HAMDEN, CT – Siena Basketball surged back into a tie for first place in the MAAC Standings and clinched a First Round bye in the upcoming conference tournament with an 84-77 victory over Quinnipiac at the People's United Center. Manny Camper posted his 13^th double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the red-hot Saints who've won nine of 10 and extended the program's longest winning streak in a decade to six straight.

Camper, whose now averaging 15.2 points in four career games vs. Quinnipiac (12-15, 7-10), and Jalen Pickett, whose totaled 88 points in his three contests, continued to terrorize the Bobcats. Pickett scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half and finished 5-8 from three while adding five assists for Siena (16-10, 12-5) who pulled even once again with idle Saint Peter's for the top spot in the MAAC, with both teams now having three games left apiece.

Rich Kelly scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as the MAAC's top three-point shooter shot 5-8 from distance for Quinnipiac who was in first place when the team's first met exactly one month ago, but has now slipped to ninth following their seventh defeat in their last eight games. The nation's leading rebounder Kevin Marfo contributed his conference-high 16^th double-double of the season for the Bobcats with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go along with eight assists and three blocks.

Siena shot 51% from the field including 10-18 (56%) from three as the MAAC's top scoring offense posted its highest output in a month. The Saints had averaged 66.0 points over their first five games during their win streak, as the defense had taken lead billing.

Siena rattled off an early 16-3 run to build a double digit lead at 21-11 less than eight minutes into the contest. Pickett punctuated the run scoring 12 of the points on a quartet of threes. The Saints led by as many as 13 points in the first half, and took a 48-39 lead at the break. Siena shot 56% in the opening half and held a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers while adding 12 fast break points in a fast-paced stanza.   

But Quinnipiac, who shot 14-28 from three-point range, hung around. Entering the contest ranked seventh nationally averaging 10.1 threes per game, the Bobcats used the three ball to rally back and draw even at 55-all with 14:05 to go.

But once again the Saints buckled down late on the road to post their third victory in their last four contests away from home. Siena responded with a decisive 15-2 run over 5:37 to reclaim a 70-57 lead with 7:49 remaining. Quinnipiac made one final push to get back within as close as four with 2:41 to play, but the Saints made their free throws down the stretch to hold on and secure the regular season series sweep of the Bobcats.

Donald Carey (18 points) and Elijah Burns (10) rounded out a quartet of double figure scorers for Siena. Freshman reserve Jordan King provided another big boost off the bench with nine points on a trio of threes for a second straight game, while pacing the Saints with a team-high plus-minus of plus-16 in 24 minutes of action.

Quinnipiac also placed four in double figures as Jacob Rigoni and Tyrese Williams added 12 points apiece.

Siena will look to complete a sweep of its three-game road trip Friday night in Poughkeepsie with a 7 p.m. showdown at Marist.