Moore is magical in Siena semifinal victory

If you blinked, you missed Ronald Moore on Sunday.

Fairfield blinked, and blinked.

The Stags couldn’t keep up with Siena’s point guard, and to make matters worse for Fairfield, Moore’s teammates kept up with him just fine.

The 5-foot-11 junior from Conshohocken, Pa., ran Fairfield off the Times Union Center floor for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament-record 14 assists as Siena won, 80-65, to advance to the championship game for the third year in a row.

The defending champion Saints (25-7) will play Niagara in the title game at 9 tonight, perhaps with MAAC player of the year Kenny Hasbrouck in a greatly reduced role, after he got kicked in the right calf early in the second half. He said his leg probably has a deep contusion, and didn’t feel any better after having iced it for most of the second half in the training room.

Moore’s passes led to nine of Siena’s first 10 baskets as the Saints went ahead, 28-11, with 10:41 left in the first half.

He had 10 assists at halftime, when Siena led, 48-24, and Fairfield (17-15) never got closer than 16 of the lead during garbage time in the second half.

“It’s really fun playing with Ron,” said junior Edwin Ubiles, who scored 15 points. “He pushes the ball, and all you have to do is run with him. He draws attention, and pushing guys like that, he gets them back on their heels. He’ll find you in transition.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Siena head coach Fran McCaffery said. “But it didn’t surprise me. He’s been playing extremely well, he’s been aggressive and that’s how we play. And our big guys run with him. Our wings were running with him. They know if they run with him, they’re going to get it. If you run with him, he’ll throw you the ball and he’ll make you look good.”

“You have to always have to be looking at the ball and have your hands ready, because he might not be looking at you, but you’re going to get the ball if you’re open,” sophomore center Ryan Rossiter said. “You always have to be aware for a no-look pass, a bounce pass.”

Even when Fairfield scored in the first eight minutes of the game, which was rare, Siena inbounded from the baseline and got it up the floor and scored so quickly, you might miss a basket if you were sipping your beverage or talking to a friend.

After each of the Stags’ first five baskets, Siena scored within seven and 11 seconds.

The last of those was a three by Hasbrouck to give Siena a 22-11 lead with 11:36 left.

Moore, an all-MAAC second-teamer, even got in the scoring act on a drive that completed a 9-0 run for a 43-18 lead.

“I voted for him on the first team,” Fairfield head coach Ed Cooley said. “It seems like he has really good command of the game.”

“He had the ball up their backs, even when they made a shot,” Hasbrouck said. “When he’s flying like that, it’s hard to keep up with us, and it showed on the scoreboard.“

“I really have to give credit to the guys, they’re finishing the baskets,” Moore said. “Our chemistry is at a high, right now.”

The chemistry might have to adjust to a limited supply of it primary catalyst, Hasbrouck, though.

First, power forward Alex Franklin hit the deck and stayed down clutching his back on the first play of the second half as he and Greg Nero contested a rebound.

He left the game and came back a little later, but Hasbrouck’s injury was much more lasting.

With Siena ahead, 51-29, he leaped as high as he could to pick off a pass that was thrown back from the post toward Jamal Turner at midcourt, and on his way down, he was able to scoop it to his left to a streaking Moore for a breakaway layup. In the process, though, Hasbrouck also caught Turner’s knee in the calf.

Grimacing, he got up slowly after a whistle and massaged the back of his right calf. He tried to jog a little, but that was no good, and he stepped gingerly off the court with two trainers by his side, barely putting any weight on his right leg.

“I actually tried to run when it first happened, and I just couldn’t move. I was stuck,” he said in the locker room afterward, with his leg up on a chair. “It’s the same thing right now. It’s like a charley horse that won’t go away.”

Nevertheless, he said he expects to play tonight.

“I might not be 100 percent,” he said. “Besides that, I’m going to be on the floor and giving 100 percent.”

“He’s in a lot of pain,” McCaffery said. “He’s got it wrapped. We’ll see. Right now, he’s hurting pretty good.”

If Hasbrouck’s game is significantly compromised by the injury, “we’ll have to use our bench a little bit more,” McCaffery said. “I thought Clarence [Jackson] was very good tonight. We know what we can get out of Kyle Downey. We can move Eddie back there and play Owen Wignot. We’ve got some options.”

Jackson, a sophomore who mostly backs up Ubiles, led Siena with 16 points, Franklin scored 13 and Rossiter and Moore each scored 12.

Rossiter also had eight rebounds.

FAIRFIELD (65)

Hawkins 2-4 0-0 4, Evanovich 3-8 0-0 9, Turner 1-3 1-4 3, Jordan 5-11 2-2 15, O’Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Crawford 1-3 0-0 3, Grzeck 0-0 0-0 0, Olander 4-6 2-3 10, Nero 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 24-52 5-10 65.

SIENA (80)

Ubiles 7-13 0-0 15, Franklin 6-9 1-2 13, Rossiter 5-7 2-3 12, Moore 5-10 2-2 12, Hasbrouck 4-8 0-0 9, Downey 0-4 0-0 0, Jackson 5-10 1-2 16, Wignot 1-1 0-0 3, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Priestley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 33-62 6-9 80.

Halftime: . Three-point goals: Fairfield 12-27 (Evanovich 3-8, Jordan 3-6, Allen 5-10, Crawford 1-3); Siena 8-20 (Ubiles 1-4, Hasbrouck 1-4, Downey 0-2, Jackson 5-9, Wignot 1-1). Rebounds: Fairfield 28 (Evanovich 6); Siena 33 (Rossiter 8). Assists: Fairfield 18 (Turner, Crawford 4); Siena 25 (Moore 14). Total fouls: Fairfield 8; Siena 11. Technical fouls: Fairfield coach Cooley. Attendance: 8,011.