ALBANY, NY – Kadeem Smithen came off the bench to score a season-high 13 points and fellow reserve Manny Camper added six points and a career-high 11 rebounds to spark Siena Basketball past Niagara 66-57 at the Times Union Center. The Saints held the potent Purple Eagles attack in check, limiting Niagara to its lowest scoring output in 28 games.

Smithen scored 12 of his points in the first half to lead the second unit for Siena (7-11, 2-3) which received a season-high 21 points from its reserves while also outscoring the Niagara (8-10, 1-4) bench by 19 points. Jalen Pickett tallied team-highs of 17 points and seven assists for the Saints which have won nine of 11 over the Purple Eagles including five of the last six matchups in Albany.

James Towns scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half for streaky Niagara which has dropped five of six after having won five of its previous six games. Marvin Prochet added 15 points and seven rebounds and Dominic Robb chipped in 12 points for the Purple Eagles which were held to nearly 17 points under their season scoring average while being limited to their lowest output since a 58-52 loss at Saint Peter's on Feb. 2 of last year.

Following a game-opening 12-2 Niagara spurt, Siena responded with a 29-6 run to claim the lead for good. Smithen, who came off the bench to fill the void of a foul-plagued Pickett, accounted for the final 10 points of the outburst to help the Saints quickly turn around a 10-point deficit into a 13-point advantage. Siena held the Purple Eagles to just 35% shooting including only 2-14 from three to take a 31-24 lead at the break.

The Saints then rattled off a decisive 14-2 run midway through the second half as the lead ballooned to 20 at 55-35 with 7:06 to go. Niagara scored 10 points over the final 45 seconds with the game in hand as they were unable to rally back any closer than the final margin.

Evan Fisher added 13 points and six rebounds for Siena which a tied a season-best 39.3% field goal percentage defense (Norfolk State) while also limited the Purple Eagles to just 4-22 from three. It was arguably the best defensive performance overall of the season for the Saints, which had entered play allowing its opponents to shoot 50% from the field including 42% from three.

Siena will now have a full week to look to build off the victory before returning to action next Thursday for a 7 p.m. matchup at Fairfield.