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ALBANY, NY â€" Senior Lavon Long erupted for a career-high 29 points and helped fuel a decisive 23-4 run to open the second half to lead surging Siena Basketball to its fourth straight win with a 78-68 triumph over Rider at the Times Union Center. Long added a season-high 12 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season for the Saints which improved to 7-1 at home.

Long anchored another strong performance from the four main Siena (8-11, 5-3) seniors which combined to score 64 of the team's 78 points. All four finished in double figures as Javion Ogunyemi and Marquis Wright netted 12 points apiece, and Brett Bisping finished with 11 for the Saints which have won nine of the last 11 meetings between the programs in Albany.

Siena shot an even 50% from the field, and an impressive 10-19 from three-point range in defeating Rider (11-8, 4-4) for the sixth time in eight meetings under head coach Jimmy Patsos. The Saints, which entered play ranked 342nd out of 347 ranked Division I teams in three-point field goal percentage (.281) and 338th in three pointers per game (4.5), shot a season-best 52.6% from distance and their 10 threes were the team's second most after draining a season-high 11 in their season-opening win over Cornell.

Long and Bisping contributed nine points apiece during Siena's second half spurt which staked the Saints to a commanding 63-49 lead with 9:49 to go. Defensively, Siena was equally impressive in holding the Broncs scoreless for 6:34 during the run, and to just 27.3% (9-33) shooting overall in the second half. Rider would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

The Broncs had opened the game on an 18-7 run to forge an 11-point advantage just over five and a half minutes in. But the Saints shook off their slow start and responded with an 18-7 run of their own to draw even at 25-all with 7:53 remaining in the first half.

Long, who entered play with two three-pointers to his name all season, capped the run with his first of three trifectas of the night en route to scoring Siena's next 10 points. The senior, who set his previous season-high with 19 off the bench in the first meeting this season between the programs last month, continues to feast on Rider in increasing his career averages to 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in eight games vs. the Broncs.

Khalil Thomas led four players in double figures with 20 points and nine rebounds for Rider which led 45-40 at the break. Three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week Stevie Jordan added a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists for the Broncs which have dropped three straight spanning just five days.

The Saints continue their busiest stretch of the year which features five games in just 10 days when they travel to Jersey City to battle Saint Peter's Thursday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN3.