Rider edges Quinnipiac for a wild win

LAWRENCEVILLE >> For the second straight game, Rider escaped.

The Broncs joined Iona and Canisius as the only teams to start 2-0 in the MAAC by holding off Quinnipiac for a wild 72-67 win Saturday at Alumni Gymnasium.

Rider (7-7, 2-0), playing its first home game since Dec. 15, pulled ahead permanently when Jordan Allen buried a 3 from the corner with 58 seconds left — ironic on a night when the Broncs struggled from beyond the arc and had difficulty stymieing the Bobcats at the other end of the floor.

Allen had missed his first six field goals and Rider converted only 4-of-18 3-point attempts. But the Broncs sunk more than half of their 2-point attempts and dominated the glass with a 41-33 rebounding advantage.

Quinnipiac (1-1, 6-7) had the ball down 3 with three ticks left, but Rider fouled before the inbound and after Rich Kelly missed the front end of a oneand-one and Anthony Durham sealed the win with two free throws.

Frederick Scott posted 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kimar Williams and Stevie Jordan each added 10 points for Rider.

Quinnipiac’s Cameron Young, who entered the game as the MAAC’s second-leading scorer, went off for 24 points and made five of the Bobcats’ 11 3-pointers.

Prior to six lead changes in the second half, Rider managed a 41-41 tie at halftime by reversing what started as an ugly sequence at the end of the period.

First Young stole an errant lob pass at the top of the key by Jordan, who then fouled Young on the floor with one second left. Young made both free throws to give Quinnipiac a 41-39 lead, but Rider created positive momentum into the locker room when Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson fired a perfect full-court pass to Ahmad Gilbert underneath the basket for a layup.

Quinnipiac led for the majority of the opening 20 minutes thanks to an 8-of-16 shooting clip from beyond the arc. That was primarily courtesy of Young, who came scorching out of the gates with four 3s.

Rider held an 11-7 lead five minutes into the game prior to an 8-0 Quinnipiac run. The Bobcats nursed a slim margin until Rider’s next lead with 2:26 left when a Williams steal led to a Scott layup.

Rider hits the road again for conference games at Canisius and Niagara before returning home next Saturday to host Manhattan.