ALBANY, NY - Siena Basketball tips off its second of two season long four-game homestands when the Saints host Fairfield on Tay Fisher Night Friday at 7 p.m. at the Times Union Center. The Saints are also set to hold their annual Northwestern Mutual Academic Appreciation Night in a contest which is also sponsored by Homestead Funding.
Tickets to the game start as low as just $10 for adults (service fees apply if purchasing through Ticketmaster), and can be secured by clicking the corresponding link, in-person at the Times Union Center Box Office (opens at 10 a.m.), or by contacting Ticketmaster by phone at (800) 745-3000. The Siena Fan Relations Management Center is at your service to handle all your ticket inquiries, and can be reached by phone at (518) 487-2202, online at sienasaints.com/tickets, by e-mail at sienatickets2@siena.edu, or by stopping by the office located at the Times Union Center (opens at 8:30 a.m. on weekdays).
The Saints are set to honor Siena Basketball legend Tay Fisher '08, who recently conclude a decorated decade-long professional career touring the globe with the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. A 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame Honor Roll inductee, he ranks as the second most prolific three-point shooter in program history with 229 career threes. Fisher will be signing autographs for fans from 6-6:45 p.m. on the concourse near Section 110, before being honored in a pregame ceremony just prior to tip-off.
Siena is also set to recognize its best and brightest in a special halftime ceremony as part of Northwestern Mutual Academic Appreciation Night. The athletic department will honor members of the "4.0 Club," as well as those student athletes who were named to the MAAC Academic Honor Roll, President's List, and Dean's List during the 2018-19 academic year.
Additionally, the Saints will be playing for a special cause as they seek to help Sock Out Cancer in their mission to assist financially distressed cancer patients and their families. Sock Out Cancer will be selling their signature multi-color socks at the game, with net proceeds equally benefiting the Bernard and Millie Duker Children's Hospital and the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at the Albany Medical Center and the St. Peter's Cancer Care Center. Two Siena College students who both purchase and wear socks at the game will be randomly selected to participate in a halftime shooting contest to win a $500 scholarship.
Siena (10-10, 6-5) returns home to the friendly confines of the Times Union Center looking to improve upon its unblemished 9-0 mark in Albany. The Saints are one of just 24 remaining Division I teams who are unbeaten at home.
Predicted to finish last according to the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, upstart Fairfield (9-12, 5-5) knocked off conference frontrunner Monmouth at the buzzer Tuesday night. The Stags enter play leading the MAAC in scoring defense (63.2), while Siena paces the league offensively in both scoring (73.8) and field goal percentage (.449).
The Saints lead the all-time series over Fairfield 40-32, and have won nine of the past 13 meetings overall including five of the last seven in Albany. Siena swept the regular season series last year.
Kelly O'Donnell and Siena Women's Basketball great Tehresa Coles '15 have the call of the game on ESPN3, as well as the simulcast locally in the Capital Region on My4 Albany. The ESPN3 broadcast is accessible by clicking the corresponding link, on smartphones and tablets via the ESPN app, and on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. My4 Albany is simulcasting all 12 remaining Siena Basketball regular season home games, which are available to Spectrum subscribers in the Capital Region to view on Channel 4.
Pregame coverage commences at 6:30 p.m. locally on Talk1300 AM and 98.7 FM with A.J. Kanell and Andy Grazulis '92 on the call. Complimentary online audio of the broadcast can also be accessed by clicking the corresponding link at the top of the page.
Social media updates will be provided courtside throughout the day by following the Saints' official twitter page @SienaMBB. Join the conversation by using the hashtag #MarchOn. Upload pictures of yourself and your friends enjoying the game through the Selfiefinder platform by clicking the corresponding link at the top of the page, or by downloading the Selfiefinder app and searching "Siena." The best selfies from the game will be displayed on the video scoreboard during the first timeout of the second half.
