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The Siena men's basketball team saw its season come to a close after a narrow defeat against the Rider Broncs in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament on Tuesday (March 11). The game, held at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, ended with a score of 78-76 in favor of Rider.
Siena, the No. 9 seed, led by as many as 13 points in the second half but couldn't hold off the No. 8 seed Rider. Justice Shoats led the Saints with 19 points and nine assists, while Brendan Coyle contributed 13 points, all in the first half. Despite a strong start, Siena struggled with free throws, missing four of five in the final minutes, which proved costly.
The game featured five lead changes in the last six minutes and was tied at 76-76 with just 13.7 seconds left. Rider's Tariq Ingraham scored the winning basket after a pick-and-roll play with freshman Flash Burton, sealing the win for the Broncs. "Our freshman Flash, man, he's been on a learning curve all year," Ingraham said on the ESPN+ broadcast. "He saw that roll on the screen, passed it to me, and I was wide open and made the layup," Ingraham said.
This loss concludes Siena's season with an overall record of 14 wins and 18 losses, marking a significant improvement from the previous season's 4-28 record under first-year head coach Gerry McNamara. "We had control there in the second half mixed in a zone, got up by 13, and then, just like the rest of the game, we just couldn't capitalize on the defensive glass," McNamara said.
Rider will advance to face the No. 1 seed Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals. Despite the loss, Siena's players and coaches remain optimistic about the future, with Shoats emphasizing the importance of learning from the experience. "Every possession matters," he said. "Every second matters, and that's what my takeaway is from this thing. I know one thing, is we'll be back, for sure."