Close. Oh, so close.

Loyola was THAT close to a 20th win and a berth in the MAAC championship game when it lost to host Siena -- the eventual league champions -- by two points in the semifinals of the MAAC tournament.

"I am really proud of this team," said coach Jimmy Patsos. "I wish we would have won."

Added forward Omari Israel: "Of course I'm disappointed. We wanted to get to the championship game. It was do-or-die."

But the Greyhounds, the No. 4 seed, who beat No. 5 Fairfield in the quarterfinals, died. Now, the question has to be -- when does this program get this close again.

Patsos played eight players in the final game of the season. Four of them, including three starters, were seniors and one, Gerald Brown, was the mainstay of this team the past two seasons.

That means next year has to be at least a bit of a struggle, but Patsos will be able to start with a strong backcourt, led by Brett Harvey, MAAC co-Rookie of the Year Brian Rudolph and Marquis Sullivan, who did such a good job as the sixth man this season.

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