Gerry McNamara wins in his hometown; Siena matches win total from last season

By Mark Singelais | Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
The Siena men’s basketball team can feel better about itself heading into the opening weekend of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play after Saturday’s 71-58 win over Bucknell that snapped a four-game losing streak.
With the victory, Siena (4-4) has already matched its win total from last season’s 4-28 disaster. The Saints begin league play with their annual western New York trip to Niagara on Friday and Canisius on Sunday.
“Like I said, I’m confident in our group, in our ability,” Siena coach Gerry McNamara said. “The reason I’m confident is because I feel like now everybody’s kind of had some moments. We’re easing things in and if guys know every night I’m going to play the guys, for the most part, that what I see is what I’m going to feel and go with, I feel very confident in our group moving forward.”
The loudest pregame cheers on Saturday came for McNamara, a local hero and native of nearby Scranton, and Justice Shoats. McNamara greeted his parents behind the Siena bench after the victory.
“The most important thing to me was winning,” McNamara said. “I told these guys in practice, I’m nervous like the first game I coached against Brown, because it’s the first time I’ve coached in front of my mother and father. It was special in that regard for me, but what ruins any night for any of us, me and the players next to me, the players in our locker room, is if you lose a game.”
Winning the homecoming game near his hometown of Scranton, McNamara sounded a more upbeat tone than last week’s tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. After losses to Miami (Ohio) and Jacksonville, McNamara said he was “kind of disgusted” and that Siena was “terrible” for most of the 80 minutes in Florida.
Unlike those games, during which Siena never led, the Saints trailed only once against Bucknell by a score of 19-17. The Saints got off to a strong start with help from junior guard Justice Shoats, a Wilkes-Barre native who got his first college start in front of a hometown crowd.
Shoats finished with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting to break a four-game scoring slump. He acknowledged Bucknell defended him differently than other recent opponents, who collapsed on him.
“Gave me more looks, more reads that I could make,” Shoats said. “Getting other guys involved, even scoring myself. Whatever they gave me, I just went out there and operated with it.”
Shoats is averaging 22.7 points per game in Siena’s four wins and 5.7 in the four defeats.
When center Peter Carey again got in foul trouble, Myles Wilmoth came off the bench to provide six points, five rebounds and three blocks. He played solid defense with double-team help on Bucknell 7-footer Noah Williamson, who struggled against Siena’s physical play and finished with six points and four turnovers.
Brendan Coyle scored 12 points on four 3-pointers and freshmen Gavin Doty and Tajae Jones again played roles off the bench.
Siena junior guard Major Freeman scored a career-high 21 points and has finished in double figures in all eight games this season. He and Shoats helped stave off a Bucknell rally that sliced Siena’s 18-point lead to eight in the second half.
“I thought these two guys (Freeman and Shoats) were terrific tonight,” McNamara said. “Coming back from Florida, I felt like these two guys especially had another gear in terms of leading this team.”
Freeman saw the Saints getting back to what made them successful.
“Popping the ball, getting out in transition, defending, rebounding,” Freeman said. “Just staying connected, being connected.”
Even during the losing streak, McNamara praised his team’s preparation. He said he told a Siena student manager, a freshman, to appreciate working with this group of players.
“Don’t take this for granted,” McNamara said. “This isn’t normal. It’s really not. I’m very blessed with the group that I work with. They’re professional. There’s no egos. I can coach a kid. He might roll his eyes every now and then, but that’s normal. They’ve got to have egos as well, in terms of confidence in themselves. I’m really grateful that I have a group that allows me to coach them, and they want to be good.”