Nov. 27, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Senior Michael Haddix scored a game-high 13 points, leading three double-figure scorers and Siena's defense held New Jersey Institute of Technology to 15 first-half points en route to a 64-40 win for the Saints in men's college basketball Monday night.

Haddix led a balanced attack for Siena (2-2), as David Ryan finished with 12 points and Edwin Ubiles added 11 points and game-high totals of 5 assists and 3 steals. Alex Franklin, like Ubiles, a freshman, pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench for Siena.

NJIT, 2-3, playing its first season of NCAA Division I competition, got 10 points apiece from senior co-captains Clayton Barker and Marc Milbourne Swan. Sophomore Nesho Milosevic led the Highlanders with 7 rebounds.

Siena's strong defense disrupted the NJIT offense, forcing 16 first-half turnovers and challenging the Highlanders to score from the outside, where they struggled to find consistency.

Overall, the Highlanders shot 32.7 percent on 16-for-49 shooting. Included was 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) in the first half, as the visitors built a 30-15 halftime advantage. Ryan scored nine of his points to lead all scorers at the break, while Andrew Engel paced the Highlanders, with 5 points.

The Highlanders closed the deficit to single-digits, 33-24, on Milbourne Swan's layup with 16:04 left, but Siena responded with eight unanswered points -four by Ubiles--over the next 3:13 and led by at least 14 in the rest of the way.

Siena's superior depth and size took its toll over the last 12 minutes. The Saints held a still-comfortable 14-point lead, 41-27, with 11:46 left, but the rebounds were close--25-23 in favor of Siena.

From that point on, Siena began dominating the boards. Franklin got five of his team's seven rebounds over the next 3:51 and the Saints pushed their lead on the scoreboard to 52-31.

Siena's biggest lead was 26 points, at 60-34, on Ryan's layup with 4:02 remaining.

NJIT continues a busy week with a trip to Washington, DC, where it will visit American for a 7:30 pm game on Wednesday. The Highlanders, who will play three games in five days, return home to host Maine in a 7 pm game Friday in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.