GAME NOTES: A pair of teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference get together on Friday night, as the Siena Saints host the Bobcats of Quinnipiac at the Times Union Center.

For the Saints, this is just their second home game of the season, having previously hosted Vermont in an 84-76 setback on Nov. 17. The team managed to win a pair of outings after that versus St. Bonaventure and Loyola Maryland, but then came a heart-breaking setback to Fordham this past Monday night in the Bronx, 69-67.

As for the Bobcats, one of the newest teams added to the MAAC last season, they are off to a 3-2 start by alternating wins and losses over the first five outings. Last Sunday, the squad managed to take care of business against the Vermont Catamounts, 89-73, in order to keep the trend alive.

As far as the all-time series is concerned, the Saints have won three of the previous four encounters at the Division I level. Siena squeezed out a 72-70 victory last season.

Against Vermont, Ousmane Drame not only scored the 1,000th point of his career, he did so in outstanding fashion as he registered a double-double consisting of 33 points and 13 rebounds, his efforts on the glass almost matching that of the entire Vermont squad (16 rebounds). From a team perspective, the Bobcats crushed the Catamounts by a 40-16 margin on the boards, with the hosts coming up with 17 offensive rebounds alone.

Also scoring in double figures for the Bobcats were Evan Conti with 22 points, to go along with seven boards and four assists, followed by Zaid Hearst with another 11 points in 35 minutes of action.

Through the first five games, Hearst leads the Bobcats with his 19.4 ppg, but what else would you expect from a player who is averaging 39.6 minutes per outing. Drame has been a beast in the paint with averages of 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per contest. Conti accounts for another 12.2 ppg, as he shoots just as well from 3-point range (.400) as he does from the floor overall.

The Saints had a chance to at least send the meeting with Fordham into overtime on Monday, but Brett Bisping's layup attempt at the buzzer was blocked by the Rams in the two-point decision. Bisping finished with just seven points for Siena, as the team leaned heavily on Marquis Wright who tallied 31 points on an impressive 12-of-15 effort from the field, including 3-of-4 behind the 3-point line, before fouling out. No one else on the roster managed to reach double figures, as the squad shot 41.7 percent from the floor.

Wright, the leading scorer in two of the last three outings for Siena, is now up to 14.2 ppg to place second on the season list, while his 5.8 apg are easily the most on the unit. Rob Poole, despite shooting a mere 36.4 percent from the floor and 22.7 percent out on the perimeter, produces 14.8 ppg and is among the team leaders with 5.0 rpg. Ryan Oliver and Lavon Long check in with 10.6 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, for a team putting up 76.8 ppg, but permitting 77.8 ppg.

Wright might be an offensive spark plug for the Saints, but given how active Ousmane can be in the paint at both ends of the floor, Quinnipiac should be shopping for some payback for last season's loss to Siena.