Rider Broncs (2-7, 2-4 MAAC) vs. Niagara Purple Eagles (4-4, 3-3 MAAC) Friday/Saturday, January 8/9, 2021 * 4 p.m. Gallagher Center Niagara University, NY Assistant A.D./Sports Communication: Greg Ott 908-783-5258 * [email protected] How To Follow 2020-21 Schedule Live Video: ESPN+ (Friday), ESPN3 (Saturday) Date Opponent Time/Result Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc Dec. Live Stats: PurpleEagles.com Sat., 5 at Syracuse L, 87-52 Twitter: @RiderMBB Tue., 8 at St. John’s L, 82-79 Fri., 11 at Manhattan* W, 82-64 About the Series Sat., 12 at Manhattan* L, 87-77 All-Time Record: Rider leads, 27-23 Fri., 18 IONA* L, 70-56 Last Meeting: Rider, 73-58 (Feb. 9, 2020; Lawrenceville, NJ) Sat., 19 IONA* L, 72-64 Streak: Rider, 1 Wed., 23 NJIT L, 81-66 Jan. Broncs Probable Starting Five Fri., 1 at Fairfield* W, 70-62 # Name Yr. Pos. Ht. PPG RPG Of Note 0 Christian Ings So. G 6-2 9.9 3.4 Matched career high of 15 points at Manhattan Sat., 2 at Fairfield* L, 72-56 3 Rodney Henderson, Jr. Gr. G 6-5 9.8 3.1 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals at St. John’s Fri., 8 at Niagara* 4 p.m. 5 Dwight Murray, Jr. Jr. G 6-0 13.7 6.3 Season-high 20 points three times in 2020-21 Sat., 9 at Niagara* 4 p.m. 10 Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson Jr. F 6-8 7.1 4.3 Team-best .686 field-goal percentage Fri., 15 SIENA* 7 p.m. 14 Dontrell McQuarter Jr. G 6-7 9.4 4.4 20 points, 8 rebounds vs. Iona (12/19) Sat., 16 SIENA* 7 p.m. Key Reserves 2 Allen Powell So. G 6-2 6.2 0.8 Career-high 17 points at St. John’s Fri., 22 at Quinnipiac* 4 p.m. 11 Tyrel Bladen R-So. F 6-10 6.6 6.0 Career-high 10 points, 8 rebounds at St. John’s Sat., 23 at Quinnipiac* 4 p.m. 12 Jordan Smalls Fr. G 6-7 4.5 1.0 9 points (2-2 3ptFG) in Rider debut vs. NJIT Fri., 29 MARIST* 7 p.m. 13 Jaelen McGlone Fr. G 6-4 1.3 0.8 Scored 2 points in collegiate debut at Syracuse Sat., 30 MARIST* 7 p.m. 20 Jeremiah Pope Jr. G 6-4 5.8 2.2 Season-high 9 points at Manhattan (12/12) 24 Lawrence Foreman Fr. F 6-9 0.0 0.5 Made collegiate debut at Syracuse Feb. 35 Nehemiah Benson Fr. F 6-7 0.8 0.8 1st career three-pointer at Manhattan Sat., 6 at Saint Peter’s* 8 p.m. Sun., 7 at Saint Peter’s* 8 p.m. What You Need To Know Fri., 12 CANISIUS* 5 p.m. - Rider continues league play this weekend, when it travels to Niagara. Sat., 13 CANISIUS* 5 p.m. - The Broncs are coming off a weekend split at Fairfield. COVID-19 MAKE-UP* - Dwight Murray, Jr. has been an all-around bright spot so far this season, aver- Mar. aging 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game, including a Fri., 5 MONMOUTH* 7 p.m. near triple-double of 20 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and seven assists in a Sat., 6 MONMOUTH* 7 p.m. win at Manhattan on Dec. 11. Tue., 9 MAAC Opening Round^ TBA - Rider leads the all-time series with Niagara, 27-23, including wins in four of the Wed., 10 MAAC Quarterfinals^ TBA last five. The two teams split last season, with Niagara winning in Western New Thu, 11 MAAC Quarterfinals^ TBA York on a buzzer beater, before Rider won convincingly in Lawrenceville. They Fri., 12 MAAC Semifinals^ TBA were set to meet in the MAAC Quarterfinals before the tournament was halted. Sat., 13 MAAC Championship^ TBA - Niagara is an even 4-4 (3-3 MAAC), having been swept at Saint Peter’s, having swept Fairfield and splitting at Marist. Reigning MAAC Player of the Week Mar- # New Jersey Hoop Group Classic cus Hammond leads the Purple Eagles at 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals * MAAC Contest per game. Kobi Nwandu also averages in double figures at 12.1 ppg. to go along ^ MAAC Championships (Atlantic City, NJ) with a team-leading 3.1 assists per game. Justin Roberts has also contributed 9.1 points per game. - Dontrell McQuarter erupted for 20 points and eight rebounds on Dec. 19 against Iona. He made 7-of-13 field-goal attempts. - Jordan Smalls scored 9 points in 10 minutes in his collegiate debut vs. NJIT. - Rider returned just four letterwinners from last year’s team that finished 18-12 and was the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Tournament before it was cancelled. - The Broncs are tasked with replacing 87.6% of its scoring from a year ago, sec- ond most in the nation behind only Kentucky (94.0%). - Ninth-year Head Coach Kevin Baggett’s teams have posted a 143-123 record. Baggett won MAAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018. - Only John Carpenter (292) and Thomas Leyden (187) have more wins at Rider than Baggett. 2020-21 Rider Men’s Basketball About Rider University SCOUTING THE NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES Niagara is an even 4-4 (3-3 MAAC), having been swept at Saint Peter’s, having Location: Lawrenceville, New Jersey swept Fairfield and splitting at Marist. Reigning MAAC Player of the Week Nickname: Broncs Marcus Hammond leads the Purple Eagles at 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and Colors: Cranberry, White, Gray 1.4 steals per game. Kobi Nwandu also averages in double figures at 12.1 ppg. Founded: 1865 Enrollment: 4,825 (3,898 undergraduate) to go along with a team-leading 3.1 assists per game. Justin Roberts has also President: Dr. Greg Dell’Omo contributed 9.1 points per game. Director of Athletics: Don Harnum Affiliations: NCAA Division I, ECAC Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NIAGARA Home Court: Alumni Gymnasium (1,650) Rider leads the all-time series with Niagara, 27-23, including wins in four of Associate AD/Compliance/Internal Operations: the last five. The two teams split last season, with Niagara winning in Western Greg Busch New York on a buzzer beater, before Rider won convincingly in Lawrencev- Sr. Associate AD/External Operations and Development/SWA: Karin Torchia ille. They were set to meet in the MAAC Quarterfinals before the tournament Associate AD/Operations and Facilities: was halted. Brian Keane Coor. of Athletic Event Operations: Colby Wehner DJ FOR 20 Assistant AD/Business Operations: Dwight Murray, Jr. scored 20 points for the third time this season in a 70-62 Aimee Alt win at Fairfield on Jan. 1. He also went for 20 points in the season opener at Academic Support Coordinator: Syracuse on Dec. 5 at Syracuse and the Broncs’ MAAC opener at Manhattan TBA Faculty Athletics Representative: on Dec. 11. Dr. A.J. Moore Sports Information Administrative Associate: Lynn Rugg BIG CONTRIBUTION IN SMALLS’ MINUTES Head Athletic Trainer: Jordan Smalls made his Rider debut on Dec. 23 against NJIT, scoring nine Tim Lengle, A.T.C. points on 2-of-2 shooting from the floor, both from beyond the arc, in 10 Assistant Athletic Trainer/Men’s Basketball: minutes played. He also made 3-of-4 attempts from the free-throw line and Priya Mehrish Asst. AD/Sports Communications/MBB Contact: grabbed two rebounds. Greg Ott [email protected] (cell) 908-783-5258 MCQUARTER BREAKS OUT Press Row Phone (Alumni Gym): Dontrell McQuarter was averaging a respectable 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds 609-895-5657 per game entering the Dec. 19 game against Iona, when he erupted for 20 Sports Information Fax: points and eight rebounds against the Gaels. He made 7-of-13 attempts from 609-896-0341 Athletics Home Page: the floor and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. www.gobroncs.com AJIRI’S CAREER NIGHT Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson went for a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds on Dec. 18 against Iona. He made 5-of-6 field-goal attempts and connected on all six of his free-throw attempts. His previous career high of 12 points came nearly two years ago on Jan. 3, 2019, at Fairfield, while he matched his career high of eight rebounds, established earlier this season at Syracuse. MORE MURRAY AT MANHATTAN Dwight Murray, Jr. nearly went for a triple-double in his MAAC debut at Manhattan, going for 20 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and seven assists in the Broncs’ 82-64 win over the Jaspers on Dec. 11. The 15 rebounds nearly doubled his previous career high of eight rebounds. The double-double was the first of his career. BLADEN FLIRTS WITH FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE Redshirt sophomore forward Tyrel Bladen spent the first two years of his Rider career redshirting as a true freshman in 2018-19 before playing limited minutes as a redshirt freshman in 2019-20. Given significant minutes this sea- son, he’s come on, averaging 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, including outputs of 10 points and eight rebounds on Dec. 8 at St. John’s and 11 points and nine rebounds at Manhattan on Dec. 11. He’s shot 71.4 percent (10-14) from the floor. 2020-21 Rider Men’s Basketball D.J.’S DYNAMIC DEBUT Dwight Murray, Jr.