ALBANY, N.Y. (Interstat) — Francis Folefac scored 23 points and Siena used a dominant second half to pull away from Rider for a 76-61 victory in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s basketball game Sunday at Times Union Center.

A crowd of 6,016 watched the Saints improve to 20-11 overall and solidify their position in the upper tier of the conference standings. The Broncs, struggling through a difficult season, fell to 4-25.

The game was closely contested for the first 25 minutes. Rider, led by Flash Burton’s 20 points and Zion Cruz’s 16, took a 35-33 lead into halftime. The Broncs extended that lead early in the second half, going ahead 41-36 after consecutive 3-pointers from Burton.

The most important part of the game was Siena’s immediate and overwhelming response to that deficit. The Saints unleashed a 19-2 run over the next five minutes to seize control. The surge was fueled by defense and balanced scoring. Brendan Coyle, who finished with 20 points, hit a 3-pointer. Gavin Doty, who played all 40 minutes and scored 12, added a driving layup. Justice Shoats, who had 14 points and five assists, capped the run with a layup that gave Siena a 55-43 lead with 12:11 remaining.

Rider never recovered. The Saints’ defense tightened, forcing difficult shots and converting turnovers into points. Siena outscored Rider 43-26 in the second half, shooting efficiently while holding the Broncs to a series of missed attempts from the perimeter and at the rim.

Folefac, a 6-foot-7 junior from Lanham, Maryland, was the catalyst throughout. Beyond his game-high 23 points, he added four assists and four blocked shots, anchoring the Saints on both ends. His performance was a bounce-back after scoring just nine and 10 points in his previous two outings. Coyle, a local product from Niskayuna, provided crucial outside shooting, connecting on four 3-pointers.

For Rider, Burton, a guard from Philadelphia, added three assists and a block to his 20 points in 38 minutes. Caleb Smith scored 13 points for the Broncs, who have lost three of their last four games.

Siena’s victory completed a regular-season sweep of Rider, having also won 74-65 in Lawrenceville on Jan. 4. The Saints entered the game as heavy favorites according to analytics and betting markets, and their second-half performance justified that status. The combined final score of 137 points narrowly exceeded the pregame over/under line of 138.

The game was a showcase of the season’s trajectories for both programs. Siena, now with 20 wins, looks toward the MAAC tournament as a potential contender. Rider, with only four wins, continues to search for consistency amid a long season. The Saints will aim to carry the momentum from their strong finish into their final regular-season games, while the Broncs seek to build on sporadic positive stretches like their first-half effort Sunday.