LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Tank Byard's  (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City [Alcorn State]) putback jumper beat the buzzer to give the Rider University men's basketball team a 61-59 victory over Siena Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs improve to 9-15 (5-8 MAAC), while the Saints fall to 11-13 (6-7 MAAC).

After a back-and-forth first eight minutes, Siena hit consecutive three-pointers to build an 18-11 advantage by the 9:47 mark. Another 6-0 Siena run made it a 24-16 advantage with 6:21 remaining, before Rider responded with a 14-3 run to retake a 30-27 lead with just over a minute left in the half. A pair of Tank Byard (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City [Alcorn State]) buckets inside sparked the run, while Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) and T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) also added four points apiece in the run. The Broncs' advantage remained three, 32-29, at the half. The Broncs shot 52.2 percent (12-23) in the opening 20 minutes to the Saints' 39.1 percent (9-23).

Siena opened the second half on a 9-0 run to establish a six-point lead, 38-32, by the 16:27 mark, the Broncs scored five straight to pull to within one on a Jay Alvarez (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro Area [Houston Christian]) transition bucket with 12 minutes left. Rider would tie the game at 44-44 on a pair of Weeks Jr. free throws at the 9:02 mark and took its first lead since early in the period on the graduate guard's floater at the 5:44 mark. The bucket was part of an 11-2 Broncs run that pushed the advantage to six, 59-53, on a Burton free throw with 1:11 remaining.

Siena erased the lead in the final minute on three driving buckets, the last from Brendan Coyle coming with 20 seconds remaining. Able to hold for the last shot, Burton's right-handed attempt on a drive with three seconds remaining wouldn't fall. But Byard was there to tap the rebound back to himself, catch and shoot, falling away from the basket inside the paint. The shot was released with 0.7 seconds left, drew back iron and fell through for the game-winner after time had expired.

Quotes & Notes
"All the credit goes out to these guys, man - to our players, to these two guys sitting at the table (Weeks Jr., Byard). Finally good to be on the side where we have a buzzer beater and someone doesn't have one against us. We'll enjoy it. We've got to close out the games right. We've got to make free throws. We've got to take care of the ball. But, again, I'm not complaining because every one has been hard. This league is tough and give Siena credit for battling back. They're a heck of a team."

(On contributions from several players) "We needed everything. We needed (T.J.). We needed Tank today. We needed everybody. I thought Flash wanted to take the big shot. He's not afraid as a freshman. So, kudos to him. I thought it was a good effort on a night where Zion and (Tariq Ingraham) really didn't have it today. I thought Jay Alvarez brought great energy, got some big rebounds. So, it's a team win. And again, man, thank God for the basketball Gods on our side today."

(On increased minutes for Byard) "I just thought Tank was moving better. I thought he was setting better ball screens and diving. Their game plan was to double (Ingraham). I don't necessarily know if that was the game plan for Tank. So we were able to just move the ball, move bodies more and kind of go smaller. I thought Tank did a better job of defending. At times, we can switch in the ball screen more with Tank than we can with Riq. So it was just a feel thing and I thought Tank was dialed in and gave us the right minutes today." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

(On whether he's ever had a buzzer beater) "I think I had one maybe six or seven years ago. That play, we just tried to get it off the glass if he missed it and get the rebound. I just so happened to be in the right spot at the right time to get the rebound."

"We definitely need to build off this win. Going into practice, we need to lock in and pay attention to everything they're telling us to do, because it's really just the little things that's been causing us to lose."
 – Rider senior forward Tank Byard

"I felt like we were stagnant. So, I felt like if I was more aggressive, maybe it'd open up ways for other people to score. I started being more aggressive and other people started scoring."

(On the message to the team after this game) "Whatever we did today, whatever led up to today, carry that into the last seven games." – Rider graduate wing T.J. Weeks Jr.

- Rider is 8-1 this season when holding the opposition to fewer than 72 points.
- The win cut Siena's lead in the all-time series to 39-22. The series has been closer at Alumni Gym, with Siena owning a 19-16 advantage. The Broncs have won the last vs. the Saints in Lawrenceville.
- Rider is now 5-4 this season in games decided by five points or fewer and improved to 3-4 in MAAC games decided by five or fewer.
- The Broncs have played seven conference games at home this season. All seven have been decided by six points or fewer, with four decided by a single possession (three points or fewer).
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Weeks scored a season-high 23 points on 6-of-9 from the floor, including a conversion on his only three-point attempt, and made 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He added seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
- Burton finished with 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. He added three assists and two rebounds.
- Byard added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds, a game after collecting eight caroms at Sacred Heart on Thursday. He also blocked two shots and had two assists in a season-high 25 minutes.
- Alvarez chipped in with six points and eight rebounds.
- Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) had six rebounds and two assists.    
- The Broncs outshot Siena, 43.4 percent (23-53) to 42.9 percent (21-49) from the floor, including a 28.6 percent (2-7) to 20.0 percent (4-20) advantage from long range.
- Rider also took a 76.5 percent (13-17) to 56.5 percent (13-23) edge from the free-throw line.
- The Broncs outrebounded Siena, 38-29, including a 9-5 edge on the offensive glass.
- Siena led for 25:59 of game time to the Broncs' 12:49 with the lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Friday night, when they travel to Iona. Opening tip from New Rochelle, NY, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.