By Joe Budzelek
(@stf_ncaa)
Dropping their first tilt against Siena one month ago, Sacred Heart finished their regular season series against Siena winless as the Saints defeated the Pioneers 80-to-73 Saturday afternoon, led by 22 point efforts from Gavin Doty and Brendan Coyle, as the duo were one of three Saints, alongside Justice Shoats, that played every second of the game for the injury-depleted Saints. “Doty was flying around,” said Sacred Heart head coach Anthony Latina, “He’s got the best motor in the league.”
With the combination of their press and zone looks that trapped Sacred Heart in the halfcourt corners, Siena’s defense pressured and took up space, forcing Sacred Heart to convert just 17% of their three-point looks this afternoon. “They outworked us,” added Latina, “It was a disappointing game for us, but Siena deserves a lot of credit. We didn’t respond like we hoped and we can’t get out-rebounded at home by seven.”
Rebounds, especially on the defensive side of the ball, have been Sacred Heart’s bugaboo this weekend as this afternoon’s tilt was the second straight game allowing at least seventeen offensive rebounds. “If we rebounded on defense better, there’s a high probability we would be 2-and-0 this weekend, but the margins are slim,” reflected Latina.
In the first half, forward Anquan Hill led the starters with ten first half points, but Siena’s defense held three of Sacred Heart’s starters scoreless. However, freshman guard Nyle Ralph-Meyer continued to be a huge boost off the bench, scoring twelve points in each half, achieving a season-high showcasing his growing comfort and ability to convert inside after starting the season mostly as a perimeter-first weapon. “He’s been terrific and he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do for us,” said Latina, “He’s extremely athletic, he’s a crafty finisher. He’s a weapon that we are certainly going to need for us down the stretch.”
Alternating runs provided the backdrop to the second half, ultimately tipping in favor of the Siena Saints. Sacred Heart kicked off the second half with a jolt of intensity that fueled a Pioneers six-point opening run, led by an Amiri Stewart pick-six that supplied two of the guard’s eight points in the second half’s first five minutes, cutting the Siena lead to one point.
Despite the strong start, the middle of the second half favored Siena, as the Saints outscored the Pioneers by twelve points following Sacred Heart’s initial run, with Gavin Doty and Brendan Coyle scoring nine points apiece during the mid-half spark. With seven minutes to go, the Pioneers deficit widened to a dozen points until a Nyle Ralph-Beyer three kicked off a five-minute 16-to-2 run with Nyle Ralph-Beyer scoring eight points, as the Siena lead once again cut to a single point.
With just 96 seconds remaining in the game, a Brendan Coyle three pointer kicked off Siena’s most prolific scoring stretch of the game, closing out the game with a 10-to-4 run. With thirty-five seconds to go, Gavin Doty drove and scored at the basket, as a dubious-at-best foul call on Mekhi Conner helped the Siena lead bloat to five points, keeping the game out of reach for the Pioneers.
In addition to Ralph-Beyer’s big afternoon, Anquan Hill made good with a 22-point effort, which was an impressive turnaround after scoring just five points in the previous matchup against Siena. Tanner Thomas, Hill’s frontcourt mate, struggled throughout the afternoon as the veteran forward played through an ankle-injury, which affected his movement on both sides of the floor.
Following a weekend hosting Quinnipiac and Siena, Sacred Heart is amidst arguably their toughest stretch of the regular season as their next games will face Merrimack and Saint Peter’s on the road followed by hosting Marist the following weekend. “It ain’t going to get any easier,” said Latina, “We’ve got to bounce back and we didn’t show a ton of life today, I don’t know why.”
Entering next week with an even 7-7 record in MAAC conference play, a pivot following a two-game skid is necessary as tournament play is fast approaching.
“This was disappointing, but we are going to get back to work,” concluded Latina, “We have six games left and if we get on a run here, we can feel good about it. Finishing in the top-six is the goal and I think we can still finish the regular season with a first round bye entering Atlantic City.”
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