Siena comes up short against Manhattan

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Evan Hymes of Siena has the ball batted away by Ashton Pankey of Manhattan at the Times Union Center in Albany Saturday, February 21, 2015.

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It’s been the same old story for the Siena College Saints in the second half of the season. They can make shots, but they can’t seem to make stops.

Siena rallied from several 10-point deficits down the stretch, including 74-64 with 2:45 left, and they gradually whittled that margin down to three. But RaShawn Stores drained a devastating three-pointer from the corner with 14.9 seconds left to clinch an 80-74 victory for Manhattan Saturday night at Times Union Center.

Siena, which has lost seven of its last nine games, falls to 7-11 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and 10-17 overall. Second-place Manhattan improves to 11-6 and 14-12. The Jaspers had lost their last 10 games at the TUC.

The Saints have been relegated to playing the opening round of the MAAC tournament on March 5.

“The MAAC comes down to stopping your guy,” said

Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos. “Teams made threes against us when it mattered this week. We played hard with a lot of good energy. But the MAAC is almost an old-school league. If you stop your guy and make a couple of shots, you can win. This is a hard-hat league. We just came up a little short. Teams are making threes, and we’re not.”

Stores scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, and he was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

The Saints looked done when the Jaspers grabbed a 74-64 lead with 2:45 to go, but Rob Poole, celebrating senior night, drained a three-pointer before Javion Ogunyemi converted a three-point play to slice the deficit to 74-70.

After Stores sank one of two foul shots, Ryan Oliver made a pair of free throws — his only points of the night — to get the Saints within one possession at 75-72.

But Manhattan fed the ball to Emmy Andujar, who was guarded by Ogunyemi. Andujar flipped the ball back to the corner, where Stores drained the big shot. Ashton Pankey added two insurance free throws. Ogunyemi converted a layup at the buzzer for a career-high with 18 points.

“Stores hit that big shot,” said Poole, who scored 21 points and moved into 10th place on the Saints’ all-time scoring list with 1,467 points. “We’re doing almost everything right, but maybe we need to get to a loose ball or an offensive rebound. We’ve been fighting hard, but people are making shots against us this year. It didn’t happen that way last year.”

“It comes down to making shots,” said Ogunyemi. “In a game like this, both teams are going to play hard and physical. We’ve just got to go over the film and get ready for our next game.”

Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said his team is not looking at the standings.

“If you look at the standings, you will get bit,” he said. “You don’t want Siena here in the first round, but you’ve got to play to win. For us, we’ve got to worry about our next opponent.”

Andujar finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Jaspers. Pankey had 15 points and nine rebounds, while Richards finished with 13 points.

Lavon Long was the third Saint in twin figures with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but he fouled out for the ninth time this season after playing 27 minutes.

“Poole tried to will us to win,” said Patsos. “We give good games on TV, and we are trying hard, but I’d like to win one.”

Siena finishes up the regular season with two road games. They play at Quinnipiac Friday night and at Monmouth March 1.

MANHATTAN (80)

Pankey 3-7 9-14 15, Andujar 6-12 5-6 17, Lawrence 3-5 1-4 7, Richards 4-10 4-4 13, Stores 4-6 3-4 15, Wilson 0-1 2-2 2, Waterman 2-3 0-0 5, Crawford 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 1-5 0-0 3, Kates 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 24-54 25-36 80.

SIENA (74)

Ogunyemi 8-9 2-4 18, Long 3-7 6-8 12, Wright 1-11 2-2 4, Hymes 3-13 3-5 9, Poole 6-11 6-8 21, Brandwijk 1-3 0-0 2, Oliver 0-5 2-2 2, Paige 0-0 0-0 0, White 0-3 6-8 6. Totals: 22-62 27-37 74.

Halftime: Manhattan, 35-33. Three-point goals: Manhattan 7-22 (Lawrence 0-1, Richards 1-7, Stores 4-6, Waterman 1-2, Crawford 0-2, Williams 1-3, Kats 0-1), Siena 3-13 (Wright 0-1, Hymes 0-4, Poole 3-4, Oliver 0-4). Rebounds: Manhattan 41 (Andujar 13), Siena 36 (Long 10). Assists: Manhattan 15 (Andujar 5), Siena 9 (Long 3). Total fouls: Manhattan 28, Siena 23. Fouled out: Lawrence, Long. Officials: Robert Riley, Guy Pagano, Brandon Cruz. Attendance: 6,809.