Dec. 28, 2006

Final Stats

It took them a while to get going, but once they did they never let up. Fueled by a 35-10 second half run and 26 points and 12 rebounds from go-to man Michael Haddix, Siena rallied past visiting Tennessee State 81-69 in Albany Thursday night.

"I was proud with the way we hung in there, and the defensive intensity we showed in the second half," head coach Fran McCaffery said. "This was a big bounce-back win for us."

Trailing 42-35 with 18:26 remaining in the second half, the Saints quickly took command.

Freshman Alex Franklin gave the Saints their first lead of the second half, 48-47, with a lay-up at the 13:19 mark and his viscous left-handed jam over Courtney Bohannon with 4:31 remaining brought the Pepsi Arena crowd of 5,583 to its feet. Franklin scored 14 points, collected seven rebounds and added five assists in his first collegiate start, leading McCaffery to refer to his performance as "spectacular."

Siena (6-4) owned a surprising 46-34 edge on the glass against the taller Tigers after being out-rebounded badly five days ago at Buffalo.

Tennessee State (5-6) held a 40-35 halftime lead after a crisp first 20 minutes offensively. Moraye Ivy scored 10 of his team-high 18 points before the break and the Tigers shot 47% from the floor before intermission.

Haddix kept Siena close with 16 of his 26 points in the first half.

The Saints turned up the defensive heat in the second half, holding the visitors to just 31% shooting and controlling the boards 27-19. Siena also got to the free throw line 31 times (making just 18) compared to just 12 opportunities for the visitors.

Larry Turner had 16 points and 10 rebounds for TSU and Ladarious Weaver had 11 points and four assists.

Kenny Hasbrouck has 12 points for the Saints. Edwin Ubiles added nine off the bench.

Siena returns to action against Maryland Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Comcast Center.