• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Duell sparks Siena to upset of Stanford

Nov 18, 2007 - 1:40 AM LOUDONVILLE, New York (Ticker) -- Siena made its first home game of the season a memorable one.

Josh Duell scored 16 points to lead four players in double figures as the Saints pulled away in the second half for a 79-67 victory No. 20 Stanford on Saturday.

Alex Franklin added 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in a game-breaking 11-0 run, as Siena (2-2) ended an eight-game losing streak against ranked opponents dating to 1996.

"I felt like this was probably as good of a game as we have played since I have been here, with regard to following a game plan," Saints coach Fran McCaffery said. "I thought coach (Mitch) Buonaguro did a great job with the scout and the kids executed it to perfection."

The Saints were coming off their first win of the season, an 88-66 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday in the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-off.

Siena handed the Cardinal (4-1) its first loss of the season and also avenged a 20-point defeat at Stanford in the season opener a year ago.

"I think it sends a message to what we are doing here," McCaffery said. "We have great kids, we have a lot to sell, and we have a terrific atmosphere. I think you can see how our players respond to one another. It is a special program. That is what we want people to think about us."

Trailing, 33-31, at halftime, Stanford went ahead for the last time on back-to-back 3-pointers by Anthony Goods and Kenny Brown.

The Saints stormed back with an 11-0 run as Duell sandwiched shots from the arc around a 3-pointer by Tay Fisher to built a 56-46 with just over nine minutes to play.

A layup by Duell capped a 21-6 run and pushed the lead to 66-52 with 8 1/2 minutes to play, and Stanford did not get the margin under double digits until Goods and Landry Fields hit 3-points to make it 74-67 with 60 seconds left.

Brown scored 12 points and Lawrence Hill 11 for the Cardinal, who shot 12-of-31 from the arc and went to the line just three times, making all of them.

Kenny Hasbrouck scored 12 points and Edwin Ubiles had 11 for the Saints, who were 23-of-32 from the free-throw line.

"I think people looked at some of the teams on our schedule and felt like with this team there was a chance we could be beat a Syracuse, beat a Stanford, beat a Memphis," McCaffery said. "That's what everybody looks at. We have a lot of other real good teams on our schedule and we are still young.

"This was an incredible example of concentration and character that we put forth today."