Rider loses two more as tournament race tightens

By Rich Saile

Rider men’s basketball was dominated by a three-point barrage from the Fairfield Stags in a 20-point blowout loss on Feb. 21, 69-49. On Feb. 23, the Broncs lost 79-72 at Mount St. Mary’s, leaving them hanging on the cusp of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament appearance sitting at 10th in the standings. 

Flat versus Fairfield

After a controversial foul call in a loss at Saint Peter’s, the Broncs returned to Alumni Gym to take on the Fairfield Stags.

The Stags scored the first six points but the Broncs got their first points of the game on a 3-pointer in the right corner from senior forward Jay Alvarez. 

Graduate student guard T.J. Weeks Jr. splashed a three from the left corner, and just when the Broncs found an answer, the Stags started raining down 3-pointers.

Three different Stags players converted on shots beyond the arc as they made seven 3-pointers out of their next nine made shots.

The Broncs focused on their inside game with a layup and a pair of midrange jumpers made by junior guard Zion Cruz. 

Weeks scored five of the last seven points for the Broncs in the first half, but the defense was overwhelmed by the Stags offense and the Broncs trailed by 21 points at halftime 43-22.

The Broncs defense struggled in the first half as Fairfield shot 65% from the floor including eight of 12 from beyond the arc, while the Broncs offense was held to 33% from the floor making only two out of nine threes and committing nine turnovers.  

In the second half, graduate student forward Tariq Ingraham scored 14 of the next 16 points for the Broncs to cut the deficit to 14 points. 

The Stags defense made it difficult for Rider to make shots as the Broncs were held without a made shot for a seven-minute stretch. 

After that, the Stags converted a 3-pointer and the Broncs defense started to struggle midway through the second half. 

Even though the Stags pulled away for the last 10 minutes of the game, the Broncs struggled to consistently make shots, resulting in the 69-49 loss. 

“Not the performance I was looking for coming down the stretch, understanding the magnitude of every game. I thought I had our guys prepared, but obviously I didn’t so this is on me,” said Head Coach Kevin Baggett.

Ingraham said, “We just let them come out, let them get off to a good start and we came out flat. It’s hard to dig out of a hole from there.”

Fairfield outshot the Broncs 58% to 33% finishing 10 of 17 from three-point range while the Broncs were held to three of 18. 

Falling off the Mount

Following the loss to the Stags, the Broncs traveled to Emmitsburg, Maryland, to take on the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. 

The Broncs started out strong, led by Ingraham scoring seven of the Broncs’ first 15 points of the game. 

Cruz scored seven points with two 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the first half while the Broncs defense held the Mountaineers and limited their three success.

Rider extended its lead to nine points with just over eight-and-a half minutes left before the Mountaineers found their spark. 

The Mountaineers swished in three 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer to end the first half, and the defense held the Broncs to just six points all on jumpers inside the arc. 

To finish the first half, a Mountaineer hit a buzzer-beating three to give Mount St. Mary’s a 34-30 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Broncs surged out quickly, sinking two 3-pointers from sophomore guard Ruben Rodriguez and Weeks. 

Cruz converted another three, while Ingraham scored four points in the opening six minutes of the second half but the Broncs defense was stressed by the Mountaineers 3-point success. 

Rodriguez hit a triple from the right wing while Weeks splashed two more from the right wing to help keep the game in single digits. 

Flash Burton scored five points in the last six minutes while the Mountaineers kept pushing the Broncs defense into foul trouble attacking the basket and getting multiple trips to the free throw line. 

Rider would cut the Mountaineers lead to a bucket but never regained the lead that they had early in the first half and lost 79-72. 

Mount St. Mary’s outrebounded Rider 42-31 with an 11-8 advantage on offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers won the points in the paint 32-14 and outscored the Broncs in fastbreak points 21-8. 

The Broncs, currently in a three-game losing streak, sit in 10th place in the MAAC with three games remaining in the regular season. 

The Broncs will continue their road trip as they travel to North Andover, Massachusetts, to take on the Merrimack Warriors on Feb. 27. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.