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Just moments after Siena's 80-65 thumping of Fairfield in the MAAC semifinals last Sunday, everyone was wondering the same thing: Would Kenny Hasbrouck play in the championship game?

The senior guard and MAAC Player of the Year left the Fairfield game early in the second half with an apparent calf injury and never returned. The following day, Hasbrouck missed the team's pre-game shoot-around and his ability to play was dubbed by coach Fran McCaffery as a "game-time decision."

But all speculations and worries were put to rest five minutes before game time, as the scoreboard flashed number 41 under the Siena Saints' starting line-up, igniting a collective cheer from the 9,700 fans at the Times Union Center in Albany.

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Hasbrouck then went to work, scoring 17 of his team high 19 points in the second half, earning himself the MAAC Tournament MVP Award, and Siena became MAAC champ-ions for a second consecutive year, defeating Niagara 77-70.

In a hard-fought first half in which Niagara jumped out to an early 13-5 lead, Siena used a pair of three-pointers from sophomore Clarence Jackson and the inside game of Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossiter to come back and lead for most of the half. 

However, Niagara kept it close throughout with some sharp shooting of their own, highlighted by Tyrone Lewis's game high 22 points, and the game went into halftime tied 33-33.

In the second half, Hasbrouck took over, showing no signs of an injury. While the game remained close for most of the half, Siena gradually pulled themselves farther and farther apart from the Purple Eagles.

NCAA-bound
When the clock hit 0:00, the celebration began as nearly 3,000 Siena students and fans charged the court, high-fiving, cheering and lifting the players on their 
shoulders and carrying them through a sea of gold shirts.

Siena will now be one of the 65 teams to take part in the NCAA Men's Tournament. Last year as a No. 13 seed, they upset the No. 4 seeded Vanderbilt in the first round. This year, the Saints are projected to receive between a No. 10 seed and a No. 12 seed. The entire field will be announced this Sunday.[[In-content Ad]]

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