Men’s basketball falls to 0-3 after America East-Metro Challenge

By Samantha Clark

Rider men’s basketball faced the America East-Metro Challenge, where they fell to the University of New Hampshire, 66-55, and Binghamton University, 75-63, opening their season with an 0-3 record.

Struggles in the gap

To stop the Wildcats’ early lead on Nov. 5, sophomore forward Rich Brisco made a crucial block, allowing senior guard Mark Butler to follow with a shot at the line for the Broncs’ first points. 

After a flagrant foul, junior guard Ty Bevins went to the line, allowing the Broncs to pick up two more quick points, placing them down by just one, 4-3.

Butler grabbed the defensive rebound, leading to a 3-pointer from graduate student guard Bryce Baker.

To snap the two-minute scoreless streak, Baker splashed a quick layup, and after drawing the and-1 foul, successfully added three points for the Broncs. 

Bevins picked up a quick offensive rebound and the paint opened up for a dunk from Brisco, allowing Rider to take its first lead of the game, 11-10.

Both teams went scoreless for the following two minutes of play, a drought broken by a Bevins layup.

New Hampshire tied the game at 13-13, until junior forward Horace Simmons Jr. hit a jumpshot.

Freshman guard Richie Rosa did the same a minute-and-a-half later, but after a jumpshot on the Wildcats’ end, it was back to a 17-17 lock.

Freshman guard JJ Washington was put at the line, picking up the Broncs’ first point in over two minutes. 

After another minute-and-a-half drought, junior center Stephen Avegah Semey cashed in a layup to, once again, restore Rider’s advantage, 20-19.

The Wildcats then took the Broncs on a 4-0 run, but sophomore forward Kam Wylie snapped it with a clean layup in his first minute of the game.

Senior guard Khalil Farmer squashed New Hampshire’s lead with two shots from the line, and after a quick jumpshot, the Broncs were back on top.

New Hampshire hit the final shot of the half, sending Rider into halftime down by just one, 27-26.

The Wildcats opened second half with a layup, but Farmer quickly responded with a pump-fake jumpshot. Brisco followed with a shot at the line to tie the game at 29-29, but New Hampshire stayed on a 4-0 run.

Fighting against multiple defenders in the paint, Farmer put one up and in to fight the back-and-forth deficit, and after Brisco grabbed his own offensive rebound, it was a one-possession game.

Rider went scoreless for the next minute-and-a-half, until Butler hit a free throw to cut the margin to seven. 

A drought would hit the next four minutes, until Washington ended it on a corner 3-pointer. 

With neither team making a field goal in four minutes, Brisco, Rosa and Farmer combined for six points at the line to close the gap to a four-point game. 

Brisco pushed through the defense for a layup, drawing the foul for the three-point play, the Broncs down by one in the final five-and-a-half minutes.

Continuing strong offensive efforts, Brisco grabbed the offensive rebound and laid up another two, leading the team with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds on the day.

After another Wildcat run, Farmer racked in two shots at the line, followed by an offensive rebound and layup, to bring it into a single-digit deficit.

New Hampshire continued on a 5-0 run over the next 40 seconds, until Baker put up two free throws to end the matchup with a loss, 66-55.

“These guys are learning how to be major contributors in this program,” Head Coach Kevin Baggett said. “We worked on it, we talked about it, we watched plenty of film on it and we just gotta get better at it.”

‘I try to play my hardest’

Binghamton opened the Nov. 8 contest with a slight and early lead, until a jumpshot from Butler and a Farmer 3-pointer tied the score at 5-5.

Brisco then secured the lead with a layup to put the Broncs up by two, but not for long, as the Bearcats followed with a 12-0 run over two minutes.

However, Rider bounced back quickly, with Farmer and Bevins combining for six points to restore the point deficit to single digits.

Another 3-pointer from Simmons Jr. did the same two minutes later, and again after another minute.

The Broncs continued on a scoreless streak over the next three minutes, until Brisco and Bevins each laid one up and in to end the drought. 

“I was in my head, hyping myself up,” Brisco said. “I try to play my hardest and just fight for everything.”

Brisco repeated this a minute-and-a-half later, but after another 3-pointer from Simmons Jr.

To end the half, Brisco and Bevins, each splashed a layup, ending the half trailing 42-32.

More shot combos from Bevins and Brisco opened the final half, until a three-minute scoreless rut led Binghamton on a 10-0 run, widening the gap to 18.

Butler’s jumpshots and free throws from him and Farmer resumed play for Rider, and after a layup from Brisco, the Broncs held the Bearcats to 9-2. 

This momentum could not be continued, though, as Binghamton responded with a 7-0 run of their own, until Butler sank two from the line.

Simmons Jr. hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game, followed by a Farmer layup and Wylie free throws.

After grabbing the defensive rebound, sophomore forward Segun Ezekiel Obe passed possession to Baker, who splashed the jumpshot. 

The Broncs got within single digits, until the Bearcats went on a 7-0 run.

In the final 20 seconds, Bevins sank the final shot of the game with a 3-pointer, rounding the competition with the Broncs down, 75-63. 

Rider returns home on Nov. 11 to host William Paterson University at 7 p.m, then, will go on the road to face Villanova University on Nov. 14 and the University of Miami on Nov. 17. The William Paterson and Villanova games will be streamed on ESPN+.