Box score

Siena opened the second half on an 18-3 run to overcome a six-point halftime deficit and top the Northeastern men's basketball team 59-53 in the Huskies season opener at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. The game was played at noon as part of ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.

"In the first half, we had the pace going in our favor," Northeastern head coach Bill Coen said. "We knew that if we got into a running game with Siena that things could get away from us fast. In the second half, Siena's half-court defense was very disruptive with generating turnovers and contesting shots. Ultimately, that was the difference in the game."

Edwin Ubiles led the Saints (2-0) with 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Matt Janning scored 14 points to lead the Northeastern offense.

The Huskies struggled with Siena's pressing defense. The Saints left no shot uncontested as Northeastern shot 34.9 percent for the game. The Northeastern defense was no slouch either, holding Siena to 38.5 percent shooting. The game came down to free throw shooting as the Saints got to the line 27 times and made 17 of shots (63 percent) while the Huskies got to the line just eight times and made only four of them (50 percent).

Huskies forwards Manny Adako and Nkem Ojougboh were in foul trouble much of the game, leaving Northeastern short handed.

The Huskies got off to a fast start with an 11-0 run. After Siena opened the scoring with a bucket, Janning got the Huskies on the board with a three-pointer. Chaisson Allen followed up with a quick steal and a fastbreak layup. To close the run, Janning drove through an open lane uncontested for a layup, putting NU up 11-2.

Ubiles broke NU's run with a jumper at 12:34, but the Huskies continued to build their lead. Janning drained 8:19 mark after Baptiste Bataille stole the ball from Siena's Alex Franklin and went in for an easy layup.

Siena then woke up with a 12-0 run as Northeastern went scoreless for a stretch of 5:56. During that period, Ubiles scored nine of the team's 12 points to get the Saints back into the game. Ojougboh got the Huskies back on the scoreboard with a layup at 2:23.

The Huskies finished the half strong with another Ojougboh layup with 18 seconds left, then a bad Siena pass turned into a turnover as Bataille stole the ball and handed off to Janning, who hit a teardrop layup at the buzzer to send the Huskies into the break with a 26-20 advantage.

However, in the second half, Siena came out firing with an 18-3 run led by Ryan Rossiter, who had six points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist during the stretch. He finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Siena led by nine, 38-27, with 11:47 to play.

The Huskies got within five points three times. The first time came after Ojougboh hit a layup off a bounce pass from Janning at 10:30. Janning then stole the ball from Rossiter, but he too gave the ball away. Then at 6:31, Bataille knocked down a jumper to get NU to within five again, 45-40. Again, Northeastern was able to force a turnover, but the Huskies missed their following shot, and at 4:43 Ubiles drained a three-pointer to take the wind out of their sails.

A Janning layup with three seconds left got NU within five again, but the team unsuccessfully tried to steal the inbound pass, fouling Franklin in the process. He made one of two free throws, ending the Huskies' chances.

Both teams' defenses had outstanding days. The Huskies committed 16 turnovers, and Siena made 15 turnovers.

The Huskies will play their home opener Saturday afternoon against Utah State at Matthews Arena at 12 p.m.