ALBANY, NY – Siena Basketball used its best defensive performance of the season to snap a three-game skid and improve to a perfect 8-0 at home with a 70-57 triumph over Marist in front of a season-high crowd of 6,693 at the Times Union Center. The Saints secured season-bests in fewest points allowed and field goal percentage defense, limiting the Red Foxes to just 33% shooting.

Elijah Burns led the way with 19 points on 6-8 shooting for Siena (8-9, 4-4) who is in the midst of its longest home win streak since opening the 2015-16 season 9-0 in the Capital Region. Burns scored 13 of his points during the second half to post his sixth 19-plus point performance of the season for the Saints who have won 22 of the past 27 meetings against Marist (4-14, 3-6), including 12 of the last 13 in Albany.

Freshman Tyler Sagl scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half for the Red Foxes who saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped. Classmate Tyler Saint-Furcy added 10 points and three blocks.

Siena led throughout, scoring the game's first nine points and later tallying 16 unanswered over a decisive 4:41 flurry to claim a commanding 35-16 lead with 4:07 remaining in the first half. Marist ended the half on an 11-3 run as Siena still took a double-digit advantage into the locker room up 38-27.

The Red Foxes went on an 11-2 run early in the second half as they cut what was once as much as a 19-point deficit back within a single possession at 45-42 with 13:57 to play. Marist still remained within four as late as 51-47 midway through the second half, but the Saints responded with 10 unanswered to push the cushion back to a 14-point advantage with 4:02 left. Burns accounted for seven clutch points during the decisive run as Siena held the Red Foxes scoreless for 6:11 down the stretch.

Manny Camper contributed 13 points and eight rebounds for the Saints who held Marist to just 32.8% shooting in the program's best such effort since limiting Manhattan to just 29.3% on Feb. 2, 2018 at the Times Union Center. Siena held the Red Foxes to just five assists as opposed to 15 turnovers, while registering a 15-8 margin in points off turnovers.

Jalen Pickett added 12 points, six rebounds, and a season-high tying eight assists as opposed to just one turnover for the Saints who shot 21-24 (88%) from the free throw line while limiting Marist to just nine attempts. Freshman reserve Kyle Young rounded out Siena's double digit scorers, coming off the bench to score all of his career-high 10 points in the first half.

The Saints will try to even their overall record back to .500 Sunday when they host current MAAC frontrunner Quinnipiac for a 2 p.m. matinee at the Times Union Center. Siena will look to enact a small measure of revenge for last season's historic 107-100 triple overtime defeat against the Bobcats in Albany in which Pickett and former Quinnipiac standout Cameron Young combined to score 101 points.