ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team struggles continued with a 77-48 loss on the road against Rochester on Wednesday night. The Saints (2-9, 0-5 WHAC) played the game without head coach Joe Pechota on the sidelines and missing key players Curtis Bell III, Kiewuan Graham, Elijah Kimmons, and Elijah Sterling. 

Jayden Sims led Siena Heights with 16 points on 4-9 shooting from the floor. Kevin Rice scored 12 points and hauled in five rebounds after returning from injury. Luis Young led the way with seven rebounds and three assists. Davin Walker pulled down six boards and scored four points in the losing effort.

The Warriors jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening 3:30 of the contest. Walker hit a three-point jumper to spark a 5-0 run for the Saints that tied things up at seven apiece before Max Moratinos made a free throw to give SHU its first lead of the game, 8-7. Sim hit a jumper to extend the lead to 10-7 with 12:43 remaining in the first half.

Rochester battled back to knot the score at 12 before grabbing the lead with a layup on the next possession. The lead was extended after back-to-back three-point jumpers from Federico Gallinari that put the Warriors up 20-12 with 8:29 left in the first. Six-straight points from the Saints cut the deficit to 22-18. The Saints made four free throws but couldn't complete a field goal until the final seconds of the first as the Warriors took a 35-24 lead into the locker room at the half.

Sims and Rice each made shots from beyond the arc in the opening minute of the second half to pull SHU within eight points of Rochester, 38-30. Rochester used a 10-0 run to widen the gap as the home team didn't look back on the way to the win.

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