Selection Sunday when we came back from Atlantic City and we had two practices there, three practices actually before Selection Sunday, they brought energy to the gym.”
After all, that’s why he’s here.
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“For me, take this job, take it over,” McNamara said. “Our goal is always to compete on this stage and I’m really, really proud of them for representing our school, our community and our alumni. Even the way they talk to each other, I think I said it here yesterday. After Atlantic City I said I’m a proud coach. I’m still a very proud coach.”
