Final Stats | Photo Gallery

Nico Clareth dazzled with 16 points, and Brett Bisping provided the highlight with a stunning left-handed finish on Ryan Oliver's alley-oop feed as Siena pulled away from Saint Peter's 69-52 Friday night in Albany. The Saints shot 64% in the second half, and led for all but 44 seconds in winning their 10th home game in 11 tries this season.

"I'm really proud of my guys for saying `Hey, we have to gut this out'," Siena coach Jimmy Patsos said. "We took great shots, we kicked it out. When the shot clock ran down, we didn't panic. We ran the flex, but didn't try to force anything. I thought we ran offense."

The result was a 17-point win that avenged a four-point loss in Jersey City earlier this season, and helped further separate Siena into the upper echelon of the conference.

Clareth has scored 13 points or more in 10 straight games, firmly establishing himself as a leading candidate for MAAC Rookie of the Year.

Javion Ogunyemi had 14 points and Ryan Oliver added 11 for the Saints. Patsos singled out Oliver's contributions postgame.

"Nobody has played a more pivotal role than Ryan Oliver (since Marquis Wright went down)," Patsos said.

Oliver anchored a Siena defense that limited Saint Peter's to just 52 points on 36% shooting, including 17% (4-23) from distance. He also made 4-8 shots, including all three of the three-pointers he attempted. But his most memorable moment came when he lofted the ball for Bisping with 5:45 left.

"I saw Brett calling for it, so hopefully SportsCenter gives us some love tonight," Oliver said. "Top-10."

Siena out-scored Saint Peter's 26-12 over the final 13:05 after the Peacocks had cut the lead to 43-40. Oliver and Ogunyemi hit threes before the Bisping dunk pushed the advantage to 17.

The Saints have won seven of their last nine, they'll try to make it eight of 10 Sunday at Marist.

"It's Marist, Siena," Patsos said. "It's a tough game no matter what the records are."