The Saints have barely led for three straight games.
The losing streak continued Tuesday as Jacksonville jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and dominated the remainder of the game with a 75-64 win in a third-place Farms Division game at the tip-off in Fort Myers. at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.
Thanks to the play of freshmen Gavin Doty and Tajae Jones, the Saints (3-4) chipped away at a 20-point deficit with 7:56 left to pull within six points with 2:56 left. The degree was as close as they had hoped. get.
After starting the season 3-0 under new coach Gerry McNamara, Siena are on par with their win total from the entire miserable 2023-24 season but are still waiting for it.
At the Fort Myers tipoff, the Saints lost last week’s on-campus game at Xavier when Siena led 5-3 in the opening minutes, but fell behind from there and never lost to Miami (Ohio). Monday and then moved to Florida and then Jacksonville.
“We played 80 minutes here and 60 minutes were the worst,” McNamara said. “We finally had a moment to play unselfish basketball.
“I hope we can get through the last 20 minutes with the group we know we can play. This is a group that plays together in space and makes each other better, recording eight assists and four turnovers in the second half. .”
Doty finished with 21 points and six rebounds after scoring a total of 12 points in the first six games. He averaged 28.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 3.2 assists as a senior at Fulton High School in Section 3, northwest of Syracuse.
He started the comeback with a 3-pointer, Jones scored five points and blocked a shot, and Major Freeman hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the second of which brought Siena within 68-62 with 2:56 left.
“I thought we played well, but when you lose by 21 points, it’s never a happy night,” Doty said. “I’d rather lose by even 5 points.”
“We fell behind early, but we knew what we had to do to impact the game,” Jones said. Rebounding, diving to the floor, etc… “It was just about putting myself on the line.”
“Those guys are fighting,” McNamara said. “It’s as simple as that. The way Gavin plays, he brings a different level of energy to get back into the game.
“Taj was no different. I came in and did a few plays in a brief role. I watched it all summer. Tajae Jones’ rebounds per 40 minutes, really amazing kid. Two men who love basketball. They play to win. I wanted toughness on the court, so I went with the toughest group.”
After that the comeback disappeared.
Robert McCray, who scored 21 points in 29 minutes on 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 8-16 from the field, blocked Siena’s run with a jumper to take a 70-62 lead with 1 minute and 56 seconds left, followed by Reid Ducharme with a 70-pointer. They were ahead by -62. We missed three points against Siena.
