Rider advances on Ingraham’s go-ahead layup
By Benjamin Shinault
With seconds left to go, graduate student forward Tariq Ingraham’s shot floated above the rim for what felt like an eternity.
Eighth-seeded Rider, searching for its first win in the tournament since the 2021-22 season, was locked in a 76-76 tie with Siena in the opening round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, and after 40 minutes of going back and forth, the pressure building on Rider’s bench burst to cheers in an instant when Ingraham’s layup finally dropped through the hoop.
“I’m going to have to increase my blood pressure medicine, I can tell you that,” Head Coach Kevin Baggett said of the tense final possession.
With its dramatic 78-76 win over the ninth-seeded Saints on March 11, Rider advanced to the quarter final of the MAAC tournament in Atlantic City, moving on to face top-seeded Quinnipiac at 6 p.m. March 12.
“We just have to play a complete game,” Baggett said, “They are well coached but again man, this is MAAC tournament time. We are going to be there and give them our best shot.”
The warm and salty breeze from the Atlantic City boardwalk floated in through the doors of Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, possibly causing the Broncs’ hot start as freshman guard opened the game with a layup just days after his buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Rider’s regular season finale.
Burton, by the end of the first half, led the Broncs in scoring with 13, the next-closest scorer being senior forward Tank Byard with his six points.
Following the opening score from Burton came a 3-pointer from Siena. Siena let the threes fly in the first, cashing in four of its 13 attempts.
After the Siena three came buckets from graduate student guard T.J. Weeks Jr. and graduate student forward Tariq Ingraham to make the score 6-6.
With the game knotted up at six, the Broncs hopped and skipped to a 6-0 run to give them their first lead of the game at 12-6.
Siena matched Rider’s run, making things tight with a 12-11 score. Rider stopped the Saints with a bucket from Burton.
The Broncs extended their lead to 16-13 after some Ingraham strokes from the free throw line.
When sent to the line, Rider was efficient in cashing in its opportunities, hitting 12 of their 14 shots.
A few minutes passed in the second half as the Saints and Broncs exchanged buckets. Siena took the lead 22-20.
Both teams favored the interior, with five minutes left to go in the first half, Rider had a field goal percentage of 48% and Siena followed close behind with a 46% shooting percentage.
A big abuser of the weak Siena paint defense was Ingraham, who finished the matchup with 19 points and grabbed six offensive rebounds. The Broncs as a team would score 46 of their total 78 points down in the painted region.
“We knew they couldn’t guard me inside, they had to double,” Ingraham said with a chuckle. “Not to be cocky but, we knew if we got down low and made layups, we would win.”
Neither the Broncs or the Saints could create much separation in the first half as the largest lead was only six points which was held by the Broncs.
As the first half came to a close, the game was up for grabs with the score being 38-36 in favor of Siena.
Both teams in the first half took great care of the ball with Rider committing just three turnovers and the Saints turning it over four times.
Emerging from the locker room, down a bucket, the Broncs were searching for a win but they were going to have to bite and crawl.
To begin the second half of action, Weeks splashed a 3-pointer, his first made three of the game came at a great time to give the Broncs the lead right after the break.
Following made field goals from Ingraham, Weeks and junior guard Zion Cruz, the score was 45-43, Siena with the slight lead.
From there, Siena went on a detrimental 10-0 run to make the score 53-45. Rider ended it with a layup down low from Ingraham, but Siena kept the Broncs out of striking distance and extended the lead to 13, the largest of the game.
“There is 15 minutes left, down 13, let’s make a run, one stop at a time, one bucket a time,” sophomore guard Tyriek Weeks and Burton told Weeks on the bench.
With Rider down 13 with 13 minutes to go, Rider kicked it in high gear and made the score 58-54 with just 10 minutes to go. Hitting the shot to close the gap to four, was Cruz who hit in a step-back action to force a Siena timeout.
Siena’s timeout proved to be fruitful as it was able to stop Rider’s momentum. A few minutes down the line after a few exchanged buckets, Rider crawled back and took the lead thanks to some free throws. It was Atlantic City native senior forward Tank Byard who gave Rider the lead 65-64.
After the Byard free throws, Siena took a two possession lead which soon turned to one and for the final few minutes of the game. It was an intense back-and-forth under the brightest lights.
With a minute left, Rider leading 76-75, Siena headed to the line to shoot an additional free throw after a foul. Siena saw the ball bounce off the rim and into the awaiting, sweaty hands of Ingraham.
A few seconds later into the final minute of the game, Siena got another chance to make things interesting at the free throw line but once more, the basketball gods blessed the Broncs and the ball rattled off the rim, keeping the game tied at 76 apiece.
With 13 seconds to go, Burton brought the ball up the floor and dished a perfect outlet pass to a wide-open Ingraham.
Ingraham sent it up.
The ball rolled on the rim as all oxygen in Jim Whelan Hall seemed to be vacuumed out, and it finally nestled into the net with 0.7 seconds to go.
Siena heaved it down the floor to no avail and Rider emerged as the winner.
“It was good to see them jumping up and down, celebrating,” Head Coach Kevin Baggett said. “That’s what it’s all about, it’s always about your guys … it’s always been about getting these guys to win and understand what it’s like to cut those nets down.”
The Broncs will have a tall task as they face top-seeded Quinnipiac. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
