Like many Bangor-area youngsters, Cory Magee cut his basketball teeth at the Bangor YMCA.

“I still remember my days at the Y. I love that place,” said Magee, who moved to Fairport, N.Y., when he was “10 or 11” and is gearing up for the NCAA Tournament.

The sophomore forward’s 13th-seeded Siena College (N.Y.) Saints face No. 4 Vanderbilt on Friday at 7:20 p.m. in Tampa, Fla.

Siena is 22-10 and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion while Vanderbilt, out of the SEC, is 26-7.

“I used to play my game early in the morning at the Y and stay the rest of the day,” added Magee.

His father, Billy Magee, was an outstanding shooter and player at Bangor High School and his mother, Ellen (Sands), was a cheerleader for the Rams.

The second of their four sons has made his mark as a valuable role player for the Saints.

“I was given the starting job early in the year and that was great. But coach [Fran McCaffery] really liked the role I played last year: coming off the bench and giving the team a lot of energy, hustling and getting rebounds,” said Magee. “I raise some havoc when I’m in there.”

The 6-foot-7, 223-pound Magee has averaged 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 points in 11.5 minutes of playing time per game. He has played in 31 of their 32 games, starting 10 of them.

He leads the team in 3-point shooting percentage (4-for-9, .444).

Some players have a difficult time transitioning into a limited-minutes role player after starring in high school.

Not Magee.

“I think everyone envisions their college careers being similar to their high school careers: scoring points and playing a lot of minutes. But I’ve become a role player, a hammer guy, and I couldn’t be happier,” said Magee, a four-time All-Monroe County selection at Fairport High. “The most important thing to me is winning. I don’t like to lose. Everything tastes better when you win. If this is what I have to do to help my team win, I’ll do it to the best of my ability.”

He averaged 11 minutes and three rebounds a year ago.

The Saints are making their first NCAA appearance since 2002 and had an impressive non-conference schedule including games against four NCAA Tournament teams.

They beat Stanford (79-67) and Boise State (93-70) and lost to St. Joseph’s (74-68) and Memphis (102-58).

“We had kind of a bunny [easy] schedule last year but Coach went out and got the best schedule he could for this season and, looking back on it, it was worth it because we have more confidence going into the tournament,” said Magee.

He said beating Stanford at home was an “unreal experience” and the win at Boise State “was the turning point in our season.”

He said the team’s attitude going into the Vanderbilt game is “very good right now.

“Vanderbilt is similar to Stanford. They’re a rhythm team and we have to take them out of their rhythm which is what we did against Stanford. We feel we can do the same thing against them,” said Magee. “Look for a very close game.”

The high-powered Saints are averaging 76.8 points per game with three players over 15 ppg.

Magee had originally decided to attend Canisius College in Buffalo because it was “an hour from my house.

“But the coach [Mike MacDonald] got fired, there was still a scholarship open at Siena so I came here,” explained Magee. “Siena has been a real good fit for me.”

Magee hopes to earn a more prominent role next year.

“I’m going to work on my shot over the summer. I’m going to be more aggressive offensively and start looking for my shot more. I’m also going to work on my all-around game,” said Magee. “But no matter how much I improve, the intangibles I bring are hustle and desire and I’m still going to play a role on the team.”

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

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