RIDER GAMEDAY
Who: Niagara (12-15, 5-9) at Rider (14-13, 9-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Alumni Gymnasium
TV/ Radio: ESPN+/ None
Last Time Out: Rider def. Saint Peter’s, 71-65; Niagara def. Fairfield, 78-73
Series History: Rider leads, 26-22 Background: The Broncs should be refreshed following five days of rest as they look to build on a pair of wins from last weekend. They already own a 104-84 triumph over the Purple Eagles and have dominated the series of late, winning five of the last six meetings. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Niagara has won just once at Alumni Gym (Feb. 2015).
Taking Stock: The MAAC is a chaotic place these days. The top six teams are separated by half a game. Canisius enters play Friday in sole possession of first place at 9-5, but Rider, Quinnipiac, Iona, Siena and Monmouth are all 9-6 in the league. There’s a very good chance the league’s No. 1 seed is decided by a complex tiebreaker between multiple teams. Stay tuned. Gilbert Gets Minutes: Redshirt junior forward Ahmad Gilbert has given the Broncs a boost since reemerging as a member of the rotation over the last five games. In the five previous games, he collected one minute and four DNPs. But with Jordan Allen struggling (11 minutes in the last two games), Gilbert, who was the 10th man in an eight-man rotation not too long ago, has played double-digit minutes in three of the last five contests. “It was just a matter of buying into what we needed him to do,” coach Kevin Baggett said. “Once he started doing that, we let him go and let him do what he does best. We need him right now with Jordan struggling, Dimencio struggling some. I’m just trying to push every button that we can on the bench and hopefully find some guys like (Ahmad) who will come through for us.”
Scouting Niagara: The Purple Eagles snapped a four-game skid with a win over Fairfield last time out. Marvin Prochet is an all-league caliber player, averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He also shoots the 3 at an impressive 45.1 percent clip. Center Dominic Robb, who played at the Hun School, leads the MAAC in blocks (2.2) and is three rejections away from matching the school’s all-time record. You’ll want to keep Niagara off the free throw line where it shoots over 73 percent, best in the league.