J.S. Carras/The Record

LOUDONVILLE - Senior Kyle Downey has played 74 minutes over the past two games.

Siena's senior captain has been the leading scorer in both games, combining for 45 points.

The back-to-back solid performances have his scoring average up to 12.7 points per game.

"I thought he looked fresh in the two games, when other players looked tired," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro, at Tuesday's meeting with the media.

Buonaguro knew he would get a solid senior campaign from Downey and the Fairport native is showing what he's capable of.

"I think it's a byproduct of his conditioning, his work ethic and how he came into the season," Buonaguro said. "I thought the other night, against UMass, he played terrific and he followed it up with a really good effort last night. We're going to need that moving forward against Princeton."

BURDINE UPDATE: If you've been at the Siena game recently, you've noticed that sophomore Trenity Burdine is warming up with the team.

Coach Buonaguro said that is a positive step, but he still hasn't seen Burdine do much cutting.

The talk on Tuesday was that Burdine could be back with the team, but Buonaguro really wants him back for the Iona game (Jan. 3). 

"We don't want to push him into something where he's going to regress."

WIGNOT NOT HIMSELF: Senior Owen Wignot was held scoreless on Tuesday, in 23 minutes against Fordham.

It certainly seemed like a step backwards, following an 8-point performance against UMass, on Friday.

"He's certainly not playing with the same level of confidence," Buonaguro said. "I think you can see that. We need him to produce."

Buonaguro just finished by saying that Owen isn't playing like he's shown he's capable of, in the past.

TIME OFF: The Saints have one of their longest layoffs of the year now, due to finals and Buonaguro said he'll take the time to work on things he thinks the team needs improvement in.

He also said that it will be important to get the young players some rest, heading into the next portion of the schedule.

"Maybe these freshmen have hit a wall," Buonaguro said. "They've been through a lot and we need to get them refocused, reenergized and be positive with them in these nine days."

Having lost seven of their last eight games, Buonaguro said it's vital that he keeps the younger player's confidence up.

"I think freshmen have to be resilient, but you have to keep reminding them to move on," he said.

MITCHELL JOINS UBILES WITH WARRIORS: The Golden State Warriors have signed another former Siena player, in Tommy Mitchell ('05).

He joins Edwin Ubiles ('10) in training camp with the Warriors, as both players will try to make the squad for opening day.