The Siena Heights Men’s Basketball Team held on to defeat Madonna by a score of 65-62 in what was a closely contested game.
The Saints came out a little flat and were unable to take the lead until the five minute mark of the first half. Brent Reynolds hit a two pointer to give the Saints their first lead of the night. The remainder of the half went back and forth with the Saints stepping up their game, however, they were unable to ever pull away from Madonna. At the break, the Saints led by a score of 36-31. Logan Mathews, Reynolds, and Snipes carried the Saints on the scoring end, netting 10, 9, and 7 respectively. The Saints came up huge on the offensive glass with a 7-2 advantage in offensive rebounds.
The second half played out much the same as the first half with back and forth action. Madonna was able to chip away at the Saints lead and with seven minutes left in the game, the Crusaders took the lead back with two back to back possessions with a field goal made with the foul and the free throw. The Saints however, responded quickly as on the next possession Reynolds came down and calmly sank a three to give the lead right back to the Saints.
The game continued to go back and forth with each team battling and forcing the other team into turnovers. It all came down to the last 25 seconds. Siena Heights had the ball with a one point lead when Madonna forced a turnover with only 13 seconds left. Madonna came down the floor and the Saints defense came up huge when Chris Shiels took a charge with only five seconds left in the game. Reynolds once again came up big as he hit two free throws with only 4 seconds left on the clock to help seal the game. Madonna took a last second three as time expired which wouldn’t go and allowed the Saints to come away with the three point win.
Leading the way on the day for the Saints was Reynolds with 20 points. Mathews added 16 points while Mark Snipes added 13 of his own. On the glass, Mathews and Reynolds led the way with seven rebounds each. Snipes led the team with five assists and Mathews led the team with two blocks. Cory Umfress, Reynolds and Snipes each had two steals to lead the team.
With the win, the Saints move to 19-5 on the season and 6-2 in the WHAC. They will return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Concordia for a 7:30 tip off. The Saints will return home again on Saturday February 13th when they host Indiana Tech at 7:30 pm.