Posted at: 03/20/2010 12:05 PM
By: WNYT Staff

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Siena players, fans disappointed with outcome

The Siena Saints are not marching on to the next round of the NCAA tournament.

Siena took a three-point lead into the second half but couldn’t hang on against a tough Purdue team. In the end, the Saints fell 72-64.

From Andrew Catalon in Spokane, WA:

Siena rode an emotional roller coaster. They led at halftime, then fell behind by 15 in the second half. A furious rally cut it to three with a minute to go but Purdue pulls it out. After the game, the Saints were crushed. The up and down day left most of the Siena locker room in tears.

Ryan Rossiter: "Love playing with these guys, my family, and we expected more out of this season but we tried our hardest."

Alex Franklin: "This team is a family. We're all brothers in here but it showed after the game how emotional it was in here that we really are a family."

The family is shrinking by three. Franklin, Ronald Moore, and Edwin Ubiles leave Siena as the most successful senior class in school history.

Ubiles: "A great run since I've been here as a freshman. Our class did a tremendous job of bringing a lot of things to this program and was able to win three championships back-to-back and make some noise in the tournament."

Moore: "I just told everybody I was happy to share my experience with these guys for all four years. Couldn't have picked a better school and that I love them and thank them for everything they've done for me."

McCaffrey: "This business can be a grind. It can really wear on you. When you don't have those kinds of people, it's a long season. These guys not only were great competitors, they were great teammates, they were fabulous helping develop our younger players, great examples in practice and I think, more importantly, great examples for Siena College."

It was a great run, three straight trips to the NCAA tournament.

From Subrina Dhammi:

TROY – Some of the biggest groups of fans – students and alumni – were holding their collective breath throughout the final moments of the game.

We watched with them at the Recovery Room Sports Bar in Troy. Hear what 2002 Siena graduate Mike Hennessey and 1976 Siena graduate Charlie Smith had to say as they watched the game.