Upset City! Siena Shocks Vandy
POSTED: 11:43 pm CDT March 21,
2008
Tampa, FL -- (Sports Network) - Kenny Hasbrouck scored a game-high 30 points and Tay Fisher was 6-of-6 from three-point range as Siena stunned Vanderbilt, 83-62, in the first round of the Midwest Regional.Fisher ended with 19 points for the Saints (23-10), who hold the No. 13 seed and are riding a season-high seven-game win streak. They will play 12th seed Villanova in the next round, as the Wildcats got by Clemson, 75-69. Ronald Moore chipped in 11 points and Alex Franklin ended with 10 in the victory, as Siena shot 56.5 percent for the contest and was 22-of-25 from the charity stripe. With the win, Siena becomes the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team to reach the second round since Manhattan in 2004.
"The scouting report was great and we just followed the game plan," said Fisher. "And I was telling the team that we've got to act like we're down right now. And that's kind of hard to do when you just look up at the score. But it's been working the last six games whenever we were down. And I just felt like if I continued doing what was going right for us, it would lead to something good like this, and it definitely did. It was a great win, and I'm just happy for us right now." A.J. Ogilvy had 18 points and six boards to lead fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (26-8), which was coming off a loss to Arkansas in the SEC tourney. Shan Foster donated 13 points and Ross Neltner had 10. The Commodores made just 41 percent of their shots, and were a dreadful 4-of-20 from beyond the arc. "This team was a special team this year," said Foster. "We got a lot accomplished. Any time you're able to go 26-8, you know, that's obviously doing something great. Unfortunately, we have to end it on a loss, but, you know, I think it was great for the guys coming back next year." Vandy started off slow, with just one field goal and three turnovers in the first four minutes of the contest. The Commodores were trailing, 10-4, following a Hasbrouck layup at the other end, and Siena continued to play front-runner. The Saints later used an 8-0 run to widen the margin, as Fisher canned back- to-back treys to make it 26-13 near the midpoint. Siena remained hot the rest of the way, and a late three-ball by Fisher made it 46-34 at the break. The senior was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc at intermission, while Hasbrouck paced the club with a 15-point effort. Both teams started the second half on a cold spell, combining to miss 10 of their first 12 shots. The Commodores eventually righted the ship though, cutting their deficit to 50-43 on a Keegan Bell jumper at 13:21. The Saints answered with an 11-4 push and never looked back, as Fisher capped the rally with a shot from long range to put Siena up, 61-47. Vanderbilt continued to trail by as many as 14 points with 3:58 on the clock, but cut it to 69-60 with about three minutes left. The Saints then fired off a 12-0 run, effectively sealing the win. Game Notes Hasbrouck was 10-for-10 from the free throw line...The Commodores were making their second consecutive appearance in the tourney, only the second time a VU team had accomplished the feat in the history of the program. It was their 10th trip overall...The Saints are making their fourth appearance in the Big Dance...These teams met for the first time. The Commodores now hold a 3-1 record all-time against teams from the MAAC...Siena is 2-2 against schools from the SEC...Foster's first basket of the game gave him 2,000 points for his career. He is the first player in Vanderbilt history to reach the milestone.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.








