ALBANY, NY – The time has finally arrived. Gerry McNamara makes his long-awaited and highly anticipated head coaching debut as Siena Basketball tips off its 84^th varsity season and 49^th at the Division I level when the Saints host Brown on college basketball's Opening Night Monday at 7 p.m. at MVP Arena.
 
Tickets to the start of the "McNam-Era" begin at just $17 on gameday (service fees apply if purchasing through Ticketmaster) and can be secured by clicking the corresponding link, in-person at the MVP Arena Box Office, or by contacting Ticketmaster by phone at (800) 745-3000.
 
Season tickets starting at just $140 – an average of only $10 per game – are still available for purchase and can be secured online at sienasaints.com/tickets or by contacting the Siena Fan Relations Management Center by phone at (518) 487-2202 or by e-mail at sienatickets2@siena.edu.
 
Appointed the 19^th head coach in Siena Basketball history on Mar. 29, McNamara takes over the reins of the Saints after spending the past 15 years on staff at Syracuse. The Orange legend and 2003 National Champion – who is the program's all-time career record holder for made threes (400), free throw percentage (.888), and minutes played (4,799), and ranks second all-time in steals (258), third in assists (648), and fourth in scoring (2,099) – helped guide Syracuse to nine NCAA Tournament appearances highlighted by trips to the Final Four in both 2013 and 2016 during his time on staff.
 
McNamara has rebuilt the Siena Basketball brand which welcomes 12 newcomers as part of his first roster of 17 players. The Saints showed glimpses of the excitement that lies in store for the upcoming 2024-25 season, acing their final preseason tune-up with a 75-53 exhibition victory over Division III Hobart on Oct. 26 on campus at the UHY Center, and are ready to roll.
 
Siena opens against a Brown program which came on strong at the end of last season, winning seven straight before suffering a heartbreaking one-point defeat at the hands of Yale in the Ivy League Championship Game. Predicted to finish third amongst the eight Ivy League teams while having received one first-place vote, the Bears return 12 players highlighted by two-time First Team All-Ivy selection Kino Lilly, Jr. who led the conference averaging 18.8 points last season.
 
Siena and Brown meet for just the third time overall, and second straight season. The Bears overcame an 18-point second half deficit to prevail 71-67 last Dec. 22 in Providence. Lilly scored 24 of his game-high 26 points in the second half – including the final 11 Brown points – fueling a furious 15-4 game-ending run over the final 76 seconds.
 
The Saints are a stellar 62-21 (.747) all-time in home-openers, including 35-13 (.729) during the program's Division I era, and have won four of five.
 
Robert Lee and Kelly O'Donnell 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 Andy Grazulis '92 will have the radio call of the game locally in the Capital Region on JAMZ 96.3 FM.
 
Social media updates will be provided courtside throughout the day by following the Saints' official X (formerly 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 in the second half.