POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Jalen Pickett bounced in the game-winning jumper as time expired as Siena Basketball escaped Marist with a 52-50 triumph at McCann Arena. With the victory coupled with Monmouth's loss at Rider, the Saints secured a top-two seed in the MAAC Tournament.

Matthew Herasme, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, hit the game-tying three to cap a 9-1 run and rally Marist (7-20, 6-12) back from a 15-point first half deficit to a 50-all tie with 24 seconds remaining.  Following a timeout after advancing the ball into the frontcourt, Pickett launched a left wing, step back jumper with his foot on the line which hit the front of the rim and bounced in as the final buzzer sounded to send Siena (17-10, 13-5) to a huge sweep of its three-game road trip.

Pickett scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists for the Saints who grinded past the Red Foxes to finish February with their seventh straight win, and head into March with now a full game lead atop the MAAC Standings with just two games remaining.  The Saints have now assured themselves of either the No. 1 or 2 seed in next month's MAAC Tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and will begin their quest for a sixth championship in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, Mar. 11 at either 7 or 9:30 p.m.

Donald Carey scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting including 4-6 from three for Siena who has won 10 of its last 11 overall, a stretch which began with a victory over Marist last month in Albany. Kyle Young added six points, five rebounds, and three steals in a key effort off the bench for the Saints who've won four of their last five road games after having started 0-9 away from home.

Reserve Tobias Sjoberg scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field for the Red Foxes who've dropped five of six. Jordan Jones tallied 10 of his 12 points in the second half for Marist who held a 30-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Siena jumped out to a 33-18 lead at the break following a dominant first half. The Saints held the Red Foxes to just 29.6% shooting including 0-8 from three in the stanza.

But in the second half the tables turned as it was the Marist defense which took center stage. The Red Foxes limited Siena to just 17 shot attempts and forced nine turnovers to hold the MAAC's top scoring offense to a season-low 19 second half points.

Meanwhile Marist, who shot 52% from the field in the second half, slowly chipped away. The Red Foxes reeled off eight unanswered points to pull within 41-38 at the 8:19 mark. Carey finally broke a 6:11 scoring drought with a key three, and drained another clutch triple soon thereafter to push the Saints' lead to 49-41 with 4:06 remaining.

Elijah Burns and Manny Camper chipped in six points apiece for Siena who has won 23 of its last 28 against Marist, although the last 10 meetings in Poughkeepsie have each been decided by single digits and by an average of just 4.8 points.

The Saints return to action Wednesday when they host Niagara at 7 p.m. on Senior Night in their final regular season home game. The team will honor its four senior student athletes – Burns, Ben Diamond, Sammy Friday IV, and Matt Hein – as well as senior student manager Daniel Cohen in a special pregame ceremony.