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GAME NOTES: The Rider Broncs and the Canisius Golden Griffins fight for sixth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings this afternoon as the teams close out the regular season at Alumni Gym.

The Broncs were here just two nights ago facing off against league-leading Siena, but Rider did little to stand in the way of the Saints as they steamrolled their way to a 16-1 MAAC mark with an 80-54 decision in front of a packed house. The loss was the second in a row and the third in the last four outings for a Rider group that is just 8-9 in conference play in 2009-10 after being expected to finish near the top of the standings.

As for the Golden Griffs, they played their way into a tie with Rider in the standings by winning two in a row and three of the last four. Friday night had Canisius taking care of Loyola-Maryland on the road in a 74-62 final.

Canisius won the first meeting of the season last month at home by a score of 74-58, which means the all-time series now favors the Broncs by a count of 24-6.

The Griffs made a total of just seven field goals in the first half of their meeting with Loyola a couple nights ago, yet that was still good enough to give the visitors a halftime lead. In the second half, Canisius exploded with 62.1 percent accuracy from the floor to capture the double-digit win. Tomas Vazquez-Simmons recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Greg Logins chipped in 15 points off the bench and Elton Frazier 11 points and six boards. Frank Turner shot just 3-of-10 from the field, but still contributed 10 points and six of the unit's 11 assists. One of the most reliable performers in the league this season, Turner is the one who makes the offense operate for Canisius from his 16.5 ppg and 5.1 rpg to his team-best 166 assists and 61 steals, giving it all he has at both ends of the floor. Julius Coles (14.4 ppg) and Logins (10.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg) are also important pieces to the Canisius puzzle, even if the team is fighting to reach .500 on the season.

With Alumni Gym filled, the Broncs did little to reward the support of the fans on Friday night as they came out and laid an egg in the lopsided loss to Siena. Rider shot just 37.3 percent from the field and 8-of-28 behind the three-point line, while lazy play resulted in a mere four opportunities at the free-throw line. Novar Gadson was the one bright light for the squad with his 25 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Ryan Thompson squeaked by with just 10 points and five assists, but just a single rebounds. The uninspired effort by the Broncs gave the impression that this was it for them in 2009-10 and not to expect much in the MAAC Tournament coming up, even if Thompson is still averaging a team-best 16.9 ppg and could be considered an all-conference performer. Justin Robinson (12.9 ppg) and Gadson (11.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg) have tried to give this group a lift but it takes more than just a couple of guys on any given night to push the Broncs to new heights.

Perhaps Rider has a better effort in store against the Golden Griffins this afternoon, as it certainly can't get much worse than Friday night's display. Considering this is the last time Thompson will get to play in front of his fans, he needs to do something to elevate the Broncs.