LOUDONVILLE – Considering the Siena men’s basketball team has beaten Rider and Iona this season without leading scorer Javian McCollum, it stands to reason the Saints would feel good about their chances with McCollum in the lineup for a crucial road trip this weekend to the Broncs and Gaels.
Graduate center Jackson Stormo agreed with that thinking – with a caveat.
“It’s absolutely relevant,” Stormo said Tuesday. “We love having Javian back. He’s a huge difference-maker on the court, but we won those two games in our own building and you know where we’re going this weekend is going to be most likely sold-out crowds in two hostile environments. We’ve got to make sure we’re on point and execute the game plan to the best of our abilities.”
The problem is the Saints (17-10 overall, 11-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) haven’t been at their best lately entering Friday’s game at Rider (14-11, 11-5), followed by Sunday’s contest at Iona (20-7, 13-5). Their wins over Rider (68-63) and Iona (70-53) both came in January at MVP Arena.
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Alumni Gym, Lawrenceville, N.J.
TV/radio: ESPNU, ALT 104.9 FM
The Saints are coming off a 66-63 home loss to Quinnipiac on Friday, on the heels of a lackluster home victory over Marist Feb. 12. Both games came with McCollum back on the court after his back injury.
“We haven’t played, probably, our basketball in probably a month,” Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello said. “You can see that in the 5-5 record over the last 10 games.”
Siena is tied with Rider for second in the MAAC, two games behind first-place Iona. With four regular-season games left, this weekend’s action has strong ramifications for seeding in the league tournament in Atlantic City.
A Siena win over Rider would put the Saints in strong position for a…
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