Siena men struggle to defend Big Red offense

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Sean Durugordon posted a double-double while leading all players with both 23 points and a collegiate career-high 15 rebounds in his Siena Basketball debut, but it wasn’t enough as the Saints fell to Cornell 95-74 at MVP Arena.

Fourteen of 18 players who saw action scored highlighted by four in double figures for Cornell (8-2) which is off to the program’s second 8-2 start in three seasons. Isaiah Gray led the way with 16 points on 6-8 shooting to go along with four assists and four steals for the Big Red who have now won 26 consecutive non-conference non-guarantee games.

Zek Tekin tallied 10 points and Michael Eley added nine points and eight rebounds for Siena (2-9, 1-1) which achieved a season-high in scoring despite shooting just 34% from the field.

An early 10-2 run pulled the Saints even at 10-all early but Cornell, which entered play ranked in the top 40 nationally in scoring, field goal percentage, threes, and assists, capitalized in all four areas to build their advantage. The Big Red shot 55% and connected for eight first-half threes to claim a 51-34 lead at the break.

Siena was never able to get any closer than 18 in the second half as Cornell maintained its advantage over the final 20 minutes to spoil the Saints’ final home game of 2023.

Reserves Keller Boothby and Guy Ragland, Jr. contributed 13 points apiece for the nation’s fifth-highest-scoring second unit which accounted for 57 of the Big Red points.

Siena eclipsed the 50-rebound mark for the second straight game at MVP Arena while achieving a season-best +16 (50-34) rebound margin including a season-high 22 offensive rebounds. As a result of their aggressiveness, the Saints doubled up Cornell in fouls drawn (26-13), but couldn’t capitalize at the free throw line where they connected at just a 58% (21-36) clip.

Siena wraps up its week of Ivy League action when the Saints travel to Providence, Rhode Island to take on Brown for a Friday matinee at 2 p.m.