ALBANY, NY – Defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion College of Charleston shot 67% in the second half to win its seventh straight with an 83-58 defeat of Siena Basketball at the Times Union Center. Evan Fisher led the Saints with 18 points in his return from injury.

The nation's third highest scoring duo and Preseason All-CAA First Team selections Jarrell Brantley and Grant Riller combined to score 42 points for College of Charleston (10-2) which shot 62% overall including 10-17 from three. Brantley scored all of his game-high 23 points in the second half on a perfect 8-8 shooting, while Riller added 19 points.

Jalen Pickett scored nine points and dished out four assists for Siena (4-7), while Kevin Degnan and Jimmy Ratliff contributed six apiece. The Saints shot 67% (12-18) from the field on their two-point attempts, but were just 9-36 (25%) from three.

A nip and tuck first half featured four ties and six lead changes, with the Cougars reeling off eight unanswered points midway through the stanza to reclaim the lead for good. However, College of Charleston managed just a 33-28 lead at the break despite shooting 56% to Siena's 38%. The Saints hung tough against a polished Cougars squad fresh off back-to-back 25-win seasons, thanks in large part to a strong 12-point half from Fisher who had missed the previous two games.

But College of Charleston opened the second half on a 16-4 run to quickly build a 17-point advantage and pull away. Brevin Galloway added 14 points for the Cougars which held a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Siena will look to bounce back Saturday when they travel to Holy Cross for a rare non-conference rematch with the Crusaders at noon. Holy Cross defeated the Saints 57-45 on Nov. 18 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Springfield Bracket Championship Game at Mohegan Sun. This will mark the first time that Siena has played the same non-conference foe twice in the same season since facing Purdue on a pair of occasions during the 2013-14 campaign.