ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) found a wide-open Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) for the game-winning lay-up with 0.7 seconds left as the No. 8 Rider University men's basketball team defeated No. 9 Siena, 78-76, in the MAAC Championship Opening Round Tuesday night at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The Broncs (14-18) erased a 13-point second-half deficit to advance to tomorrow night's quarterfinals against top-seeded Quinnipiac at 6 p.m. The Saints conclude their season at 14-18.

A closely-played first half concluded with the Broncs trailing, 38-36. Rider built an early lead of six points, 12-6, with an 8-0 run capped by Burton drive at 14:13. Siena responded with the next five points to shave the Rider lead to one and retook the lead on a Gavin Doty fast-break lay-up at 10:28. Six lead changes and a tie later, the Saints retook the lead and built their largest advantage of the half, 32-28, on a Peter Carey lay-up at 3:32. Burton led the Broncs with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 1-of-2 from long range, in the opening 20 minutes. Rider took advantages of 28-16 in the paint and 10-0 on second-chance points in the period.

The Saints used a 13-2 run early in the second half to push their lead to 58-45 with 13:31 remaining. Rider began to chip away with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 58-54, the last five points coming from Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) on a putback and a three-pointer, the latter coming at the 10:17 mark. After Siena pushed its lead back to six, 64-58 on a Justice Shoats jumper at the 8:27 mark, Rider took its first lead since early in the period with a 7-0 run capped by two Tank Byard (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City [Alcorn State]) free throws with just under six minutes left.

Four lead changes and three ties later, the Broncs pushed to a three-point lead, 76-73, on a Ruben Rodriguez (Reading, PA/Reading) baseline jumper with 1:08 remaining. Siena countered with a Doty driving lay-up and 1-of-2 free throws from Shoats with 13 seconds left. Inside of four seconds remaining, the Saints sent a double-team to Burton in the backcourt, but the freshman found Ingraham alone inside. His lay-up hung on the rim for more than a second before falling with 0.7 seconds remaining. Shoats' attempt from three-quarter court fell short and the Broncs took the victory.

Quotes & Notes
"I'm just so happy that we're continuing to play for T.J. and Riq. Our guy Flash made some unbelievable plays all year long. When the ball's in his hands, a lot of good things happen. Again made a great decision, saw Riq underneath and the rest is history. Riq put it in, we had to guard the last seven tenths of a second and our guys did a good job on that." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The Broncs are 18-26 all-time in the MAAC Championships. Rider has been the No. 8 seed twice and played in the 8/9 game three times, all under Kevin Baggett, winning all four chances in 2013-14, 2015-16, 2021-22 and 2024-25. 
- The Broncs have now won both meetings with the Saints this season on buckets with less than a second remaining. The other win came at Alumni Gym on Tank Byard's buzzer-beating putback to beat the buzzer on Feb. 8. The two wins cut the Saints' lead in the all-time series to 39-23.
- Rider and Siena have met five times in the MAAC Championships, with the Saints taking the prior four. The most-recent three before tonight came on Siena's home court in Albany, with the fourth coming in 1998-99 in Buffalo.
- Rider is now 9-5 this season in games decided by five points or fewer and improved to 7-5 against MAAC competition in games decided by five or fewer.
- 13 of Rider's 21 games against MAAC programs have been within one possession in the final minute, with the Broncs posting a 7-6 record in those contests.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Ingraham scored a game-high 19 points and added 13 rebounds and four assists. He made 7-of-9 from the floor and all five of his free-throw attempts.
- Burton added 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-3 from long range. He added two assists, two rebounds and a block.
- Cruz chipped in with 14 points and five rebounds, making 6-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-4 from long range.
- T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) added his first double-double of the year, the sixth of his collegiate career, with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal.
- Rider had two players compile a double-double in the same game for the first time since Ingraham and Weeks Jr. accomplished the feat together on Dec. 8, 2023 vs. Stonehill.
- Playing in his hometown of Atlantic City, Byard added 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
- The Broncs narrowly outshot the Saints, 47.7 percent (31-65) to 47.5 percent (28-59) from the floor and 30.8 percent (4-13) to 28.6 percent (6-21) from long range.
- Rider also outshot Siena from the free-throw line, 85.7 percent (12-14) to 77.8 percent (14-18).
- The Broncs took a 41-28 edge on the board, including a 16-9 advantage on the offensive glass, resulting in a 23-2 advantage in second-chance points.
- The Broncs outscored Siena, 46-32, in the paint.
- Siena took a 17-7 advantage in fast-break scoring.
- Both teams scored six points off turnovers and got 13 points from their benches.
- Siena led for 25:51 of game time to the Broncs' 10:16 with the lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Wednesday night, when they take on top-seeded Quinnipiac. Opening tip from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.