Jordan, Rider put squeeze on Robert Morris
LAWRENCEVILLE >> It didn’t take long for Stevie Jordan and his Rider teammates to smell blood in the water.
Robert Morris couldn’t handle full-court pressure, so like a shark in search of prey, the Broncs went in for the kill.
Rider pressed Robert Morris into submission by forcing 29 turnovers in a 69-50 win on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
“Any team that comes into our gym, can’t handle our press,” said Jordan, who stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals. “We got guys who have too much energy and we want to get stops.”
The Broncs (4-3) scored 33 points off those 29 turnovers and had 15 fast break points. The Colonials (47) had 12 fewer made field goals than turnovers and had a hard time even crossing half court.
“We’re not going to get 29 turnovers every night, but the pressure and constant communication … guys more often than not doing what we’re asking to do — blocking out and no second-chance opportunities for them — is what I’m looking for,” coach Kevin Baggett said.
The swagger that was sometimes missing through the first six games returned.
“It feels like last year again,” Jordan said. “That’s how we played last year to win all those games. I feel like that’s coming back.”
Here to Assist
Jordan, a junior from Bensalem, moved alone into eighth place on the program’s all-time assist list with 380 in his career. He could get as high as fifth (421) by the end of the season with the all-time record set at 598 by Deon Hames.
“I’m just going to keep playing and whatever accolades we get, we get,” Jordan said.
The 6-foot guard has made the biggest improvement in his 3-point shooting. He connected at a 27.7 percent clip last season, but after hitting both of his attempts on Saturday is now 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) on the year.
“That was my main focus just getting in the gym every day and putting up a whole lot of shots,” Jordan said. “Then in the games, shoot it with confidence and know it’s going to go in.”
Starting Strong
Baggett stayed with the same starting lineup he used in the win over Norfolk State, although both Tyere Marshall and Frederick Scott were back in action. “We need everybody,” Baggett said. “Any of those guys can come on the court and we expect them to do what a starter would do.” Jordan Allen had another nice game coming off the bench, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and a team-best plus-18.
Zebra Down
Referee John Garbinki left the game in the first half after he slipped and injured his knee, leaving Mel Chettum and Josh White to officiate the majority of the game down a man.
Up Next
The Broncs embark on long road trip that takes them to three different
time zones before the calendar turns to 2019.
It begins with a 4 a.m. wake-up call on Sunday morning to begin a journey west for a game at Washington State. That’s followed by a contest at Drake on Wednesday.
“Man, I’ll just go to sleep now,” Jordan joked, adding, “I’ll wake everybody up.”
Eventually, they’ll end up in Las Vegas for a pair of games on Dec. 22 and 23rd before finishing non-conference play at Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 30.
Rider went to Las Vegas last season and won a pair of games.
“Being out west, it’s great for our team because we bond more,” Jordan said. “We’re more together and it’s more games. We just love playing basketball.”