The Siena Saints (8-8, 3-3) defeated the Rider Broncs (6-12, 3-3) by a final of 80-75 on Thursday night at the Times Union Center. This was Siena’s third straight win after losing 7 of 8. The Saints got ahead early by just dominating in the paint and putting together three runs of 9-0, 11-0, 8-0 with no Tommy Dempsey timeout to be found. He would later be thankful that he saved them as the Broncs cut a 22 point lead down to as little as four in a long final three minutes.

OD Anosike and his counterpart Brandon Walters both put up double-doubles on the night. Anosike now leads the nation in consecutive double doubles at 12, after his 23 point and 14 rebound effort. Walters had his best night of the year with 14 points and 12 boards. As Doug Sherman mentioned on the broadcast, OD Anosike is clearly playing his way into the conversation for MAAC Player of the Year. As a team, Siena snagged 15 offensive rebounds and combined for their highest point total of the season.

Kyle Downey put up 11 points and added 6 rebounds and 6 assists on the night. Downey fouled out on a cheap call and got a technical to end his night. In the first half, Downey picked up his third foul with 6:30 to go and Mitch Buonaguro elected to leave him in the game, despite having both Walters and Hopper on the bench. The Saints played at their own pace– slowing it down to protect the guys in foul trouble.

Brandon Penn closed the night with 15 points and 13 rebounds for Rider, and Jonathon Thompson led the way with 16 points and 7 assists. Both teams shot exactly 28-64 from the floor.

Breaking:Manhattan defeats Iona 75-72 in New Rochelle with :01 to go.