Coming off a tough loss on Saturday night against a formidable Manhattan team there is no let-up for the Siena Saints (8-9, 3-4) as they meet another hot team on Thursday night in Loyola.  The Saints will travel to Baltimore to face the Greyhounds at Reitz Arena.  Tip-off is 7:00pm.

Loyola (12-5, 5-2) is tied for second in the MAAC with Manhattan, only one game behind league favorite Iona who they lost to 74-63 in New Rochelle on Sunday.  The Greyhounds beat the Saints 66-50 in Albany as the Greyhounds were in the midst of running out to an 8-1 record to start the year.  They’ve cooled off a bit, but are still playing well in conference.

Loyola has five players averaging double digits in scoring, led by 6’2″ sophomore guard Dylon Cormier who is averaging 16 points a game.  6’7″ forward Erik Etherly is second in scoring averaging 12 points a game, and he’s also grabbing 8 rebounds a game.  Siena’s big men will also have to deal with 6’10″ senior Shane Walker, who is averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds a game.

The big men of Siena were the bright spots in the loss on Saturday night.  Junior OD Anosike extended his nation long double-double streak to 13, scoring 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, and senior Brandon Walters continued his improved play scoring 10 points.  The Saints outrebounded the Jaspers in the 19 point loss, but couldn’t get enough scoring and were just outmatched.

The Saints will continue trying to overcome the adversity it’s faced all year to get back to .500 both in conference and overall.  If they win they’ll have five days to get ready to welcome Iona to the Times Union Center on Monday night.  The schedule lets up as much as it can during conference play for the next few games after that, but for the six student-athletes wearing green and gold there is not a whole lot of relief in sight.