ALBANY, NY – Latrell Reid scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half for Saint Peter's which finished on a 14-1 run to defeat Siena Basketball 63-52 at MVP Arena.
 
Zek Tekin scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half for shorthanded Siena (3-17, 2-7) which was once again without its top-two scorers in Sean Durugordon (23.0 points per game) and Michael Eley (14.1), as well as key reserves Michael Evbagharu and Michael Ojo.
 
Roy Clarke tallied 10 points and eight rebounds and Mouhamed Sow added nine points including the go-ahead basket down the stretch for upstart Saint Peter's (11-7, 7-2), which has won eight of 10 to surge into second place in the MAAC Standings following a preseason 10^th place prediction.
 
The Peacocks jumped out to a nine-point lead at 19-10 just past the midway point of the first half before the Saints offense got flowing down the stretch. Siena connected on eight of its final 10 shots to close the half and storm back to a 33-all deadlock at the break. The Saints shot an even 60% (12-20) overall in the first half, while holding Saint Peter's to just 29% (8-28) shooting.
 
The second half featured eight lead changes and three ties, with Siena claiming its final lead at 51-49 with 9:19 to go. But the Saints went cold down the stretch, misfiring on their final 10 shot attempts while committing five turnovers as the Peacocks embarked on their methodical game-ending run.
 
Saint Peter's which entered play ranked 22^nd nationally in scoring defense (64.1), turned 19 Siena miscues into a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers as the road team prevailed for just the fourth time in the past 23 meetings between the longtime MAAC rivals.
 
Giovanni Emejuru scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Sveinn Birgisson added career-highs of eight points and five rebounds in a spirited effort in his first collegiate start for a shorthanded Siena squad, which battled throughout and received key efforts from some unlikely contributors.
 
The Saints hit the road for the only time during a five-game stretch when they look to complete the regular season sweep of MAAC preseason favorite Rider Friday night at 7 p.m. in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.