Rider falls to Blue Hens in late charge

By Samantha Clark

The Rider Broncs headed to Newark, Delaware to take on the University of Delaware Blue Hens in their penultimate nonconference matchup on Dec. 16, falling 65-57 after a tough battle.

Contested competition 

Strong defense on both ends of the court prohibited points for the first minute of play, including two attempted free throws from the Blue Hens.

However, sophomore forward Davis Bynum drove to the basket right out of those missed shots for the first layup and points of the game.

Rider then continued on a three-minute scoring drought until junior guard Caleb Smith stole possession and drove through multiple Blue Hen defenders for the layup.

Senior forward Shemani Fuller splashed a jumpshot over the arm of his defender, picking up two more for the Broncs. 

After a missed three from senior guard Zion Cruz, who played in his first game since Dec. 4 against Merrimack, freshman guard AB Coulibaly caught the rebound and dunked it in to tie the game at 8-8.

Delaware followed by going on a 12-0 run, holding Rider scoreless for over 5 minutes, until sophomore guard Flash Burton hit two 3-pointers in under a minute. 

“The first couple games, in the beginning of the season, I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Burton said, “Now it’s like, ‘just go hoop and it’ll be okay.’”

Senior forward Mohamad Diallo sank a layup, which he later converted to a three-point play with a shot from the line.

After grabbing the offensive rebound, Fuller did the same thing two minutes later, tipping the ball in and gaining the extra point from his successful free throw attempt

Burton drained a triple, bringing the Broncs into a single-digit deficit, and later pulled up for a jumpshot, despite the strong Delaware defense, ending the half down by just six, 31-25.

Rider went scoreless for the opening two-and-a-half minutes of the second half, until Cruz hit two jump shots from deep, slowly putting up points for the Broncs.

“It was good to see Flash [Burton] play well and it was good to see Zion [Cruz] back on the court and healthy,” Head Coach Kevin Baggett said, “I thought our guys played better.”

Fuller added two more with a one-handed finish and Cruz made two shots from the line as Rider held Delaware scoreless for two minutes.

Coulibaly tipped in a missed 3-point attempt and followed with a jumpshot less than a minute later, but with Delaware’s offense revving up, the margin was back to double digits. 

The Broncs matched this energy, with Bynum hitting four free throws and a tip-in from Diallo to put Rider down by four late in the second.

Bynum hit another two for the Broncs and Burton followed with a corner 3-pointer to tie the game up at 55-55 with just two minutes remaining.

However, after a layup from Cruz, the Broncs went scoreless for the remainder of the half, falling to the Blue Hens 65-57.

“We got better today,” Baggett said, “We’ll keep our heads up, keep fighting, and trying to figure this out.”

The Broncs face their final opponent in nonconference play on Dec. 22 when they take on Virginia Commonwealth University. The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ at 7 p.m.