Score: Siena 52, UAlbany 46

Location: Alumni Recreation Center in Loudonville, N.Y.

Records: UAlbany (4-6); Siena (2-5)

Short story: Siena uses a big fourth quarter to defeat UAlbany, 52-46 in a renewal of the Crosstown Rivalry.

Key stats

• Neither team attempted a free-throw in the first half
• Siena started the game shooting 0-10 from three
• Siena outscored UAlbany 17-6 in the fourth quarter
• Alexi Schecter finished with 14 points and nine rebounds
• Siena outscored UAlbany 21-11 off turnovers

Coach Mullen: “Obviously not the outcome we wanted.  I think that our defense was really strong in the first half, keeping them to 18 points.  Our offense was struggling, credit Siena's pressure trying to take us out of what we wanted to do offensively.  I think we did a really good job in the second half of counteracting that and getting some post touches to build our 10-point lead.  Siena handled that momentum when we went up, and they went on a nice run that we couldn't answer.”

Recap

Returning following a one-year hiatus, the University at Albany visited Siena for the latest edition of the Crosstown Rivalry on Saturday afternoon.  After leading by double-digits, UAlbany saw Siena claw back using a big fourth quarter to seal victory over the Great Danes, 52-46.

Khepera Stokes scored the first two points of the game on a driving layup following a scoreless first two-plus minutes for both teams.  The Great Danes' defense held Siena scoreless for the first four minutes before the Saints tied the at two game with a layup with 5:58 left in the first quarter.

With 4:16 remaining in the first, UAlbany led Siena by a score of 4-2.  The Saints took their first lead, 6-4, with 2:50 to go.  Freshman Izzy Om hit a corner three with one minute remaining to put UAlbany back on top, 7-6.  The Saints responded with a layup and ended the quarter holding a one-point lead.

The Saints' defense in the first quarter caused some problems for UAlbany in the half court, where a few of the Danes' entry passes were deflected.  The Great Danes committed five turnovers in the first quarter, compared to just one committed by Siena.

After trading baskets through the early part of the second, Siena took a three-point lead midway through the quarter, 12-9, its first lead by more than one point of the game.

Kyara Frames tied the game at 14 with a three pointer from the right side with 4:11 left in the second.  Siena responded two possessions later with a jumper to go up 16-14.

Frames hit another three with 1:00 left in the second to put UAlbany back on top for the first time since the first quarter.

UAlbany picked up its pressure on defense in the second quarter, forcing Siena into committing six turnovers, and held the Saints to just 28.1% shooting in the first half.  Frames led the Danes with six points on 2-3 shooting from behind the arc, while Alexi Schecter had grabbed five rebounds.  Neither team attempted a free-throw in the first half.

The Great Danes opened the third quarter on a 8-0 run, taking a 27-18 lead with 7:16 remaining.  With 6:45 remaining, Kumsal Aslan drew a foul on a driving layup, leading to UAlbany's first free-throw attempts of the game.  Aslan drained both shots, giving UAlbany a nine-point lead.

Schecter hit a runner in the paint with 2:57 left in the third to put UAlbany up by 10 for the first time.  For the remainder of the quarter, Siena outscore UAlbany 12-7 to cut the Danes lead to just five heading into the fourth.

Siena used a 7-0 run to close the third and start the fourth to cut UAlbany's lead to 40-39 with 9:24 remaining.  Helene Haegerstrand snapped Siena's run with a turnaround jumper on the baseline, putting the Danes back up by three.

With 7:38 remaining, Siena hit a layup to once again close within one, prompting a UAlbany timeout.  One minute later, Siena hit a layup in transition to take the lead, 43-42, having started the fourth on an 8-2 scoring run.

Schecter took advantage of a mismatch in the low post to hit a layup and give UAlbany the lead with 4:55 remaining.

Siena hit a reverse layup with 1:33 to go to take a one-point lead, 47-46.  The Danes came up empty on their next possession, and Siena took over with just over one minute remaining.  The Saints committed a traveling violation to give UAlbany the ball with 53.5 seconds to go.

Another empty possession saw Siena take over possession with the shot clock turned off.  With 18.2 remaining, Siena went to the line, hitting one of two to take a two-point lead.  The Saints hit two more free throws to go up four with 14.6 seconds remaining, and two more still with 1.0 second to knock off the Danes 52-46.

Siena shot just 1-15 from three for the game, but outscored the Great Danes by 10 off of turnovers.  The Saints outscored UAlbany by 11 in the fourth quarter.  Schecter led the Great Danes with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Frames added 11 points in 40 minutes of game time.

Up next: The Great Danes host St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, December 14.  Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.