GAME NOTES: The Siena Saints seek back-to-back wins to open league play as they clash with the Rider Broncs in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference showdown at Alumni Gym on Sunday.

The Saints are just breaking even after six games, but the good news is that the team opened MAAC play on a positive note two nights ago with a resounding 88-67 victory over the Bobcats of Quinnipiac at home. The win was the third in the last four contests for a Siena group that began 2014-15 with consecutive defeats at the hands of UMass and Vermont.

Meanwhile, the Broncs find themselves two games under .500 at the moment, but considering the team has faced off against the likes of Kansas, Michigan State and Georgia Tech, the schedule has been stacked against them. Luckily, the squad put an end to a four-game slide on Wednesday night with a 69-56 triumph over Central Connecticut State at home.

Siena won both regular-season meetings in 2013-14 and as a result now leads the all-time series by a count of 27-14.

Marquis Wright led five players in double figures with his 17 points as the Siena Saints topped the Bobcats of Quinnipiac by 21 points in MAAC action at the Times Union Center on Friday night. Also putting up solid numbers on offense for the Saints were Rob Poole and Willem Brandwijk with 12 points apiece, while Javion Ogunyemi and Lavon Long added 11 points each. Siena, which shot only 17-of-30 at the free-throw line, hit on 54.2 percent from the floor for the game and turned the ball over just eight times.

Wright, who is playing close to 35 minutes per contest, is posting 14.7 ppg and leads the unit with his 35 assists, although his 65.6 percent effort at the free-throw line tends to distract from his positive contributions. Poole pitches in with 14.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg, but he too has some work to do on his game, specifically on his shot selection given that he is making only 37.1 percent of his field goals and 24.0 percent on the perimeter.

Due to the fact that the team failed to get to the free-throw line even once, missed all but one of nine attempts behind the 3-point line and shot just 32.1 percent from the floor through the first 20 minutes, Rider trailed at the break against CCSU, 24-19. Then something happened at intermission that turned it all around for the hosts as they converted 58.3 percent from the field, including 6-of-16 beyond the arc, as they dominated the second half in the 13- point home win.

Matt Lopez led the way for Rider with 20 points and nine rebounds, followed by Zedric Sadler with 13 points and six boards off the bench for a squad that survived 18 turnovers and a mere 2-of-4 showing at the charity stripe.

After eight games, points are still somewhat hard to come by for the Broncs as they average just 62.1 ppg, while giving up 68.0 ppg to opponents who are shooting an impressive 75.4 percent at the free-throw line, compared to only 61.0 percent for Rider. Lopez is the only double-digit scorer for the group with 11.1 ppg, however his shooting at the charity stripe (.500) is indicative of the direction in which the Broncs are traveling at the moment.

Considering the Saints were able to keep one of the top rebounding teams in the nation in check on Friday night, the team should be able to handle Rider on the road today even with the quick turnaround.