Men's College Basketball

Rider University 68, Saint Peter's University 55

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— Balance can be described as having your weight spread equally so that you do not fall.  The Rider Broncs might describe balance as having your points spread equally so that you do not fail.

Rider once again used a balanced attack to defeat Saint Peter's in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon.

Rider (10-6, 4-1 MAAC) has now won eight of its last nine games and is now 5-0 at home.

For the Broncs, sophomore Jimmie Taylor (Branford, Fla./Suwannee) compiled 15 points and five rebounds, while senior Matt Lopez (Erial, NJ/Washington Twp.) added 14 points and five rebounds and junior Zedric Sadler (Detroit, Mich./Cody) contributed 14 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

“When everybody is on the same page, and everybody is scoring, we are tough to stop,” said Taylor, a member of the MAAC All-Rookie team last year who already has 538 career points.  “We have a lot of people who can score. There is a lot of talent on this team. On any given night we can have four or five guys in double digits.”

“It was a great effort by our guys,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.  “I can't tell you how proud I am of them. The way they are performing. We're getting contributions from everybody. It was a team effort, and I'm really happy to be 5-0 at home.”

With the win Rider moves into a tie for first place in the MAAC with Iona and Monmouth.

The win was Rider's sixth in a row. The last time Rider won six straight was during the 2010-11 season, when the Broncs enjoyed two different six-game winning streaks on their way to a 23-win season.

Saint Peter's (8-9, 2-4 MAAC) led for just 48 seconds early in the game and shot 32 percent from the field.  “Our defense was outstanding today,” Baggett said. “It starts on the defensive end,” echoed Taylor.  “When we play great defense the offense just comes.”

“Rider played really well,” said Saint Peter's head coach John Dunne, who took the Peacocks to the NCAA Tournament in 2011.  “They did what they were supposed to do on their home court. They took it to us and they were the aggressors.”

Rider used a 12-4 start of the second half, six points by Lopez, to build a 51-29 lead with 11:26 left to play.  “Lopez raises Rider's level of offense,” Dunne said. “He's a good player who this year has made Rider better.”

Rider led by as many as 25 points (59-34) before emptying the bench. “The last few minutes (21-9 Saint Peter's) got a little dicey and ugly a little bit,” Baggett said, “but it was as close a 40-minute performance as we needed.”

The term 'X-Factor' describes a hard-to-define quality or influence, a special quality that catapults one to success and often causes an unexpected change in events.

The Rider 'X-Factor' over the six-game winning streak has been obvious, sophomore Xavier Lundy (Paulsboro, NJ/Paulsboro), who has been starting in place of the injured sophomore Kahlil Thomas (Parkway, Fla./Blanche Ely).

Holding a 24-17 lead, Rider out-scored Saint Peter's 12-2, four points by Lundy, to take a 36-19 lead, and Rider led 39-25 at the half. “X set the tone for us early,” Baggett said. “We ran a couple of things for him to start.”

Lundy finished with eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Rider led 35-29 at the half, as the Broncs shot 55 percent and the Peacocks shot 34 percent.

With the score tied at 7-7, Rider went on a 9-2 run, four points by Lopez, to take a 16-9 lead, and never looked back.

The game was part of the hOURglass Rivalry series with Rider, Saint Peter's and Monmouth. Rider continues the hOURglass Rivalry Monday, hosting Monmouth at 7pm.

“I think our series with Monmouth is a rivalry that is coming back,” Baggett said. Rider and Monmouth were Northeast Conference rivals in the mid-1990s, competing in several NEC Title Games. “Monmouth is similar to us in a lot of ways and they are playing well right now.”

“All I know is that when we play Monmouth they play hard,” Taylor said of the Hawks. “They come at us aggressive so we will have to do the same thing.”

For an hourglass to perform properly, it requires balance. So do the Broncs.

-ru-