By Andrew Parente, News Staff

ALBANY, N.Y. ‘- It was exactly the kind of defensive game the men’s basketball team could have asked for against a Siena team that averaged 77 points a game last year.
Unfortunately for Northeastern, the effort fell short as the Saints used an early second-half run to win the nationally-televised game 59-53 Tuesday afternoon at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
It was the season opener for the Huskies, dropping their record to 0-1 while the Saints captured their second straight win to open the season.
‘In the first half, we had the pace going in our favor,’ 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.’
During that opening frame, the Huskies owned a 20-6 lead, using an 11-0 run during the game’s first few minutes.
Senior guard Matt Janning began the scoring with a 3-pointer. Then, junior guard Chaisson Allen forced a turnover and went down for an easy layup. Junior forward Vinny Lima scored the next four and Janning concluded the run with a layup of his own.
The Saints got back in the game and used a 12-0 run to cut into the Huskies’ lead, trailing just 20-18 with 3:24 left in the half. Northeastern was held scoreless for nearly six minutes.
During the final possession of the half, Janning forced a turnover and made a running shot in the lane as time expired. The bucket gave NU a 26-20 halftime lead.
However, the lead was short lived in the second half as the Saints came out strong and opened with an 18-3 run.
Siena used timely shooting, as well a tight defense, which forced key Husky turnovers that led to points.
‘A lot of it was of our doing,’ Coen said. ‘We weren’t forceful with our entry passes. We were hoping to work the ball inside, get the ball around the rim and maybe get them in foul trouble, but the exact opposite occurred.’
NU got to the free-throw line eight times in the contest and converted on four attempts. Siena got to the stripe 27 times, converting on 17.
The Huskies remained in the contest and got the lead down to five on several occasions down the stretch, but ultimately the comeback bid fell short.
Janning led the Huskies in scoring with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Allen was also in double figures with 11 points.
Saints senior guard Edwim Ubiles, who stands at 6 feet, 6 inches, had a game-high 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including several key shots that ended several Husky chances of a comeback.
‘I thought he made big shots and big plays,’ Coen said. ‘Obviously he is match-up problem for just about everybody. We really didn’t have anybody with the size and length that could contend with him. Chase Allen did a pretty good job on him but it’s a tall order.’
For the game, Northeastern shot 35 percent from the floor and committed 16 turnovers. The defense held Siena to 39 percent and forced 15 turnovers. Neither team held a distinctive rebounding advantage as the Huskies pulled down 42 boards while the Saints grabbed 40.
Freshman guards Alwayne Bigby, Mathiang Muo and Joel Smith all made their Husky debut in the contest.
Northeastern will look to bounce back when it battles Utah State in the home opener at Matthews Arena Saturday at noon.