Let me start by saying this: whenever a team is happy with a losing performance, it speaks volumes about the team to which said team lost. Such was the case in Week 17 of the NFL season last year, when the Giants used a loss to the then-unbeaten Patriots as a springboard to a Super Bowl title.

In this case, Siena is the Patriots. That's not to say that they'll be unbeaten in the MAAC into March only to lose the conference title game. It's simply to say that the Saints are so clearly the best team in this conference that merely contending with them for 35 minutes is almost a cause for celebration.

But the 91-81 loss Rider just suffered was proof that the Broncs aren't in over their heads when facing the Saints, even at the Times Union Center.

This was a game that Rider never led by more than two points, but the Broncs were in it until the final minutes. If Novar Gadson didn't foolishly slap the backboard after a dunk with 7:32 left, warranting a technical, the Broncs would have been in position to get a stop, then cut the deficit to one possession.

Instead, Kyle Downey hit the ensuing free throws to stretch the lead back to six, and after Ryan Thompson scored to get the Broncs back within four, Siena ran away and hid. I'd be shocked if Edwin Ubilies' 360 dunk with 25 seconds left isn't on Sportscenter tonight -- it may even be on the top 10 plays list -- but until then, there wasn't one point when the crowd had reason to stand, cheer and go nuts.

Rider isn't the only team to play Siena close in Albany. Fairfield -- which got a desperately needed win tonight at Loyola -- made the Saints sweat even more and lost by only six. But given the way Rider struggled throughout December, this loss may mean just as much going forward as any of the three MAAC wins it has recorded so far.