by Anthony L. Macri

On Wednesday, Loyola faces what Head Coach Dino Gaudio says is "the first real test for us." Siena
College hosts the Greyhounds in what had appeared would be a matchup of unbeatens, until Loyola
squandered a 12-point lead in a loss to Kent this past Saturday.

"We relaxed too much at the end," explains Gaudio. "We haven't, as a team, developed a killer instinct."
That will have to change for the Hounds to beat Siena, a team expected to challenge for the MAAC
championship. "If we have all our guys playing well, we have a good chance at being a very good
team," says the coach. So far this year, the Loyola frontcourt has been solid, with Rod Platt, Blanchard
Hurd, and Brian Carroll playing very consistently, both offensively and defensively. In the first three
games, the backcourt and bench also played extremely well, but in the Kent game they seemed to
unravel. Leading scorer Jason Rowe (17 points and 6.5 assists per game) was held to just 8 points on 3
of 12 shooting. "It just seems odd—our perimeter players are not shooting the ball very well," says
Gaudio.

In the game against Siena, Loyola should have an advantage inside against a thin Siena frontcourt led
by Jim Cantamessa, Brandon Fields, and top scorer Marcus Faison. "We want to take advantage of the
open court, but we do have a bigger presence in the halfcourt with our forwards," says Gaudio.
However, due to an injury to forward Apostolis Nasiou, the Loyola frontcourt is not very deep, and
another injury to swingman Jamal Hunter further limits the Greyhound's substitution options. Look for
Ryan Blosser to start at the off guard with Damien Jenifer coming off the bench.

"The biggest keys to this game are getting out on their three-point shooters and handling their pressure,"
states Gaudio. Siena has three long-range snipers in Cantamessa, Faison, and Scott Knapp, and their
run-and-gun style with a tremendous full-court press usually creates turnovers and forces opponents
into fatigue.

If nothing else, this game will show what the Hounds will need to work on. They go to Siena's home
court as underdogs in what could be a pivotal matchup for later in the year. "This will really tell us
where we are as a team," says Gaudio. "I'm looking forward to it." As the first game of the MAAC
season, many people are looking forward to it.