Siena's Michael Eley, shown earlier this season, missed two games due to illness, but returned to score a career-high 23 points in a win on Friday at Mount St. Mary's.
Hans Pennink/Times UnionGetting back freshman guard Michael Eley and sophomore guard Javian McCollum made all the difference for the Siena men's basketball team Friday night at Mount St. Mary's.
Eley had a career-high 23 points after missing two games with illness and McCollum returned from a back injury to add 22 points in a 72-65 triumph over the Mountaineers in Emmitsburg, Md.
Siena (16-9 overall, 10-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak and completed its first regular-season sweep of a league opponent.
"I felt a little winded, but it was good to be back out with the team," Eley, who shot 3-for-6 from 3-point range, said in a video provided by the Siena athletic communications department. "No better group of guys. ... I just love playing with the guys and it felt great to be back out there."
McCollum, who had missed three of Siena's previous four games with a back injury, said he visited a chiropractor twice this week to get his back cracked.
"It's been very frustrating being on and off the court," McCollum said in an athletic communications video. "But by getting the win tonight, it felt very good, especially with my teammates. I want to thank Hamm (Siena trainer Greg "Hammer" Dashnaw) for spending hours with me in the training room. We spend most of our hours in there, going to the doctor's, trying to get me right, so I want to thank him. And I want to thank my teammates for encouraging me to keep positive thoughts in my head while I'm off the court and I want to thank the coaching staff for uplifting me. It was a great win tonight and on to the next."
Siena plays at home against Marist at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Saints remained in third place in the MAAC behind first-place Rider and Iona.
Siena coach Carmen Maciariello said in a phone interview he knew at Friday's shootaround both would be able to play. But he didn't expect McCollum, who started, to play 33 minutes and Eley to last 23 minutes off the bench.
"I didn't want to ask or talk or want to do anything except let them keep playing," Maciariello said.
The Saints used an 8-0 run that began with Jayce Johnson's jumper and ended with two Jared Billups free throws to take a 56-47 lead with 7:13 to play.
Mount St. Mary's (8-17, 4-10) pulled to within 66-63 when Dola Adebayo sank a 3-pointer with 38.5 seconds on the clock. But then Siena's Michael Baer found Eley with a long inbounds pass for a dunk that helped put away the game.
Siena got off a to a slow start, falling behind 13-4 with 13:48 remaining in the first half. But the Saints responded with a 22-5 run and went ahead 26-18 on a pair of McCollum foul shots with 4:46 left in the half.
Guard Jalen Benjamin (16 points) helped rally Mount St. Mary's to a 33-33 tie at intermission.
Siena held a 38-27 rebounding advantage on Friday night, including nine offensive rebounds. The Saints also shot 23-for-26 from the foul line, including 10-for-10 by McCollum.
"We wanted to be the aggressor," Maciariello said. "We wanted to beat them up on the glass. I thought we did a good job at home in the first game (against Mount St. Mary's). Obviously, they're a really talented team. ... They played some different lineups we really weren't ready for. They were big and physical. But I thought we made timely shots, especially on some inbounds executions. I thought Michael Eley made some big shots. I was really proud of our ability to share the basketball."