Siena men’s basketball added another chapter to its impressive legacy of road wins in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday night, with freshman Tim Ibukunoluwa leading the charge. He poured in 23 points, spearheading five Saints players who hit double figures, as the team took down the University of Dayton 99-89 in front of a sellout crowd of 13,407 at UD Arena. This wasn’t just another game, this was a statement.
The Freshman Phenom and The Playmaking Maestro
Seriously, Ibukunoluwa is on a roll. He was just named Metro Conference Player and Rookie of the Week on Monday, and this was his third straight game scoring 20 or more points. The kid is straight fire! But he wasn’t alone in putting on a show. Junior Pace Prosser was an absolute wizard with the ball, racking up 17 points and an incredible 11 assists, all while committing zero turnovers. That’s a point guard masterclass right there! Niskayuna’s own graduate student Brendan Coyle also brought the heat with 21 points, including a scorching 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. And let’s not forget freshman Trent Egbiremolen, who added 20 points and pulled down 9 rebounds, or redshirt junior guard Reid Ducharme with his 11 points. The Saints were just clicking on all cylinders.
How The Saints Seized Control
This game was tight until Siena decided to put their foot on the gas. They went on a ridiculous 15-3 run, blowing the game open for a 70-60 lead with 10:39 left on the clock. Dayton tried to fight back with an 8-0 run of their own, but Siena didn’t flinch. Ibukunoluwa, cool as you like, scored in the paint and then drained three clutch foul shots to push the lead back to 77-70 with 5:18 to play. Talk about composure under pressure! The Saints were money from the line, hitting 28-of-33 free throws, and knocked down 11-for-31 from three-point range. They closed it out when Coyle nailed a huge 3-pointer from the right wing after a loose-ball scramble, and Egbiremolen followed up with a fallaway jumper, making it 84-75 with just over two minutes left. Dayton, who were picked third in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, just lost their second straight home game and now sit at 1-2. That’s gotta sting.
Siena, the reigning Metro Conference champions, are bringing that winning energy back home to play Brown on Saturday night. If they keep playing like this, who knows what they can achieve this season!
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