Broncs win back-to-back after 66-60 defeat of Mount Saint Mary’s
By Benjamin Shinault
Rider men’s basketball’s rocky beginning to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play has begun has smoothed out a bit, as on Jan. 16, the Broncs picked up their second MAAC win in a row against the Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers at home 66-60.
The low-scoring affair for both teams was due to poor shooting percentages in the first half, as the Broncs finished with a first half shooting percentage of 32% and the Mountaineers finished with 34%.
The Broncs’ stout defense held the sixth-ranked offense in the MAAC to 60 points, while forcing 25 turnovers and 16 steals, both of those statistics being the most Rider in a game by Rider since the 2018-19 season.
By the end of the game, the Mountaineers finished with more turnovers than shots made from the field. Mount Saint Mary’s out-rebounded Rider 50-29, but Rider’s defense came to play.
The first half consisted of back-and-forth basketball between both teams, as neither could gainr any ground until graduate student guard T.J. Weeks Jr splashed home a 3-pointer to cap off an 11-0 run that gave Rider its first significant lead of the game, 21-14.
Mount crawled back within two buckets to make the score 23-19, but Weeks again uncorked a 3-pointer and put the Broncs back up by seven.
A couple possessions later, senior guard Jay Alvarez put the Broncs up by nine with two free throws in front of the home crowd filled with admitted students.
Alvarez, a first-year Bronc, has been a valuable contributor for the Broncs’ offense, recording double figures in five straight games and reaching double figures twelve times this season. Against the Mountaineers, Alvarez recorded 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting to go along with his three steals.
Entering the locker room at the conclusion of the first half, the Broncs held a six-point lead and held Mount Saint Mary’s to 23 points, the second least they have scored in the first half all season.
At half, the Broncs already forced 14 turnovers and only allowed two 3-pointers. The perimeter defense of the Broncs was one of many weaknesses at the beginning of MAAC play but has been well adjusted in Rider’s past two matchups.
Heading back onto the hardwood in the second half, the Mountaineers seemed to make adjustments, as they were only down by a bucket with 15 minutes left to go in the game after a 3-pointer to make it 35-32. But, that slight bit of momentum by Mount was soon terminated by Rider, as it went on a run to build out a nine-point lead capped by a layup from junior guard Andre Young.
With the Broncs up 48-40 with eight minutes to go, the Mountaineers kept pushing, as it was knocking down shots at a more efficient clip, shooting an improved 43% in the second half.
The Broncs rained down the threes in the late stages to maintain the Rider lead to 55-46 thanks to Alvarez and freshman guard Flash Burton. Burton knocked down two 3-pointers in a single game for the first time in his college career, and the buckets couldn’t have come at a better time for Rider.
The Mountaineers cut Rider’s lead to five with two minutes to go but the Broncs defense held firm and picked up their first win at Alumni Gym this season.
“Down the stretch, it got a little dicey, but even when we made a couple of turnovers in the end, I thought our guys came down and got a stop, got a big rebound and it’s good to see another win,” Head Coach Kevin Baggett said.
The Broncs, now two games removed from their nine-game losing streak, look toward their next opponent, the top-seeded Marist Red Foxes, while also hoping to bring the same ferocity from their past two MAAC victories.
“If we just keep that same intensity, honestly the sky’s the limit for our team,” sophomore guard Ruben Rodriguez said.
Rider will face off against Marist on the road on Jan. 18. The game will be at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
