History reveals the magnitude of the challenge Canisius would have faced Sunday even under

ideal circumstances. Siena had beaten the Golden Griffs nine straight times. The average

margin of defeat was 17 points. Only once in that span had Canisius kept a loss within double

figures.

What the Griffs faced Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Center hardly amounted to the best

of circumstances. Siena was coming off its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference loss of

the season, on Friday at Niagara. As a result, the Saints' margin of error is near nil in the

event they're beaten in the conference tournament and left wanting for an at-large bid to the

NCAA Tournament.

Add to Siena's sense of urgency the physical ailments that have strapped Canisius. Freshmen

guards Reggie Groves and Alshwan Hymes remain out with knee injuries, Groves for the season.

Junior forward Greg Logins pulled a chest muscle in Friday's victory over Marist, rendering

him unavailable. Coach Tom Parrotta's reach down the bench now extends to the seldom utilized,

such as Lithuania sophomore Rokas Gricius.

Given all those factors, what transpired at the Koessler Center fell into the category of

highly foreseeable. Valentine's Day? More like Groundhog's Day. The Saints pounded the Griffs

on the inside, ripped them to shreds on the boards and flexed their overall superiority in a

74-57 decision that offered little in the way of second-half drama.

"I thought against a team like that who's obviously very, very strong and has a lot a lot

of weapons, we cut that [lead] to [seven] and I think quite honestly we ran out of gas to be

totally blunt with you," Parrotta said. "I think it showed — I don't even know if I have

to watch the tape — that we really, really ran out of gas down the stretch."



Canisius (13-15, 7-9) closed within seven, 51-44, on two Frank Turner free throws with

11:49 to play. Within 2 minutes the Saints re-established command, opening a 60-46

lead following a super sequence by center Ryan Rossiter, who made a lunging out-of-bounds save

on the end line, hustled back into the paint and tipped in a Kyle Griffin miss.

The Saints (22-5, 15-1) were all business. Junior guard Clarence Jackson drove with

impunity while scoring all 16 of his points in the first half. Leading scorer Alex Franklin,

limited to just eight points in the loss at Niagara, was man-versus-boys in the second half,

staking claim to the lane with his 6-foot-5, 226-pound frame and scoring 18 of his 26 points.

And Rossiter, their 6-9 junior center, filled up the stat sheet in typical quiet, unassuming

fashion, totaling 15 points and 17 rebounds.

"Going into the game we knew they were going to try and fly at us, so we just tried to keep

pounding it inside and drive the basketball, and we were able to do that tonight," Jackson

said.

"We knew that would be one of our advantages so we just tried to take advantage of that and

our teammates were looking for us down low," Franklin said.

Whatever resistance Canisius mustered was owed to Turner and backup guard Bob Bevilacqua.

Turner produced 15 points and nine assists against just two turnovers. Bevilacqua struck for a

career-high 17 points in 25 minutes to fill some of the scoring void created by a 3-for-16,

eight-point effort from shooting guard Julius Coles.

"When guys' numbers are down we have to step up and that's what I tried to do," Bevilacqua

said. "A lot of my shots were open and just created by Frank. I think a lot of credit goes to

him for finding me."



The Griffs have a 12-day break from conference play before finishing with road games at

Loyola and Rider. They're off until Saturday when James Madison visits at 7 p.m. for the ESPNU

Bracketbuster.