ALBANY, NY – Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at Siena, 68-63, Sunday afternoon at MVP Arena. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 6-9 (3-3 MAAC), while the league-leading Saints improve to 11-5 (5-0 MAAC).

Siena began the game on a 7-0 run and the Broncs whittled the deficit down to one on three occasions, including 22-21 on an Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) three-pointer with just over a minute remaining in the period. Siena got a pair of free throws to push to a 24-21 lead at the break. Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) led Rider with six points in the period, while Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) chipped in with four points and nine rebounds. Both teams were cold from the floor, with Rider taking a 35.7 percent (10-28) to 28.6 percent (8-28) advantage from the floor. The Saints made all seven of their free-throw attempts, while Rider missed its only two.  

Rider started the second half on a 6-0 run, with consecutive Murray buckets off Siena turnovers and a Powell step-back jumper to take a 27-24 lead. The teams then traded three-pointers, with Murray knocking down a triple for the Broncs to push back to a 30-27 lead with 16:19 left. But the Saints countered with 13 of the next 15 points and Siena never trailed again. Rider drew to within two with just under 10 minutes remaining on a Murray three, but the Saints worked the lead back to double-digits at the 4:38 mark.

Six-straight Rider points whittled the deficit to four with 1:40 remaining. A Murray drive with 14 seconds left got it down to three, but after two Siena free throws, the Broncs misfired and the Saints ran out the remainder of the clock.  

Quotes & Notes
"We didn't play with a sense of urgency coming out. We had a little bit of a hangover coming off of last game."

"The last three games, when the game is in the balance, we don't come up with the big rebounds. It even goes back to the Delaware game. It's something that's been hurting us all the while. So we've really got to put an emphasis on blocking out, rebounding, diving on them. If you want to win, you've got to do all the little things. We could focus on the three-point line if we want, but we were down one possession, go for a steal and give up a lay-up. It's the discipline part, too, of it." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Siena leads the all-time series with the Broncs, 38-19, including each of the last two. The two teams split a home-and-home series last season, with the road team winning each game. The win last year was the Broncs' first in Albany over Siena since Dec. 7, 2012. Rider had lost the prior six meetings at MVP Arena, while the two teams didn't meet in Albany in 2017-18 and 2020-21.
- Murray returned from a one-game absence due to injury.
- Murray reached a pair of milestones in the game, becoming Rider's 41^st 1,000-point scorer, reaching the feat in 69 games played, all starts. He also moved past 1,500 collegiate points, including his two years at Incarnate Word.
- Murray also moved into 40^th on the Rider scoring list, passing Rich Wallace (1,003 points). He now stands eight points shy of Michael Crawford (1,023 points) for 39^th.
- The Broncs moved to 3-5 in true road contests this season.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Murray made 9-of-17 attempts, including 2-of-5 from long range. He was 7-of-11 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from deep in the second half. He also had two assists and two steals.
- Ingraham also finished in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.
- James added nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds, with seven of his boards coming on the offensive glass. His previous career high was 14, accomplished twice at North Alabama, most recently on Jan. 22, 2021, vs. Jacksonville.
- Powell also had nine points and two steals.
- Allen Betrand (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic [Towson/Rhode Island]) chipped in with seven points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.    
- Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) grabbed seven rebounds in 13 minutes played.
- The Broncs outshot Siena, 42.4 percent (25-59) to 41.5 percent (22-53), including a 27.3 percent (3-11) to 19.0 percent (4-21) edge from long range.
- Siena took a 76.9 percent (20-26) to 58.8 percent (10-17) edge from the free-throw line.
- Rider outrebounded Siena, 38-33, including a 15-11 edge on the offensive glass.
- Rider turned the ball over 16 times to Siena's 13 turnovers. The Broncs took a 16-15 edge in points off turnovers.
- The Broncs outscored the Saints, 38-32, in the paint, 10-8, on second chances and 12-4 on fast breaks.
- Rider's bench outscored Siena's, 18-17.
- Siena led for 34:30 of game time to Rider's 2:18 with a lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action a week from today, Sunday, Jan. 15, when they travel to league favorite Iona. Tip-off from Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, NY, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN3.