LOUDONVILLE, NY – After picking up a pair of wins over high-major opponents, Feast Week continued into Monday for Siena Men's Basketball. The Saints performed a sweep of the MAAC Weekly Awards, with sophomore Javian McCollum heralded as the MAAC Player of the Week, and Michael Eley named the MAAC Rookie of the Week.
McCollum earned his second MAAC Player of the Week honor this season by averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.0 steals over three games last week while leading Siena to a third-place finish at the ESPN Events Invitational. The Saints' floor general shot 49% from the field and connected on 14-15 free throw attempts as the Saints posted wins over Florida State and Seton Hall. McCollum tallied 18 points and a career-high eight assists in a Thanksgiving Day rout of Florida State for the program's first victory over an ACC squad in 12 years. He then set a new career-high with 24 points while dishing out eight more assists as the Saints hung tough with SEC foe Ole Miss Friday. McCollum capped his huge week with a team-high 14 points - including a pair of clutch free throws with 6.9 seconds left - as the Saints defeated Seton Hall Sunday for their first win over a Big East member in 19 years.
En-route to his first career MAAC weekly honor, Eley averaged 6.3 points during the team's three contests last week. In the third-place game Sunday, he scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, and swiped four steals in 20 minutes off the bench. Eley, who posted a team-best plus/minus of +12 in the win over Seton Hall, stole the ball on Pirates final possession with Seton Hall down three, and punctuated the victory with a two-handed slam as time expired.
The sweep marked the first such occurrence for the Saints since doing so on January 18, 2021. Siena returns home to open MAAC play at MVP Arena on Friday, December 3 against Canisius at 7 PM. Purchase tickets for Friday's league opener by visiting SienaSaints.com/Tickets.