March 4, 2006

Box Score

Keydren Clark ran the length of the court and banked in an off-balance jumper with 11 seconds left to lift Saint Peter's past Siena 63-62 in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament Saturday night in Albany. The Saints rallied from a nine-point deficit with 6:43 and held a one-point lead when Tay Fisher connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 20 seconds remaining.

"I couldn't be more proud of this group and what they've accomplished," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said following the loss. "They have brought the same energy and focus every day and battled to the end. We also benefited from perhaps the best senior leader (Antoine Jordan) I have ever coached."

Saint Peter's took a 28-21 lead to the lockerroom, after holding the Saints to just 24% shooting in the first half. Jordan played just eight minutes after picking up his second foul with 12 minutes remaining.

Siena used a balanced attack to claw back into the game. All five starters finished in double figures for the Saints. Siena got no points from its bench.

Clark led all players with 22 points, including his benchmark 3000th point. Tay Fisher held Clark to just 7-20 from the field.

The Saints took their first lead of the second half with 1:36 left in the game as freshman Kenny Hasbrouck completed a traditional three-point play.

Siena made 20 of its 24 second half free throws. Sophomore Kojo Mensah had seven of his team-high 15 points from the line. Jordan finished his career with an 11-point, 11-rebounds effort.

Todd Sowell had 11 points and 13 rebounds for Saint Peter's, which advances to play #1 Manhattan in tomorrow's semifinal.

The Saints see their season end with a 15-13 overall record. Siena posted a program-record 24 losses last year and was the unanimous choice to finish last in the preseason coaches'poll.