Jan. 9, 2010
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
Siena turned a first place MAAC showdown into another league laugher, drilling visiting Niagara 83-65 in front of a packed house at Times Union Center Saturday. Edwin Ubiles didn't start due to disciplinary reasons, but he came off the bench to score 25 and take over the team's scoring lead after a sluggish start to the season.
It was the 29th straight home win for the Saints and the 29th win in the team's last 31 games against MAAC opposition.
Niagara hung around, trailing just 43-42 at the half and scoring the first basket out of the break to grab their only lead of the second half. But the Saints then hit the gas pedal and there was no looking back.
Siena scored nine straight points to take a 51-43 lead into the first media of the second stanza and led by no fewer than six the rest of the way. The advantage was double digits for the final 8:47 as Siena found its comfort zone with Ubiles leading the way.
Ubiles scored 10 points in the first half despite being benched for the first 7:27 of the game after arriving late for a meeting. He dominated the second half, scoring 15 points.
The Saints were far more aggressive in the second half, controlling a 27-16 edge in rebounding, turning a 20-16 halftime deficit on the glass into a commanding 43-36 advantage.
Alex Franklin had 20 points, making all five of his field goals and 10-14 free throws, and Ryan Rossiter posted his team-leading sixth double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Niagara was paced by Tyrone Lewis who scored 21 points, but the Saints did a great job on Preseason First Team All-MAAC selection Bilal Benn who ended with just seven points and seven rebounds after entering the game averaging a double-double.
Ronald Moore had seven of the Saints' 11 assists and just one turnover. Kyle Downey, who started in place of Ubiles, finished with five points, three rebounds and an assist in 29 solid minutes.
The crowd favorite was freshman O.D. Anosike. Anosike provided great energy off the bench, scoring six points and grabbing nine rebounds. He put the exclamation point on the win with a thunderous two hand jam in the closing seconds.
Siena moves to 12-4 on the season and 5-0 in the MAAC, a game up on second place Fairfield (4-1). The Saints and Stags meet next Saturday in Bridgeport, but Siena will first have to deal with upstart Canisius Monday night here in Albany. A victory would be the team's 30th straight in this building.
