Owls hold off Siena until fourth quarter
December 28, 2011 - - With leading scorer Greg Gantt back from injury, putting up 16 was par for the course on this day. In the early goings of the game, Gantt's hot hand added up to eight points within the first four minutes.
Omari Greir lit up the boards again with 15, and slotted himself as the second leading scorer of this tilt.
Despite the Saints' 39% from the field in half two, the team held on using only a bench of one. Add to that, an 0-10 effort from FAU on three's, and you start to see the drama unfold.
Combining first and second half shooting percentages, Siena was at 47% and the Owls 35%. This alone tells a story of the win for Siena.. Long gone are the years past that FAU had a sparse bench.
Going into half, FAU held a three point lead, 39-36. The turnaround in half two gave Siena a seven point 67-60 margin for the win. Big men in the middle collected rebounds, second chance put backs and extra opportunities at the net for the Saints.
Leading scorer for Siena was OD Anosike with 17 points and 13 rebounds. The points in the paint went to Siena, scoring 20 to FAU's 10. Also second chance points went to Siena with 7 and FAU with 2.
FAU managed to score six points on the Fast Break and four went Siena's way.
After the half, FAU was able to maintain a lead of five points with 14:40 remaining in the game. It was at 13:43 where Siena edged a lead of three points and never looked back.
Even at 8:51 in the game, Siena managed their five point lead to full effect. With 1:16 left in regulation, the Saints had a nine point lead and by games end held on to a final margin of victory 67-60.
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