ALBANY, N.Y. -- Greg Nero tallied a double double with 21 points and 12 rebounds while Jonathan Han added 22 points but it was not enough as the men's basketball team dropped an 87-81 decision to Siena College in a battle of conference unbeaten teams. Both Siena and Fairfield entered the game with an 8-4 overall record and a 2-0 mark in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play.

The Saints jumped out to an early lead, scoring nine of the first 12 points to hold a six-point advantage with 16:46 remaining in the first half. The Stags scored the next seven points to gain their first lead of the game at 10-9 following a pair of free throws from Yorel Hawkins at the 15:07 mark.

Siena answered with a 10-4 spurt that regained its lead at 19-14 with Edwin Ubiles scoring the final eight points of the run. Ubiles scored 11 of the team's first 21 points over the first nine minutes of the game, but would not score throughout the final 11 minutes of the half. Fairfield continued the game's trend by putting together a run that would push it in front as Anthony Johnson's dunk made the score 22-21 in favor of Fairfield, completing an 8-2 run over two-plus minutes.

Fairfield would continue to build on its lead, gaining its biggest advantage at 34-28 with 5:15 on the clock. Down by four points with just over two minutes remaining, Siena finished the first half with a 9-0 run that would place the home team in front at halftime 45-40.

Siena kept the run going when Alex Franklin opened the second half with a lay up to extend the lead to seven points at 47-40. But the Stags were not done yet and showed that with a 16-8 spurt that put the visitors back in the lead at 56-55 with 14 minutes remaining. Fairfield improved its lead to three points with 12 minutes remaining, 62-59, but Siena answered with nine unanswered points to take a six-point advantage with nine minutes remaining.

Herbie Allen ended the run with a jumper to make the score 64-60, but the Stags would not come any closer than four points for the rest of the game.

The Stags continue their current five-game road trip when they head to New Rochelle for a Sunday afternoon game against Iona College. The game will be Fairfield's third straight road game with games at Army (January 6) and Loyola (January 9) still on the docket.