Men’s basketball goes on pause

By Shaun Chornobroff

With a little more than a month until the tip-off of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament, the Rider men’s basketball team was hit with a huge setback, going on pause after receiving a positive COVID-19 test, according to a release from the team.

The positive test was recorded among the team’s tier-one personnel which consists of coaches, athletes, team managers and support staff.

The team announced the positive test on Feb. 5 on its social media pages less than 24 hours after the MAAC rescheduled its series for the next two weeks.

Rider said in a statement that, “the team is following MAAC, local and university public health guidelines to prioritize the health and safety of all student-athletes and staff as well as the campus community.”

Head Coach Kevin Baggett said that the team will be out of quarantine on Feb. 11 and back practicing on the 12, “if everyone tests negative.”

The pause is Rider’s second COVID-19 related pause of the year, with the first coming after a positive test on Nov. 4.

Many teams in the MAAC are struggling to hit the 13 game threshold necessary to qualify for postseason play. Fortunately for the Broncs, they are not one of them, having already competed in 15 games this season.

Rider had an almost two-week break before it was scheduled to play Canisius on Feb. 5. Now, Rider has almost a month off and is scheduled to next take the floor on Feb. 20 when the team travels to Hamden, Connecticut, to take on Quinnipiac at 4 p.m.