FRESNO, Calif. – Lavon Long scored 13 points and Siena rallied from 13 points down in the second half to beat Fresno State 61-57 in the Game 1 of the College Basketball Invitational final series Monday.
Sienna did not allow a field goal for nearly the final seven minutes.
The best-of-three series moves to upstate New York, where Sienna will host Fresno State in Game 2 on Wednesday.
The Saints (19-17) will also host Game 3, if necessary, Saturday. In the tournament's previous six championship series, the winner of the opening game went on to win the title.
Cezar Guerrero led Fresno State (20-17) with 15 points and Alex Davis had 12.
The Saints took its first lead of the second half on freshman Marquis Wright's jump shot to make it 50-49 with 7:27 left.
