Final Stats

FORT MYERS, FL â€" Siena Basketball cut a 17-point second half deficit to as little as two in the final minute, but couldn't quite complete the comeback as defending Atlantic Sun Champion and preseason favorite Florida Gulf Coast held on to defeat the Saints 73-69 at Alico Arena. Senior guard Marquis Wright led Siena with 16 points and nine assists, including the 500th of his career.

Siena (3-7, 1-1) trailed by as many as 17 points with 14:08 to play, and still by 15 with 6:27 remaining. But the resilient Saints battled back and reeled off 11 straight points to rally within 67-63 with 2:39 to go. Freshman reserves Khalil Richard and Ahsante Shivers helped spark the run, combining for seven of the points.

FGCU (6-3) pushed the lead back to six on two separate occasions, but Siena would not quit. Wright finished a layup with 1:20 remaining, and red-shirt senior forward Brett Bisping drained two clutch free throws on the Saints' next possession to pull Siena within 71-69 with 31.7 seconds remaining.

The Eagles' Zach Johnson made just one of two free at the other end to give the Saints a chance, but Wright's look at a tying three with nine seconds to go was off the mark and Johnson sank the clinching free throw to ice it.

Johnson finished with 11 points and four steals for FGCU which entered play ranked 49th in the latest NCAA RPI report, and which has now won five straight following a one-point defeat at then 13th ranked Michigan State. Demetris Morant led the way with 16 points, and Brandon Goodwin contributed 14 points for the Eagles which have won 10 in a row at home dating back to last season.

Wright was masterful running the point, dishing out his nine assists without committing a turnover in becoming just the fifth player in Siena Basketball history to reach 500 career assists. Bisping scored 15 points and tallied nine rebounds, and senior forward Javion Ogunyemi added 11 points for the Saints which nearly pulled off the comeback despite being without second leading scorer sophomore guard Nico Clareth (16.8) who missed the game (knee).

Siena shot 52% from the field in a first half that featured six ties and seven lead changes. But that wasn't enough to keep pace down the stretch with FGCU, which shot an astounding 73% in the opening stanza. The Eagles, which entered play ranked seventh nationally in field goal percentage (.512), connected on their final 14 shots of the first half to take a 45-32 lead at the break.

FGCU finished 57.4% from the field for the game, which was just enough to hold off the hard charging Saints which dropped their eighth straight road game dating back to last season. Seven of those eight defeats have come at the hands of programs which won 19 or more games, combined to average 24.2 wins, and advanced to national postseason tournaments last season.

Additionally, the Eagles marked Siena's fourth opponent in six non-conference road contests to date which is currently ranked in the top-63 of today's NCAA RPI report. The Saints' seven non-conference road foes on the schedule this season combined to average 24.9 wins last year and each played in a national postseason tournament.

Siena will now have eight days between games in observance of the College's final exam period. The Saints return to action on Saturday, Dec. 17 at noon when they host Bucknell at the Glens Falls Civic Center.