Mount St. Mary's, which is jockeying with Marist and Siena for first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and top seed in the league tournament, has a highly-anticipated showdown with Siena on Saturday.
But the Mountaineers (7-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference) can't overlook Wednesday night's opponent, a St. Joseph's team that is enjoying a two-game winning streak – both against MAAC opponents in VMI and Detroit Mercy.
"The staff and I are really focusing on one game at a time, but I know these young men would like to win the conference tournament," coach Tom Gravante said. "That's the team goal, which is great. I'm very pleased that they have expectations, but winning comes one game at a time. So we're going to keep them focused and stay the road and keep them humble and organized and get them ready for a good St. Joseph's team."
While Mount St. Mary's must deal with the Hawks, Siena (7-4, 4-0) plays host to Marist (7-3, 4-0) Wednesday afternoon. Then the Saints must travel to Emmittsburg to meet the Mountaineers at 1 p.m. at Waldron Family Stadium.
"So we have some advantages, and really, it's a matter of how well these guys rebound from a Wednesday night game, practice Thursday and Friday, and get themselves poised to play a big game on Saturday," Gravante said. "It's going to be a big game. There's a few advantages in our favor. We're home, it's our senior day, we're not traveling althought we're still in the same hole [as Siena] in terms of playing a Wednesday game. … So if these kids can maintain themselves, it should be a good game."