Rider over century mark in opening win

LAWRENCEVILLE >> Rider thoroughly dominated Immaculata, making short work of the Division III school, with a final score of 113-67.

The season was hardly underway before the opener was practically over. By the time the first 20-minute mark ended, the Broncs had already run away with the game and led the Atlantic East school by 23 points.

Rider looked to start its season off by setting the tone against the DIII opponent and with several scoring runs, blew the game wide open at the half, and spent the second half on cruise control.

Rider has a roster that is just oozing with talent, including a deep bench full of young players who are looking to contribute to a successful season. Head coach Kevin Baggett was able to showcase the depth of his roster, being able to get his reserves some quality minutes with the wide gap in the second half

But it was the starters who were able to come in early and set the tone for that dominant victory.

Scoring was led by MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Mervin James, who had 18 points. Allen Powell also contributed 12 points, and Cory McKeithan added 11 points.

But the player who pieced everything together for this Rider team was T.J. Weeks Jr., who displayed his versatile skillset, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out four assists, recording a block, and a steal as well.

Weeks Jr., prides himself on helping out anyway he can, and his statline displays a teammate who was making plays everywhere on the floor.

“I try to affect the game in many different ways whether it’s offensively or defensively,” Weeks Jr. said. “So if my shots aren’t falling, I’ll crash the offensive glass or get a rebound and pass the ball to my teammates. I don’t have to force every shot that comes up, I just take my time and wait for the ball to come back to me.”

The UMass transfer didn’t set the world on fire with his shooting performance, connecting on 5-for12 from the field, and 3-for-8 from three, but he was able to balance that out by making some plays on defense and grabbing seven total rebounds, including two offensive rebounds.

“I was frustrated and (coach) brought me over and was like just keep shooting,” Weeks Jr. said. “… That’s the mentality, even if you miss, the next one is gonna fall, you gotta keep that mentality.”

But being a well-rounded team means that when one of your main player’s shots aren’t falling, there are teammates that will pickup the offensive load. James did just that and he went on to finish with 18 points, shooting an outstanding 7-for-10 from the field in the process.

“Coming into the game, coach was big on saying that we we’re going to be doubled in the post a lot,” James said. “We were just working on being patient in the post, and executing the gameplan today.”