Nov. 28, 2005

Box Score

David Ryan battled through foul trouble to score 14 of his career high 17 points in the second half including five key 3-pointers as Siena pulled away from Fordham 64-54 for its first win of the season Monday night in front of 4,424 fans at Pepsi Arena. Sophomore Kojo Mensah added a career-high 21 points in a winning effort for the Saints.

"I couldn't be happier with the effort we gave tonight," head coach Fran McCaffery said. "We really got after them defensively, and it says a lot for this team that we won the way we did given the fact we didn't shoot the ball that well."

The Saints struggled out of the gate converting just 3 of their first 18 field goal attempts as Fordham jumped out to a 16-8 lead. Siena gained its composure and responded with a 7-0 run before taking its first lead of the game, 19-18, on successive field goals by Antoine Jordan.

The Saints ended the first half with a 10-0 spurt taking a 27-18 lead to the lockerroom.

Siena made just 7-of-25 3-pointers, but made up the difference with by far its strongest defensive effort of the season. The Saints allowed an average of 89 points per game over its first two games.

The Rams used a 10-3 run early in the second half to regain the lead 42-40. After Mensah tied the game with a driving layup, Ryan connected on two 3-pointers in a 20 second span to give Siena the lead for good.

The crowd responded with one of its four standing ovations, forcing a Fordham timeout. Ryan scored his 17 points in just 23 minutes, finishing the game with four fouls.

"The electricity in the building was outstanding," McCaffery said. "It really helped us carry through. We were sucking wind for a while there, but the fans were just tremendous."

Siena out-rebounded Fordham 37-31 even though Ryan was the tallest member of the starting lineup at 6-7. It's the second time in three games this season the Saints have out-rebounded the opposition.

The Saints will look to keep things rolling on Thursday as they host Holy Cross at 7 p.m.