Canisius College players were relaxed and loose as they prepared this week for practice, even though their hopes of a lengthy run in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament hinge on coming up with a near-miracle.

Their chances of prolonged postseason success appeared remote a month ago, a period in which they wilted in the final minutes of games, coupled with late-game meltdowns that turned potential significant victories into crippling losses. Then the Golden Griffins seemed to turn their season around, winning three of their last four to end the regular season.

“It’s big for us, we have NCAA Tournament dreams,” junior guard Frank Turner said. “We want to be the MAAC champions, that’s all.”

The ninth-seeded Golden Griffins (10-19) hope to keep the momentum going at 7:30 tonight at the Times Union Center against No. 8 seed Loyola (Md.), which split the regular season series with the Griffs but has lost seven of its last eight games.

Canisius, playing in the first round of the MAAC Tournament for the 10th consecutive season, worked some late season magic a year ago, knocking off Iona, 64-59, in the first round, then giving eventual runner- up Rider all it could handle before losing in the quarterfinals, 75-71. The Griffs have a similar nothing-to-lose attitude this time around.

“We’re feeling very confident right now and we’ve had a good run of winning three of our last four games against some pretty tough teams, people that have potent offenses,” sophomore forward Tomas Vazquez-Simmons said. “We feel that if we lock up defensively, we’re up there with the best.”

Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Niagara (24-7) plays the winner of No. 10 Marist (9-22) vs. No. 7 Iona (12-18) at 7:30 p. m. Saturday in the quarterfinals. Despite being one of the high seeds, it’s not an easy draw for the Purple Eagles, who split with both teams during the regular season, but have won 10 of their last 11.

“First we got to understand, when you go to the postseason, whoever we play, they’re not the same team,” said Tyrone Lewis, Niagara’s leading scorer. “Guys who we say, ‘Well, he didn’t shoot the three well this season,’ they’re going to shoot it well. Big men that don’t go left, they’re going to go left. Everybody’s going to do everything at 100 percent when it comes to the postseason, and that’s one thing I tell my team.”

Should Canisius win, it will get a rematch at 5 p. m. Saturday against No. 1 Siena (23-7), which defeated the Griffs, 78-74, last Sunday in the regular-season finale.

Canisius led, 48-45, when Siena’s Kenny Hasbrouck got hot, hitting a three and following with a runner. Then he hit another three, fed Alex Franklin for an easy bucket and canned another three to open a seven-point lead. Even though the Siena loss ended a string of three consecutive victories, Canisius trailed by only one at 70-69 with 4:21 left in the game. The Saints scored the game’s next four points on buckets by Ronald Moore and Ryan Rossiter to seal the win.

“We had chances to win, but we did come out of it thinking that we can compete with the upper-echelon teams in the league going into the tournament,” Canisius coach Tom Parrotta said.

The Griffs lost the first matchup to the Greyhounds, 86-62, on Jan. 3 at the Koessler Center but won the second, 69-67, on Feb. 16 on the road. In both games, guard Jamal Barney had little trouble scoring.

“He’s like a quiet assassin,” Turner said. “You look up at the scoreboard and Loyola may have 50 and he’ll have 25. We have to slow him down but he’s going to get [his points] regardless.”

Barney, a 6-foot-3 guard from Baltimore, leads the MAAC in scoring at 18.6 points a game, but is averaging 35.5 in two games against Canisius. He pumped in 41 in the first game and 30 in the rematch. A second-team all-MAAC selection, Barney transferred to Loyola from Providence, where he played just 13 games as freshman.

“He’s got Kobe [Bryant]-like numbers so we’re obviously going to start with him and work our way down,” Parrotta said.

Said Vazquez-Simmons, “The last two times we’ve played them he’s definitely been the one going off, getting his and doing his best to carry his team. But he’s only one player and it’s hard for one player to beat a team.”

Loyola won’t have an easy time with Turner, either. A third-team All-MAAC selection, Turner is averaging 17.7 points and 3.2 assists over the last four games and Greyhounds coach Jimmy Patsos compares him to NBA Hall of Famer Nate Archibald.

“He’s dangerous and hard to guard,” Patsos said. “He scores and passes and he’s tough to stop.”