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 Saints Regain TIAA-CREF Albany Cup Behind Kojo Mensah's Triple-Double
Dec. 3, 2005
Albany, N.Y. - In a battle of Capital Region programs, the Siena men's basketball team (3-2) earned bragging rights and the Albany Cup behind a 17-point overtime scoring blitz putting the University at Albany (1-5) away in a 82-74 final at Pepsi Arena. In front of 8,641 fans, Kojo Mensah recorded the first triple-double for the Saints in over 15 years. The Saints defense in the overtime session was stifling, Albany's first points came with less than a minute left in the frame. Siena's offense was reinvigorated on a defensive stop when freshman Kenny Hasbrouck came up with a steal in the Albany zone and sprinted the length of the floor for the layup which gave the Saints the lead for good. The Green and Gold ran off 10 points in the overtime frame before the Great Danes got on the board again. The Saints seemed in control after Levi Osby managed to bank in a tough shot while drawing a foul before falling out of bounds. Mensah, who had earlier missed two free throws down the stretch at the end of regulation, made amends hitting all six of his free throw attempts in overtime. Kojo Mensah has been flirting with a triple-double many times this season and attained the feat in regulation on an assist to Tay Fisher for a three with a minute left on the clock. Mensah was on the court for 44 of a possible 45 minutes and his closing line of 20 points, 14 caroms and 11 assists was the first time a Siena player had a triple-double since November 25, 1990 when Marc Brown last accomplished the feat. The rebounding and assist totals are career highs and his 20 points fell one point shy of his career mark.
Senior Antoine Jordan posted his second straight double-double and third of the young season. Jordan finished with a team-high 24 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 3 steals and two blocks. Mike Beers finished with a season-high eight points on 2-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Siena got 20-point performances from two players and for the second straight game had four people finish in double-figures. The Green and Gold were +5 in the assist to turnover ratio column finishing with 19 assists and 14 turnovers. The back and forth game had the Saints outscoring the Great Danes 40-25 in the first half to only be outscored by that same margin after the intermission. There were five ties and seven lead changes in the game. Siena dominated in nearly every offensive category holding the edge in field goal percentage (44.3% compared to 37%), three point percentage (37.9% compared to 24.2%) and in free throw accuracy (73.9% compared to 57.1%). Albany's Lucious Jordan put up a double-double in the loss finishing with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. With 7-footer Kirsten Zoellner in the game, the Great Danes outscored the Saints 46-28 in regulation. With the win, Siena is now 4-1 in games against Albany at the Pepsi Arena. The Saints are above .500 for the first time since December 2, 2003. The Saints are next in action on the road this Friday as they open league play against Niagara with a 7 p.m. tipoff. |
