ALBANY, NY – Brendan Coyle misfired on both his first and last three-point field goal attempts of the evening. But what he did in between was utterly unconscionable. Coyle connected for seven threes in the first seven minutes of the second half to send Siena Basketball to the program's 1,200^th all-time victory with an 82-68 triumph over Mount St. Mary's at MVP Arena.
 
Coyle concocted one of the most sensational individual seven-minute stretches in school history on the same night that yielded a program milestone. The captain connected for his seven straight threes over a span of only 6:06, accounting for 21 of the first 24 Siena (9-10, 4-4) points in just the opening 7:08 of the second half. The final Coyle triple ballooned the Saints lead to 67-49 with 12:52 to go, prompting a futile timeout, a jubilant bench spilling onto the court, and an MVP Arena eruption.
 
Coyle, who had slumped to a combined 7-29 (24%) from distance over the previous three games, finished with a career-high 26 points for Siena which shot a season-high 56% from the field, and registered 14 threes for the first time in six years.   
 
Dola Adebayo scored 21 points and Jedy Cordelia added 16 for streaky Mount St. Mary's (11-8, 4-4) which has dropped three straight after having won five of their previous six including a victory at ACC foe Miami. The duo shot a combined 15-20 from the floor, but the rest of the Mount managed to connect at just a 26% (10-39) clip, including only 8-31 from three.
 
The teams traded double digit runs early. After the Saints scored the first basket, Mount St. Mary's responded with the next 11 only for Siena to answer with the ensuing 12 points. The Saints went on a 10-2 run down the stretch to open as much as a 13-point first half lead, and connected on seven of their final eight shots in the stanza to claim a 43-36 advantage heading into the lockerroom.
 
Justice Shoats scored 18 points and dished out six assists for Siena which led by as many as a season-high 19 points for the second straight home game. Major Freeman added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Saints who've now captured seven of the nine all-time meetings between the third-year MAAC foes.
 
Siena returns to the road for its final two games of the month to conclude a stretch where they play four of six away from home to wrap up January. The Saints will look to secure a regular season series split with archrival Iona on Saturday at 1 p.m. in New Rochelle, New York.
 
This postgame recap is proudly presented by The Brothers that just do Gutters, a proud partner of Siena Athletics. Trust the team that always comes through – on the court and for your home.