ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – A 19-point second half advantage dwindled to just one in the final seconds, but Siena Basketball held on to secure its first postseason win in six years. The third-seeded Saints grinded past defending champion and No. 6 seed Mount St. Mary's 63-58 in the Air Force Reserve Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Quarterfinals at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
 
Siena (21-11) advances to the MAAC Semifinals for the first time in six years – and will play in the round for the first time since 2019 – where they will face No. 7 seed Fairfield Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. The Stags dispatched 10^th seeded Manhattan Thursday, before upsetting No. 2 seed Saint Peter's 74-55 Friday night. The Saints and Fairfield split their regular season series, with each team winning on its own home court.
 
Brendan Coyle scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, and shot 5-12 from three while adding nine rebounds for Siena which snapped a five-game MAAC Tournament losing streak. The Saints also halted a 12-game skid away from home in the month of March, dating back to that victory over Manhattan on the same court in the same postseason round on Mar. 11, 2020.
 
Luke McEldon contributed a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds for Mount St. Mary's (15-17) which had won five of their previous six, four of which were by double figures. Arlandus Keyes added 14 points for the Mount.
 
Siena finished the first half with a 14-3 flurry to take a 35-21 lead at the break. The Saints extended their advantage to as much as 19 at 40-21 with 19:03 remaining, and still led by double digits with just over five minutes remaining.
 
But the defending MAAC Champions, who captured the title last season while also seeded sixth, wouldn't go down easy. Mount St. Mary's went on a 14-5 run over 5:07 in crunch time to rally all the way back within just one point on a Keyes three at 59-58 with eight seconds to go.
 
However Siena, which had suffered each of its five straight MAAC Tournament losses by two possessions or less and by an average of just 3.8 points, wasn't about to let history repeat itself. Unanimous First Team All-MAAC selection Gavin Doty hit four clutch free throws sandwiched around a Mount turnover as the Saints exhaled.
 
Doty scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and finished a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe for Siena which was 16-17 overall.
 
Second Team All-MAAC honoree Justice Shoats tallied 13 points and six assists for the Saints which improved to a remarkable 32-5 (.865) all-time in MAAC Tournament games as the higher seeded team. Siena is also now 10-1 all-time vs. MAAC Tournament No. 6 seeds – the program's most wins vs. any seed – and 25-12 in Tournament lid-lifters.
 
Unanimous MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Francis Folefac rounded out the double figure scorers with 10 points for Siena which secured its 12^th win away from home this season, tied with the 1998-99 squad for the second most in the program's 85-season history (15 in 1988-89).
 
Both teams shot well under 40% for the evening in a defensive cement mixer. The top-shooting team in the MAAC (.462), the Saints advanced despite connecting at just a 35.7% clip. Mount entered the day ranked 19^th nationally with a league-best .398 field goal percentage defense. Meanwhile, Siena held Mount St. Mary's under 33% shooting in both wins this season, limiting the Mount to just 32.8% Saturday night.
 
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.