Broncs mobbed by Hawkeyes in 83-58 loss
By Benjamin Shinault
Rider men’s basketball took a trip to the land of corn to face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Nov. 19.
In the first matchup of the two programs since 1987, Iowa defended their home court and won 83-58, snapping Rider’s three-game win streak.
The Hawkeyes got an early start on the Broncs by scoring the first two buckets of the game, both coming in the painted region.
Down 4-0 to start, sophomore guard Ruben Rodriguez was able to penetrate the dense Iowa defense and lay one in to get the Broncs on the board.
Outside of opening the scoring for Rider in the game, Iowa was able to take Rodriguez out of the picture for the first half, as he did not score again.
The Hawkeyes were also able to mute Rider’s attack from beyond the arc, as none of Rider’s six attempts found the bottom of the net.
Iowa also managed to take graduate student guard T.J. Weeks Jr. out of the game. Weeks, in the early stages of this season, was the lifeblood for the Rider’s offensive system, but in the first half, Weeks recorded zero points and was only able to get one shot up.
Later on in the game, Weeks was able to get on the board with five points and closed out the game with only five attempted shots from the field and three from beyond the arc.
Graduate student forward Tariq Ingraham shined through despite the Broncs first-half struggles, as Ingraham scored 10 of Rider’s 26 points in the half.
Despite the credible performance in the first half from the veteran forward, Head Coach Kevin Baggett wanted to see more out of him on the other side of the floor.
“It’s more than just offense for us. Tariq Ingraham needed to play better defense and it starts in the post,” Baggett said.
When it comes to defending the basket, Rider struggled mightily, giving up 44 points in the paint while letting up 20 points off turnovers. Sticking with turnovers, the Broncs committed 20 and were only able to force eight from the Hawkeyes.
“We just didn’t play well in any phase of the game. Offensively, defensively, sharing the ball, too many breakdowns,” Baggett said, “So, chalk it up and learn from it.”
Rider also struggled with their shooting from 3-point range, an unusual struggle for the team. Rider as a team shot 1-of-16, with the only 3-pointer coming from senior forward Jay Alvarez. From the field, Rider performed better, shooting at a 43% clip.
“We can always learn from these things. It doesn’t matter who you play. There’s things you can always learn and we will learn from them,” Baggett said.
Rider will return home to right wrongs before hitting the road on Nov. 23 to play Bucknell.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ at 7 p.m.
