Feb. 29, 2008

Final Stats

Kenny Hasbrouck scored 32 points and Edwin Ubiles added 25 to lead Siena past Niagara 94-78 in front of 7,366 fans at Times Union Center Friday night. With the win, Siena remains in a tie for first place in the MAAC standings. The Saints will play for a share of the league's regular-season title Sunday at Saint Peter's.

Charron Fisher, the nation's leading scorer, had 31 points and 14 rebounds to lead Niagara (18-9, 11-6).

The Saints (18-10/12-5) jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, and, for the second straight game, never trailed. They led 50-43 at halftime after a fast-paced first half that saw 82 field goal attempts. Siena shot 50% from the field before intermission and committed just one turnover. Niagara stayed in the game with 19 second chance points - the result of 13 offensive rebounds.

Siena broke the game open in the second half with some help from lone senior Tay Fisher who hit a 3-pointer and a free throw during an 11-0 run that pushed the lead to 71-53 with 10:28 to go. Fisher added another 3 at the 8:44 mark to give the Saints a 20-point edge.

Hasbrouck and Ubiles combined to shoot 25-41 from the field. Ubiles provided the highlight of the game with a tomahawk jam over two Purple Eagles with just over eight minutes left.

Siena turned the ball over just six times, marking the fourth straight game they have turned the ball over fewer than 10 times

The Saints rolled to victory despite just six points and five rebounds from reigning MAAC Player of the Week Alex Franklin who picked up two quick first half fouls forcing head coach Fran McCaffery to use a smaller lineup.

Sophomore Tyrone Lewis had 17 points for Niagara and Stanley Hodge chipped in 10. The Purple Eagles shot 9-33 from 3-point range and got to the foul line just eight times. Siena, meanwhile, had only 16 3-point attempts and made 18-24 free throws.

The two teams entered the night in a four-way logjam atop the MAAC standings. Siena emerges in a three-way tie with Rider and Loyola - both winners tonight. In order to secure the #1 seed and automatic NIT berth, the Saints would need a win on Sunday coupled with a Loyola loss at Marist and a Niagara win over Canisius.