RICHMOND, VA – Siena Basketball heads on the road for the first time this season when the Saints take on Richmond in a non-bracketed Sunshine Slam campus site game at 8 p.m. at the Robins Center.
 
Siena (1-0) is in search of its second straight 2-0 start, and third in the past four seasons, following Monday night's 73-71 season-opening victory over Holy Cross at MVP Arena. Sophomore Michael Eley posted his first collegiate double-double with career-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds, classmate Zek Tekin added a career-best 16 points, and newcomer Giovanni Emejuru scored the go-ahead basket with 18.9 seconds left for the Saints who improved to a stellar 62-21 (.747) all-time in home-openers.
 
Now Siena will look to carry over that initial momentum on the road, as they are set to play their next four games away from home, three of which comprise the Sunshine Slam. The Saints are just 15-32 in road openers, and snapped an eight-game losing streak in non-conference road lid-lifters to tip off last season.
 
Richmond (1-0) was predicted to finish 11^th out of 15 teams according to the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll after posting a 15-18 overall record and finishing tied for 11^th last season with a 7-11 league mark. The Spiders won their season-opener 93-75 over VMI Monday night behind 34 points from Jordan King, marking the highest point total in the first game of a season by a Richmond player in 40 years. An Albany native, King played his first two collegiate seasons for the Saints (2019-21), where he was a part of back-to-back MAAC Regular Season Championships and earned Third Team All-MAAC honors in 2020-21.
 
Siena and Richmond meet for just the third time, with the programs having split a home-and-home series during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons, which saw the home team prevail in both matchups. The Saints routed the Spiders 88-57 in the most recent matchup on Jan. 8, 1994 in Albany behind 24 points and six assists from Doremus Bennerman and a 21-point, nine-rebound performance from the late Matt Gras.
 
Richmond marks the first of three A-10 matchups for Siena this season, all of which will be on the road. The Saints travel to St. Bonaventure for the annual Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup Dec. 9, and wrap up non-conference action at UMass on Dec. 30.
 
Bob Black and Greg Beckwith have the call of the game on ESPN+, which can be viewed by clicking the corresponding link. Ian Unsworth pinch hits for Emmanuel Berbari on the Siena radio broadcast, where he'll have the call alongside former Saint Conner Fenlon '12 locally in the Capital Region on the new radio home for Siena Basketball, JAMZ 96.3 FM.