Siena men's basketball tops Fairfield

PHOTOGRAPHER: File Photo

Jamion Christian is shown during an early-season game.

The Siena College men’s basketball team scored its second consecutive win and evened its MAAC record with a 57-48 victory Thursday at Fairfield.

Siena freshman Jalen Pickett led the Saints with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting, plus added four rebounds, three assists and four steals in 36 minutes. Senior Evan Fisher added 11 points and freshman Sloan Seymour had nine, while redshirt senior Kevin Degnan paired seven points with nine rebounds.

Fairfield’s Wassef Methnani had 15 points.

Siena (3-3, 8-11) never trailed against Fairfield (2-6, 5-15), and the Saints led by as many as 14 points in the second half. While Siena only made 5 of 17 shots from 3-point territory, Fairfield made 4 of 23 from 3 and 20 of 56 overall. Fairfield’s 48 points represented a season-low total for the Siena defense, which kept the Stags to 0.71 points per possession.

Coupled with Siena’s win last week against Niagara, the Saints have won back-to-back games for the first time since their second and third games this season.

Siena next plays Saturday at home against Manhattan.

SIENA

Pickett 8-12 4-7 20, Seymour 3-8 0-0 9, Fisher 3-13 4-5 11, Darwiche 0-2 0-0 0, Degnan 3-5 0-0 7, Bayer 0-0 0-0 0, Camper 2-3 2-3 6, Smithen 1-2 2-4 4, Tchougang 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 20-47 12-19 57.

FAIRFIELD

Alvarez 4-12 2-4 10, Lemetti 0-3 0-0 0, Kasibabu 3-5 0-0 6, Cruz 3-10 0-0 6, Taliaferro 0-4 2-2 2, Benning 0-2 0-0 0, Kavaliauskas 1-2 0-0 2, Whipple 2-6 0-0 5, Milin 1-2 0-0 2, Methnani 6-10 0-1 15, El-Sheikh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-56 4-7 48.

Halftime score: Siena 29, Fairfield 24. Three-point shooting: Siena 5-17, Fairfield 4-23. Rebounds: Siena 32 (Degnan 9), Fairfield 35 (Alvarez, Kasibabu 7). Assists: Siena 9 (Pickett 3), Fairfield 8 (Alvarez, Cruz, Kavaliauskas 2). Turnovers: Siena 15, Fairfield 18. Total fouls: Siena 13, Fairfield 17. Fouled out: Kasibabu.