GAME NOTES: Siena carries a bit of an edge into the 34th annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday evening, as the Saints face off against the Niagara Purple Eagles on their home floor at the Times Union Center.

The eighth-seeded Saints won only three non-conference games and closed out the regular season with five straight defeats and seven in the last eight outings overall. The lone victory during that span was a narrow 66-64 triumph over a Marist team that was bringing up the rear in the standings.

As for the ninth-seeded Purple Eagles, they were quite the enigma in the MAAC from the start of January on, at one point losing nine in a row and 13 of 14 outings, save for a 105-100 double-overtime affair versus Quinnipiac. But then the squad closed out the campaign with four straight victories, so there's no telling which version of the Eagles will show up on Thursday night.

In terms of the all-time series between these squads, Niagara sources have the Saint owning a slight 47-46 edge thanks to a four-game win streak. During this regular season, Siena captured a 79-69 win at home on Jan. 8, and then turned the trick 10 days later with a 74-70 triumph on the road.

Niagara has a .500 record in this event over the last quarter century, posting a mark of 23-23 to go along with a pair of championships. The last crown worn by the Purple Eagles came in 2007 with an 83-79 victory over these same Siena Saints. In fact, the following year the Saints turned the tables with a 77-70 win in the championship, one of five for the program in the MAAC.

The winner of this outing will be back in action on Saturday in the quarterfinals versus top-seeded Iona.

Perhaps the one aspect of the game that stands out most for the Purple Eagles is their lackluster defense, allowing opponents to shoot not only 47.0 percent from the floor overall but also 38.0 percent behind the 3-point line, both of which have the squad near the bottom nationally. Because shots were as open as they were, opponents managed to produce 71.8 ppg versus Niagara, while the Purple Eagles managed to come up with just 64.7 ppg as they shot 39.9 percent from the field.

Emile Blackman was credited with a team-best 13.6 ppg and Ramone Snowden, the only player to have started all 29 games, added 10.9 ppg, but he was one of the reasons why Niagara was shaky from the field as he converted only 39.5 percent of his chances. Snowden did make a significant impact on the glass as well with a team-best 6.1 rpg and he accounted for 69 assists as well.

First and foremost, it should be noted that Siena's captain and leading scorer, Rob Poole, is listed as questionable for this meeting as of Wednesday due to an injury. As one of the more recognizable performers in the MAAC over the last several seasons, Poole was responsible for 14.2 ppg thanks to an impressive 83.3 percent shooting at the free-throw line and his 52 3-pointers, although he converted just 35.9 percent out on the perimeter in his 26 appearances.

Marquis Wright, the one who had started every game for the Saints, not only put up 12.7 ppg, he also distributed 144 of his team's 381 assists, making sure many of his teammates were involved in the offense as much as possible. However, the one glaring drawback to the play of Wright is his meager 28.6 percent effort beyond the arc. Lavon Long (10.1 ppg) tends to be a more physical performer, as evidenced by his 11 disqualifications.

If Poole is not 100 percent ready to take the floor for the Saints, the hosts for this tournament could easily be one-and-done. Besides, beating the same team three times in a single season is not an easy feat.