MAAC Championships Day 1: Broncs Battle Back, Escape with Win versus Siena; Pioneers Start, Close Strong over Fairfield

Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2025

by C.J. Weipz and A.J. Rayer

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - In the opening round of the MAAC basketball championship, the Rider Broncs (14-18, 9-11) mounted a miraculous 13-point comeback to defeat the Siena Saints (14-17, 9-11) on Tuesday night. 

Despite having the same conference record, both Siena and Rider came into the MAAC Championship on different notes. Rider was in the midst of a three-game win streak while Siena had lost three of their last four.

In the first half, both teams proved to be evenly matched. Rider got out to a 12-6 start before Siena’s Brendan Coyle started getting hot from behind the arc to bring Siena back. Coyle ended the half with 13 points and shot 3-7 from three-point range. Through 20 minutes, Siena held on to a 38-36 lead.

Out of the break, the Siena offense exploded behind All-MAAC second team guard Justice Shoats and standout freshman Gavin Doty. After Shoats connected on two free throws, the Saints led 58-45 with just 13 minutes to play. 

With their season on the line, Rider’s experience started to play a factor. The Broncs stormed back thanks to Seniors Tariq Ingraham and T.J. Weeks Jr. The Rider defense started to clamp down as well, as Siena went on a 3:30 scoring drought to let the Broncs back in the game. 

In the final two minutes, Flash Burton and Ruben Rodriguez came up with clutch midrange jumpers to give the Broncs the edge. With Rider in control with a minute to play, Gavin Doty of Siena fought through contact for a layup to bring the Saints within one. 

After Rider could not convert on the other end, Shoats was fouled driving to the basket and headed to the line with a chance to take the lead. Shoats hit the first but missed the second to give the Broncs one last opportunity in regulation.

Burton brought the ball up the floor and found a wide-open Ingraham under the basket on a pick and roll, who then got a layup to drop for the lead with under a second to play. After a halfcourt shot fell short from Siena, Rider picked up the win and will live to play another day. They now move on to play Quinnipiac on Wednesday.

In the nightcap, Sacred Heart (15-17, 10-10) took down cross-town rival Fairfield (12-20, 8-12) in a 71-58 slugfest. The Stags entered the matchup in Atlantic City fresh off their best win of conference play, defeating the regular season champion Quinnipiac Bobcats on senior day, but were unable to carry that momentum to Boardwalk Hall.

The Pioneers came out on a blistering 7-0 run to open the game, prompting Stag's coach Chris Casey to take an early timeout. Sacred Heart slowly grew their lead up to double digits in the first half thanks to some quality shooting on the perimeter, knocking down six of 14 shots from beyond the arc. 

The halftime break cooled off the Pioneers, as Fairfield began to claw their way back after a Louis Bleechmore 3-point basket and Prophet Johnson layup brought the game within three points before the under-16 media timeout. The Stags forced eight turnovers in the second frame by switching to a zone look, throwing off the normally high-powered Sacred Heart offense. 

While second-team All-MAAC selection Tanner Thomas notched nine of his 14 total points in the second half, Fairfield kept Sacred Heart from running away with the game. Sloppy ball handling, bad decision-making, and rough possessions were the themes for both squads heading down the stretch. The Pioneers finished strong over the last five minutes, reaching their highest lead of the day thanks to some timely defensive stops and transition buckets.

Sacred Heart never led by more than 13 throughout the game en route to their 71-58 victory. Fairfield struggled with capitalizing off turnovers and could not take advantage of the Pioneers' drought that carried over halves. The Pioneers will take on the second-seeded Merrimack Warriors Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

C.J. Weipz is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at christopher.weipz@student.shu.edu.

A.J. Rayer can be reached at alexander.rayer@student.shu.edu. 

 

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