ALBANY, NY – Major Freeman tied his collegiate career-high with 28 points as Siena Basketball cruised past defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion Saint Peter's 77-63 in the annual Gold Rush Game at MVP Arena.
 
Freeman shook off his first scoreless outing of the season by shooting 10-14 from the field while posting a game-high plus-20 for Siena (11-12, 6-6) which has its first four-game home win streak since winning five straight at MVP Arena from Dec. 2, 2022 to Jan. 20, 2023. The Saints are now 5-1 at home in MAAC action while averaging 85.3 points.
 
Marcus Randolph scored all 19 of his points in the second half for Saint Peter's (7-12, 2-9) which has dropped four straight and five of six. Reserve Bryce Eaton added 11 of his 15 in the final stanza for the Peacocks who committed 17 turnovers to just three assists.
 
Siena led for all but two minutes and by double digits for the final 24:50 to secure back-to-back wins for the first time in over a month (Dec. 30 at Cornell, Jan. 3 vs. Manhattan).
 
The Saints put on a defensive clinic in the first half, holding Saint Peter's to just 30% shooting while forcing the Peacocks into 12 turnovers. Siena scored 14 fastbreak points and 12 points off turnovers as a result.
 
Meanwhile, Freeman and Justice Shoats scored 16 points apiece in the stanza to propel the Saints to their biggest halftime lead of the season at 40-24.
 
Siena led by no fewer than 12 points in the second half, and by as many as a season-high 20, as the home team prevailed for the 21^st time in the past 25 meetings between the longtime MAAC rivals.
 
Shoats finished with 20 points for the Saints which shot 53% from the field, while also setting a season-best for the second straight game in field goal percentage defense (37%). Brendan Coyle added 14 points and Gavin Doty fell just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Siena will take aim at its first three-game win streak since the initial games of the season when they head to Rider for a Saturday night matchup at 7 p.m. in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
 
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.