ALBANY, NY – Siena Basketball has its first 20-win season in six years, accomplishing the feat for the first time in regular season action in a decade. The Saints wrapped the regular season and opened March on a high note with a 76-61 triumph over Rider on Senior Day before 6,016 at MVP Arena.  
 
Siena (20-11, 13-7) will be the No. 3 seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships and face sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Saints captured the lone regular season meeting between the teams, defeating the Mount 67-50 on Jan. 11 in Maryland.
 
On Senior Day it was a freshman who shined brightest for Siena. Francis Folefac produced a career-best performance with season-highs of 23 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks to record his third double-double of the season. He also shot 13-15 from the free throw line to fuel a 22-25 (88%) effort at the charity stripe for the Saints.
 
Flash Burton scored 20 points for Rider (4-25, 3-17) whose season came to a close after previously being eliminated from postseason contention. Zion Cruz added 16 points and Caleb Smith chipped in 13 for the Broncs who finished the season winless on the road at 0-16.
 
Siena was forced to overcome a sluggish start and match its biggest come-from-behind win of the season, as Rider opened as much as a 10-point first half lead at 23-13 midway through the stanza. The Saints clawed their way back – aided by a 13-15 free throw shooting performance in the first half – to pull back within 35-33 at the break.
 
Needing a bounce-back effort to close out the regular season and position themselves for postseason play, Siena wasted little time taking over in the second half. The Saints produced a decisive 19-4 run over 5:40 to quickly reclaim the lead and take a double-digit advantage at 55-45 with 12:11 remaining.
 
Four-year senior Brendan Coyle – who scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half in front of his home crowd – accounted for 12 points during the run, punctuated by a trio of threes.
 
Siena led by no fewer than eight points thereafter as the Saints prevailed for the ninth time in the past 10 meetings between the programs in Albany, while completing their first regular season series sweep of the Broncs in five years.
 
Justice Shoats tallied 14 points and five assists for Siena which improved to a perfect 8-0 on Sundays and 12-1 in day games. Gavin Doty added 12 points for the Saints which opened March on the right foot. Siena had lost 16 of its previous 17 games in March spanning the past five years.
 
Having accomplished the program's first 20-win season since 2019-20, the Saints next mission is to match the outcome from that campaign: securing a MAAC Championship. While COVID stole the opportunity for Siena to earn that title outright on the court, this season's Saints will now have a chance to reach that goal on the hardwood.
 
This postgame recap is proudly presented by The Brothers that just do Gutters, a proud partner of Siena Athletics. Trust the team that always comes through – on the court and for your home.