Siena's Brendan Coyle among five players to be recognized on Senior Day

Siena men's basketball fans will see something on Sunday that's becoming a rarity on Senior Day - a four-year Saints player being honored for his career.

Senior forward Brendan Coyle of Niskayuna will be among five players recognized before Sunday's regular-season finale against Rider at 2 p.m. in MVP Arena.

"It'll be special," Coyle said. "It's been a long journey for four years, kind of seeing ups and downs of the program, but it's exciting for our family and me to be honored on Senior Night."

He'll be joined by his parents, Jeff and Becky, and sister, Shannon.

The other honorees are senior guard Justice Shoats, graduate center Riley Mulvey of Rotterdam, graduate forward Antonio Chandler, and senior guard Marcus Jackson of Amsterdam. Those four all transferred in from other programs.

Meanwhile, Coyle arrived at Siena as a walk-on in 2022-23. The former Colonie High star redshirted that season and earned a scholarship from then-coach Carmen Maciariello going into his sophomore year.

Coyle has started 64 consecutive games as the Saints (19-11 overall, 12-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) have improved from a four-win team two years ago to one that's aiming for its 20th victory on Sunday with the league tournament beginning Thursday in Atlantic City.

"It's been fun," Coyle said. "Definitely a huge turnaround, even from last year, the team's made tremendous growth. We're looking to build off of that and bring it to Atlantic City."

Manny Camper, who played from 2017 to 2021, was the most recent scholarship player to spend four years with Siena. The Saints couldn't have a traditional Senior Day sendoff for him in 2021 because fans weren't allowed at games during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Camper won the MAAC Player of the Year as a senior. This year has been more of a struggle for Coyle, who is shooting only 27.6% from 3-point range, a steep drop from 39.3% last season. He was 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in Friday's 72-58 loss at Fairfield.

Siena coach Gerry McNamara has repeatedly stated how important it is for Coyle to get untracked because his shooting creates space for everyone else.

"I mean, I'm getting open shots," Coyle said. "I've just got to knock them down."

He has a year of eligibility remaining, but said he hasn't decided what to do with it.

"I haven't thought about it at all," Coyle said. "I'm just focused on practice tomorrow and flushing this (loss to Fairfield) out."

Despite the listless loss at Fairfield, the Saints can still clinch the No. 2 seed with a win over last-place Rider, combined with a Saint Peter's loss at Marist on Sunday. Siena would win a three-way tiebreaker with Saint Peter's and Marist based on head-to-head results.

The Saints could still finish anywhere from second to sixth based on Sunday's results. Only the No. 2 seed gets a day off between the MAAC quarterfinals and semifinals.

However, Siena enters Sunday having lost four of its last six games - all against teams in the top six in the MAAC standings.

"Obviously, I'm not satisfied," said sophomore guard Gavin Doty, who had 26 points against Fairfield. "I want to win this whole thing. I believe we have the guys to do it. We lost a couple of games that we probably could have won for sure, a heartbreaking one in overtime (at Merrimack). We've just got to dial in and March should be fun with this group."

It's unclear whether Chandler will be available against Rider. He was inactive against Fairfield and McNamara wouldn't disclose the reason.

"We'll readdress it come Sunday," said McNamara. He did express his gratitude to the entire senior class.

"They're wonderful kids and they've given everything they can to the program," he said.

Rider (4-24, 3-16) is 0-15 on the road this season, one of seven Division I teams without a road victory.

This article originally published at Siena's Brendan Coyle among five players to be recognized on Senior Day.