First impression

Freshman Tyrei Randall led the Broncs in scoring with 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting.

The 6-foot-5, 165-pound lefty buried his first three attempts from beyond the arc.

“I just mentally locked in for today’s game so I could come out and be able to show out in front of these fans and do what I got to do,” Randall said. “I wanted to show (coach) that I could play ball at this level.”

Randall said his 3-point shot is his biggest weapon — he was 4-for-9 — but he also showed an ability to get to the rim, albeit against an overmatched opponent.

“Guys are understanding what their impact is going to be on this team and what we need each and every individual to do,” Baggett said.

Frederick Scott added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Devine Eke had 12 and 12 while showing off his athleticism with a couple of dunks and Stevie Jordan

Rider attempted 37 shots from 3-point territory, more than it has in any game, real or exhibition, during Baggett’s tenure.

“This is a team, that going into my sixth year now, we did a better job identifying we needed more shooters to space the court.” Baggett said.. “This group is fun. There are a number of guys who can space the court and really shoot it. This is who we are. We have a team that can really shoot the ball, but on those nights we might struggle, we have to be able to defend and keep ourselves in games.”

The Broncs finished with 12 made 3s for 32.4 percent. They had more success in the first half, connecting on nine of their 19 tries. Seven different players made a 3-pointer.

Baggett said the group he started with — Jordan, Durham, Jordan Allen, Scott and Marshall — will likely be the five when the season opens next Friday against Hampton.

Domencio Vaughn (suspension) and Karamoko Cisse (concussion) did not play on Saturday. Vaughn will miss the first three games of the season, but Cisse, the backup center, is expected to be ready for the opener.