LOUDONVILLE - Evan Hymes continues to impress for the Siena Saints.

The pint-sized point guard tied for game-high honors, with 21 points and finished 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, in the 64-60 victory over the University at Albany, on Monday.

"Without him, we're not in the game," Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro said, on Tuesday, during his weekly media gathering.

Hymes scored 19 points in the first half, keeping the Saints in it, after they fell behind 31-12. He hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining that banked in off the backboard and cut the deficit to eight.

J.S. Carras/The Record

Hymes is Siena's leading scorer through eight games, averaging 14.9 points per game.

It's an incredible story, for a player who didn't have really any other interest out of high school and who had the starting role thrown into his lap, following the season-ending injury to sophomore Rakeem Brookins.

"He's right in the middle of all our wins," Buonaguro said. "Is it surprising? Yeah. But I do think he can score."

Buonaguro gave credit to assistant coach Craig Carter, who did most of the recruiting of Hymes, who is from Durham, N.C., but spent time growing up in Clifton Park.

"I did see that he could score," said Buonaguro, about watching tape of Hymes during the recruitment process.

Hymes also broke his leg during his junior year of high school, which may have lost him some attention.

"I think that scared a lot of people of," Buonaguro said.

Buonaguro said that Hymes' fearlessness and drive reminds him a lot about Brookins, who stepped right in last year as a freshman and took the leadership role of the team.