Things got really testy on Tuesday night in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The match between Rider and Siena was a total shit show. For starters, the game was played with a 35-second shot clock.
The shot clocks have been going at 35 seconds for the start of this game. Unreal. So embarrassing. It's 30 seconds.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) January 18, 2017
In the fourth quarter, Siena’s Marquis Wright and Rider’s Anthony Durham got into a scuffle. The on-court fisticuffs led to both Siena and Rider head coaches getting into a screaming match with one another.
ICYMI: here's video of Anthony Durham of Rider punching Siena's Marquise Wright in the face. Wow. What a sequence to end the game tonight. pic.twitter.com/jJuyZASliU
— Zach Bye (@byesline) January 18, 2017
Here's Rider head coach Kevin Bagget going face to face with Siena coach Jimmy Patsos. pic.twitter.com/bwIg1ye0xs
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) January 18, 2017
The rough stuff resulted in ejections for the sparring players and matching techs for the two bench bosses.
Things got uglier after the final buzzer, as Riders coach Kevin Baggett told his players not to shake hands with Siena players. It resulted in Siena’s Jimmy Pastos to pretend to shake hands with every absent Rider player and coach. It’s pretty damn funny.
Classic video of Siena coach Jimmy Patsos shaking hands with air as Rider walks off without showing sportsmanship. pic.twitter.com/WHtmc9WTEq
— Zach Bye (@byesline) January 18, 2017
Postgame handshake lines seem to serve little purpose as the professional level. But, at the college level, having players and coaches show respect to one another after a match is important. It shows, despite all the rough stuff that happened in a game, the two challengers still respect each other.
Baggett and the Riders look classless for walking away and refusing to shake their adversaries hand. It would have added an extra 30 seconds to their time on the court. Siena would get the last laugh, pulling off a 78-68 victory.