POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Elijah Lewis tallied 19 points and eight rebounds as MAAC co-leader Marist survived a pair of separate late rallies to edge Siena Basketball 72-67 in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 3,200 in a nationally televised primetime affair at McCann Arena.
 
Josh Pascarelli added 16 points for Marist (16-3, 9-1) which matched the program's best-ever Division I mark through 19 games, while continuing their best MAAC start. Jaden Daughtry and Jackson Price added 13 points apiece for the Red Foxes which have won 12 of 13 since the start of December, albeit nine of which have been by single digits.
 
Gavin Doty and Justice Shoats led the way with 19 points apiece for Siena (9-12, 4-6) which has dropped four straight on the road, all coming at the hands of the top-four teams in the conference standings. Doty shot 7-11 from the field while adding eight rebounds, and Shoats created three separate three-point plays, the final two of which helped fuel the late rallies.
 
Marist led for two-to-three possessions for all but one possession of the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza. The Red Foxes led by as many as a modest eight in the first half, while taking a 33-27 lead at the break.
 
Marist incrementally built its advantage to as much as 13 points at 52-39 with 9:32 remaining before the Saints made their first of two separate late rallies. Siena responded by connecting on five straight shot attempts, igniting a 13-2 flurry over just 2:34 to rally back as close as 54-52 with 6:36 to go.
 
The Red Foxes counterpunched to build their lead back to as many as 10 and as late as 2:45 left at 69-59. But Marist missed the front-end of three straight one-and-ones at the free throw line, leaving the door open.
 
The Saints answered with the ensuing eight points, capped by a Major Freeman three to make it a two-point game once more at 69-67 with 57.2 seconds left. The Red Foxes then appeared to potentially turn it over on the ensuing inbounds however, following a lengthy review, the call was upheld.
 
Marist went onto score on the next possession to seal their 10^th victory in their past 11 outings at McCann Arena. Fourteen of the past 16 matchups between the I-87 rivals have now been decided by single digits, and by an average of just 5.8 points.
 
Freeman finished with 13 points for Siena which dropped to 0-6 against teams predicted to finish ahead of them according to the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
After battling one first-place team to end January, Siena turns right back around to face the other one to begin February. The Saints return home to host reigning MAAC Regular Season Champion, preseason favorite, and conference co-leader Quinnipiac Sunday at 2 p.m. at MVP Arena.
 
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.