Rider racks up sixth straight win
HAMDEN, CONN. » A game Rider was seemingly in complete control of was all of a sudden a three-point contest with 9:30 remaining.
Then the Broncs ramped up their full-court pressure.
Rider doubled up Quinnipiac the remainder of the way and pulled out a 7459 victory at the TD Bank Sports Center on Sunday afternoon.
The win was the sixth straight for the Broncs (177, 10-2), who remained a half game in front of Canisius in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Standings.
“I thought it just came down to sharing the ball and guys executing the right way,” coach Kevin Baggett said in his postgame radio interview on 107.7 The Bronc. “There was too many one pass and shots, which is not what we’re trying to do . ... I just felt like if we would move and share the ball, we could get any shot that we wanted. We just tried to do too many one-on-one and bonehead things that at this time of the year we shouldn’t be doing.”
After Chase Daniels converted a three-point play for the Bobcats (9-15, 6-6) with 9:37 remaining to slice Rider’s lead to three, the Broncs outscored Quinnipiac, 24-12, the remainder of the game.
Stevie Jordan paced four players in double figures with 18 points and six assists. Dimencio Vaughn added 16, Frederick Scott had 15 off the bench and Tyere Marshall finished with 10 and eight rebounds.
Jordan, who has been battling through a sprained ankle, benefitted the most from the six days off Rider had between games.
“We’re trying to protect him as much as we can because he’s been banged up all year and playing a lot of minutes for us,” Baggett said. “Anytime we can get him some rest and make sure he stays fresh down the stretch (because) he’s the leader. He’s the heart and soul. It starts with Stevie. He’s going to keep us under control and make sure the right guys gets the right shot.”
Cameron Young led Quinnipiac with 18 points and Joseph Rigoni and Chase Daniels had 12 apiece.
The Broncs return to action on Thursday when they host Manhattan at Alumni Gymnasium. Rider has four of its final six games at home, including clashes against Canisius and Iona on the final day of the regular season.