Saratoga Celebrates Siena

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Siena University was about to ruin the March Madness brackets of countless Americans, and Saratogians couldn’t have been happier.

It had been 16 years since the Saints made an appearance in the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament, and at Bailey’s on Phila Street last Thursday afternoon, a core group of diehard fans clad in green and gold rapidly expanded to a robust audience of hoop lovers as the No. 16 seed Siena took on No. 1 Duke.

Anticipation turned to delighted shock when the underdog Capital Region locals bested the Blue Devils in the first half. Bailey’s erupted in cheers when two consecutive triples put Siena ahead 22-16 in the opening half. From there, the Saints piled on: 6 of 7 successful field goal attempts, an 8-0 run, a lead that stretched to as many as 13 points. For more than 28 minutes, the Saints appeared to be on the brink of eliminating one of college basketball’s most storied programs. At halftime, the Saints held a 43-32 lead.

But the second half was a different story. Duke steadily closed the deficit, shutting down Siena’s offense and, at one point, going on a 13-3 run. An entire 6 minutes passed without the Saints scoring so much as a single point. They lost out on rebounds and couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket. In the end, the Blue Devils took the W, 71-65, and advanced to the next round of the tournament.

Despite the loss, Siena’s heroic effort did not go unnoticed. “5 Guys from Siena Playing 40 Minutes and Taking The #1 Duke Blue Devils Down to The Wire Should Go Down in History as an All-Time Tournament Performance,” proclaimed a Barstool Sports headline. Indeed, Siena’s starters played either the entire game or nearly the entire game. Gavin Doty led the squad with 21 points, Francis Folefac had 18 points and 7 rebounds, Brendan Coyle added a dozen to the scoreboard, and Justice Shoats dished out 7 assists. All of them were officially credited with 40 minutes of playing time (only Christian Jones came off the bench to tally a few seconds).

The consequences of the contest were immediate and perhaps not entirely in Siena’s favor. Their head coach Gerry McNamara, who joined the team just two years ago and led it to a MAAC tournament championship, was quickly scooped up by his alma mater Syracuse University, which recently finalized a deal to bring him aboard as their new head coach.

Despite losing their skipper, Siena will nonetheless enter next season with high hopes after an historic 2025-26. No doubt, Saratogians will tune in.