ALBANY, NY – Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) and Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) both eclipsed the 20-point mark, but Monmouth University Men's Basketball (6-6, 0-1 MAAC) dropped the conference opener at the Times Union Center to Siena College (6-5, 2-0 MAAC) 75-72 on Friday night.

Matt Hein's three with 11:56 to go got Siena even in the second half, and the teams went back-and-forth until the Saints grabbed a three-point lead from the foul line. Hammond drilled a straight on three to tie it up at 1:55, but Elijah Burns scored five straight points to put the Saints up for good.

Monmouth led by 10 at the break after gradually building a lead, starting when George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) hit consecutive threes within a minute of each other to put the Hawks in front. Louie Pillari (Tinton Falls, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) and Hammond each hit triples, and Mustapha Traore's (Philadelphia, PA/The Phelps School) buzzer-beating layup made it 36-26 into the locker room.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"Our problems started at the beginning of the second half. We had a 10-point lead and you saw the level of shot we were taking flip-flopped from the first half. They caught up from the free throw line and then they made some big plays. They have the Preseason Player of the Year and some guys playing really well so give them all the credit." – Head Coach King Rice

-Monmouth put two players over the 20-point threshold for the first time this season (Hammond and Salnave).
-Hammond has now scored 20+ points in 5 of 12 games this season.
-Salnave posted his third 20+ point outing of the year.
-Louie Pillari matched a season-high with nine points.
-MU lost a regular season game to Siena for the first time since March 2, 2014 and just the second time as MAAC opponents.
-Hammond's five threes ties a career-high, the fifth time in his career he's hit five from deep.
-Sam Chaput grabbed a career-best three steals.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth posted 14 assists to just seven turnovers.
-The Hawks were outshot 42.4% to 38.8%.
-MU topped the Saints in bench points, 19-13.
-The game featured eight ties and eight lead changes.
-Monmouth shot all of its free throws in the second half.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth hosts Iona on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.