Bench steps up for Rider during win streak
Before the Rider men’s basketball team turned Friday night’s game at Marist on its head in the second half, it first needed the bench to save it.
The reserves helped erase a 14-point first-half deficit, which set the tone for a second-half blitz, and the Broncs buried the Red Foxes, 68-52, at McCann Arena for a fourth straight victory the moved them alone into second place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
“We just had to be there for our starters,” said forward Zahrion Blue, who finished with six points and seven rebounds. “We saw they were playing a little sluggish, a little slow. We had to pick up the energy, we had to fight and bring us back in the game. Once they saw us give all that energy, they came back with more energy and in the second half took it over.”
Blue credited the team’s spirited practices where the second unit goes up against the starters on a daily basis to keep them ready.
“Just got to grind consistently and stay mentally ready, physically ready,” said Blue, the former Princeton High standout. “You got to come in and impact the game, so you have to watch the game and see what is going on. When it is your time and when (coach) calls your name, you got to go out there and do you.”
That time came about midway through the first half with Rider in the midst of a six-plus minute scoring drought and Marist opening up a double-digit lead. Coach Kevin Baggett pulled his starters and entered a bench unit of Corey McKeithan, Adetokunbo Bakare, Blue, Nehemiah Benson and Tyrel Bladen.
While you may be wondering who in that group is going to score the points, it was able to whittle a 14-point deficit down to five by the time Baggett was ready to re-enter some of his starters.
All told, the bench scored 14 first-half points — it finished with 24 — and the Broncs only trailed by one at intermission.
“I thought we took their best punch and we were standing,” Baggett said. “It was just a matter of our guys relaxing and just playing with energy. We weren’t playing with any energy, and once the bench gave us a lift I think our starters ended up building on that.” Build on it they did. Rider (10-9, 7-3) opened the half on a 15-2 run and had out-scored Marist (7-12, 3-7) by an astounding, 285, at the under-eight media timeout. After giving up a combined 23 treys in the last two games, the Broncs held the Red Foxes to 7-of33 from long range, with a handful of those coming after the visitors had opened up a 20-point lead.
“We’re in a very good space,” Blue said. “Everyone is positive, no one is negative. We talk to each other every day and we talk to each other with respect on the court and off the court. We’re good friends off the court and as long we stay together, everything is going to come together.”
Rider heads to Fairfield — also winner of four in a row — on Sunday for clash between two of the hotter teams in the league.
“I love what we are doing right now,” Baggett said. “I love the fact that we are being a team. There is no selfishness, there is no complaining, everybody is being great teammates. As a coaching staff, we’re proud of each and every one of our guys for doing so and accepting their roles.”