Siena finishes hot in 77-60 win

Marist gave Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Siena a scare on Tuesday night at the Times-Union Center, but preseason favorite Siena rose to the top.
Siena forward Alex Franklin (right), a preseason first-team selection that always gives Marist headaches, poured in 22 points and hauled in eight rebounds to lead the Saints to a 77-60 win over the Red Foxes. Marist shot 46.2 percent from the field, while Siena shot 47 percent. The difference came in the turnover margin. Marist turned the ball over an unprecedented 26 times and Siena took advantage.
Marist led several times in the second-half, but after Ryan Schneider canned a three-pointer to give Marist a 56-55 lead with 11:47 left in the game, Siena responded. The Saints held the Red Foxes to four points for the rest of the game and closed out the contest on a 22-4 run. Siena had 14 more field-goal attempts and 10 more free-throw attempts.
Schneider led the Red Foxes in scoring with 11 points and guard Dejuan Goodwin chipped in 10. Defensively, Marist held the MAAC preseason player of the year, Kenny Hasbrouck, to nine points and fellow first-team player Edwin Ubiles to 12 points. A combined 21 points from those two players should have figured for a better result, but early foul trouble for Lawrence Williams made guarding Alex Franklin a tough task for Marist.
The Red Foxes fall to 1-1 in conference play while the Saints move to 2-0. Marist's next MAAC game will come against Saint Peter's on Jan. 2, 2009.