Rider snatches win over Merrimack on the road
By Rich Saile
After losing its third straight game in a critical stretch of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, Rider men’s basketball earned a hard-fought win in North Andover, Massachusetts, over the Merrimack Warriors 83-78. The Broncs currently sit at the 10th seed in the MAAC with two games left, both at Alumni Gym.
On Feb. 28, the Broncs traveled north to take on the Warriors. Looking to avenge its former loss to Merrimack, Rider had to contain the front-runner for MAAC player of the year Adam Clark.
The Broncs started out strong from both graduate student T.J. Weeks Jr. and junior Zion Cruz attacked the Warriors defense from multiple levels.
Weeks hit the first 3-pointer of the game in the first 75 seconds of action and recovered an offensive rebound to put up a tough fadeaway jumper from the elbow. After that, Cruz splashed a pair of 3-pointers from the left and right wing.
The Broncs offense focused on the inside game and looked to put the Warriors in early foul trouble with pressure from their front court. But, the Broncs had to prepare for the Warriors offense that operated like a high-speed track meet and focused on quick, easy buckets.
Rider struggled to limit the paint and tried to key in on the inside game which led the Warriors to kick out for open three-point shots.
On top by six with just over nine minutes left in the first half, Rider let Merrimack close out the half with a 21-13 run and took a 42-40 lead into the locker room.
The Broncs recouped their energy ready to take command of the second half which started with Cruz scoring seven points.
Trailing now by three, Rider made a substitution that would flip the game in their favor, inserting sophomore forward Ife West-Ingram into the game.
West-Ingram scored five points in a four-minute stretch including a layup while being fouled. He made the free throw to complete the three-point play which gave the Broncs the lead.
The Warriors connected on a pair of threes while focusing on getting to the rim for easy baskets to keep the game within a single possession.
In the final three and a half minutes, sophomore Ruben Rodriguez scored five of the last 10 points for Rider, including a three-pointer from the right corner that helped spark a late Rider run.
The Broncs snapped a three-game losing skid with the 83-78 win and improved to 11-18 overall on the season with a 7-11 record in MAAC play.
“All of the credit goes to our guys, I thought our guys battled well the whole game. I thought they prepared well this week, that was a big win for a different number of reasons. All the credit goes to those guys,” said Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett.
“It’s very important because all of our games have been close, so just fixing those small little mistakes and details will help us win these last two games,” West-Ingram said.
The Broncs had six players score in double figures for the first time since Nov. 6, 2023, against Immaculata and accomplished it for the first time against a Division I opponent since 2019 against Bucknell.
Rodriguez finished with a career-high with 12 points while Cruz matched his career-high with 23 points achieved.
The Broncs will return home to Alumni Gym to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins on March 6 with an opportunity to clinch a spot in the MAAC tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tipoff at Alumni Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
