ALBANY, NY – Siena Basketball is surging into the dawn of a new decade on a high note. Donald Carey scored a career-high 22 points and Jalen Pickett added 21 as the Saints closed out the 2010's with their third straight victory with a 74-62 triumph over Holy Cross in front of a season-high crowd of 6,202 at the Times Union Center.

Carey made four threes and dished out four assists, while Pickett shot 9-13 from the field with six rebounds, six assists, and no turnovers for Siena (5-5, 1-0) who improves to a perfect 5-0 at the Times Union Center, while finishing the non-conference portion of the home schedule unbeaten for the first time in four years.

Three-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week Joe Pridgen scored 17 points and added nine rebounds for Holy Cross (1-12) who has dropped five straight.

The Crusaders led for virtually all of the opening 10 minutes of the contest, only to see the Saints rattle off a late 11-1 run to open as much as a 14-point lead with 1:50 remaining in the half. Carey, who scored 16 of his points in opening stanza, bookended the flurry with threes. Both teams shot lights out in the first half with Siena connecting at a 61% clip while Holy Cross shot 64% to rally within 45-37 of the Saints at the break.

The Saints never relinquished the lead in the second half, holding the Crusaders at arm's length. Holy Cross never got any closer than four, albeit trailed by just five as late as 63-58 with 2:40 remaining. But Pickett, Elijah Burns, and Carey scored clutch baskets on each of Siena's next three possessions, as the Saints finished on an 11-4 run to improve to a perfect 8-0 all-time at home vs. the Crusaders. Siena's defense locked down in the second half, holding Holy Cross to just 33% shooting.

Burns scored 17 points on an efficient 8-9 shooting for Siena who shot a season-best 54% overall from the floor. Manny Camper, the nation's fourth leading rebounder entering the day, cracked double-digits on the glass for the sixth time in 10 games this season as he pulled down 10 boards.

Connor Niego and Austin Butler rounded out the double-digit scorers for Holy Cross with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Siena concludes its first of two season long four-game homestands and opens the new decade Friday when they host Monmouth at 7 p.m. at the Times Union Center.