Edwin Muniz found himself and his Rider University teammates in a tough game early in the second half at Monmouth last month when he said to himself, "Man, somebody has to step up."

Then Muniz realized he was the lone senior starter on the team, one of the Broncos' go-to guys, and he thought, "Wait a second, you step up."

The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Passaic native finished with a season-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and the Broncos won that game 75-67. Entering tonight's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contest at Manhattan, Rider is 4-8 overall and 0-4 in the MAAC, coming off a four-point home loss to Fairfield on Tuesday in which Muniz scored 22 points.

While the young team has considerable room for improvement, there is little doubt that Muniz has stepped up in his senior season. He led the team in scoring in four games and is second in both scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.8) behind sophomore forward Jason Thompson, a Mount Laurel native.

"Five of our top eight guys are freshmen or sophomores, so Edwin has a huge role," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "Not only do we count on him as our go-to guy, but on and off the court I really count on him for showing the young guys how to behave, how to be a college student-athlete, how to work in practice, how to work in the classroom.

"He has been almost an extension of the coaching staff this year because we really trust him and respect him. He's been the most integral part of our team."

As his college playing days wind down, Muniz is still longing for the tremendous success he and his Passaic teammates enjoyed during his junior season in 2001, when they won NNJIL, Passaic County and North 1, Group 4 sectional titles. Muniz's best friend, Clayton Barker, was a teammate that season and now starts at point guard for the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which next year will make the jump from Division II basketball to Division I.

NJIT will play at Rider next season, and Muniz said he's sorry he won't be able to play against his old friend.

"I wish I could've been there for that," he said.

After falling in the first round of the MAAC tournament during Muniz's first two seasons, the Broncos last year reached the conference championship game before falling to Niagara.

"It was real disappointing," he said. "We had a great year. Just to be so close after losing in (the) first two rounds, and you're one game away from living your dream out of playing in that (NCAA) tournament of (65); to be one of those teams would be a great honor."

Last year's team relied primarily on senior guard Jerry Johnson, who started every game and led the team in scoring with more than 18 points per game. Muniz started nearly half the games and was second in scoring (11.6) and rebounding (5.1).

But this year his role has changed dramatically because the team is so young. Thompson and Muniz, who are interchangeable at the power forward and center positions are the team's two main players.

"We're up and down," Muniz said. "We've had some good games in which we lost. I think we do have a young team. We just got to try and stay patient. What counts is the MAAC tournament and an NCAA bid. I think our team will have a little more experience and be ready to roll."

Added Dempsey: "If we can keep improving we'll be a factor in the MAAC race before it's over. You don't win the MAAC championship in early January. But the talent is in the locker room and Edwin is being really counted on to win the MAAC championship."

Whether or not that comes to pass, Muniz, who's majoring in communications and political science, said he hopes to pursue basketball after college. His parents are Puerto Rican and he hopes to play in a Puerto Rican league next summer before possibly pursuing a career in Europe.

"If I can't continue my career in basketball, I'll go back to school and get a teaching certificate," he said.

First, however, comes one last chance to beat Manhattan, and then hopes of pursuing that elusive postseason berth.

"I think we can turn it around," he said. We're very talented, we just got to get better."

Reach Adam Zagoria |at (973) 569-7156 or zagoria@northjersey.com.