BUFFALO, NY – Siena Basketball begins its annual Western New York swing when the Saints trek to Canisius Friday night at 7 p.m.
 
This marks the 28^th time in the program's 35 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference seasons in which Siena (2-12, 1-2) will play both Canisius and Niagara on the same road swing to Western New York. The Saints have swept the trip five times, split on 12 occasions, and been swept 10 times. Siena has gone just 2-8 on their past five such trips, while splitting last year's swing.
 
The Saints will look to continue to build upon their recent offensive improvement, which has been spearheaded with the addition of Sean Durugordon. The Austin Peay transfer is the first player in the program's Division I era, which began in 1976-77, to score 20 or more points in each of his first four games donning the Green and Gold. As a result, Siena has averaged 69.0 points in the four games since Durugordon's debut, increasing their scoring output on average by 12.3 points.
 
Canisius (6-8, 1-3) returns to the Koessler Athletic Center for the first time in 37 days after dropping all four games on their extended road trip. Following a conference-opening 20-point rout of Quinnipiac, the Golden Griffins have dropped their past three MAAC contests by a combined 10 points.
 
Siena and Canisius meet for the 111^th time, with the Saints holding a 58-52 edge. However, Siena has gone just 7-15 spanning the past 22 meetings. Twelve of the last 14 matchups have been decided by single digits, including eight by four points or less. The Saints have dropped six straight and nine of 10 at the Koessler Athletic Center, with their last win coming on Jan. 24, 2016.
 
Jay Moran and Richard Walsh have the call of the game on ESPN+, which can be viewed by clicking the corresponding link. "The Voice of the Saints" Emmanuel Berbari and former Saint Conner Fenlon '12 will have the radio call of the game locally in the Capital Region on JAMZ 96.3 FM, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.