POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Siena Basketball shot 63% in the second half and reeled off a decisive 22-8 spurt late as the Saints secured their first conference victory with a 71-66 triumph at Marist. Evan Fisher scored a game-high 23 points for Siena which earned its first MAAC road win in exactly 23 months.  

Fisher shot 8-10 from the field in posting his fourth straight 20-point performance for Siena (6-10, 1-2) which snapped an 11-game MAAC road losing streak dating back to an 84-77 victory here over Marist (6-9, 1-2) on Feb. 11, 2017. Sloan Seymour added 12 points for the Saints which have captured 20 of the past 25 meetings against their I-87 rivals.

Isaiah Lamb led four Red Foxes in double figures with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Preseason Second Team All-MAAC selection Brian Parker added 12 points and six assists.

Both teams shot under 35% in the first half in playing to a 22-all stalemate at intermission.

Fisher sparked Siena to open the second half, scoring the team's first 11 points. Overall, he scored 17 seconds half points on a perfect 6-6 shooting.

However, in a tightly contested affair which featured 10 ties and 17 lead changes, Marist rattled off eight unanswered points over just 59 seconds to quickly claim their biggest lead of the night at 51-44 with 8:08 to go. The Red Foxes shot 52% in the second half, and were jolted by reserve Ryan Funk who scored all 11 of his points in the stanza.

But Siena was clutch late in responding with its 22-8 run to claim a 66-59 advantage with 93 seconds remaining. The spurt included six three-point plays, highlighted by a trio of and-ones.

The Saints finished off the ninth straight meeting in Poughkeepsie decided by single digits by making five of six free throws over the final 29 seconds. Siena, which entered the day ranked sixth worst nationally in free throw shooting at just 60.3%, shot 15-17 (88.2%) overall from the charity stripe.

All six Saints who scored in the contest each notched at least nine points apiece. Reining MAAC Rookie of the Week Jalen Pickett once again stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, and eight assists, while Manny Camper added nine points in 18 crucial minutes off the bench in his first game back from injury following a four-game absence. Freshman Georges Darwiche set a season-high with his nine points.

Siena returns to action Monday when they host Monmouth for a 7 p.m. tip at the Times Union Center.