LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Redshirt freshman Jordan Allen (Dover, DE/Dover) scored a game-high 21 points to lead five Broncs in double figures in a 90-75 season-opening victory over Hampton Friday night at Alumni Gym. Redshirt freshman Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) and sophomore Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King) each posted their first career double-doubles with 15 points and 14 rebounds and 10 points and 12 rebounds, respectively, as the Broncs moved to 1-0.
 
Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) added 17 points and a team-high six assists, while Anthony Durham (Philadelphia, PA/Abington) rounded out the double-figures scorers with 13 points. The Broncs trailed by eight points on three occasions in the first half before ending the period on a 9-1 run to tie the game at 36-36 on Allen's first made three-pointer of the game.
 
Following 12 lead changes in the first 12 minutes of the second half, the Broncs surged ahead for good on Allen's fifth and final three-point field goal made. The three-pointer sparked a 14-4 spurt to put the Broncs on top by nine with less than five minutes remaining. Rider's lead continued to grow to 15 with a 7-0 run to close out the game.
 
Quotes & Notes
"The three pointer at half settled us down. In the second half, I thought we came out and played a little better. We scored the ball obviously. Jordan gained some momentum off of that shot. I thougth Stevie settled down a little bit. We missed a lot of free throws and we've got to get better defensively. But again, we'll take it for the first game. We've got to get better and we understand that."
 
"We're going to go through some growing pains. We're young. Guys are going to make mistakes in key parts of the game. Yet these guys stayed together. Nobody was arguing with one another. We did what we needed to do, settled down, made some free throws in the second half and (Allen) made some big three's when we needed them." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett
 
"My teammates and my coaches wanted me to take that shot. So, when they said that, my eyes got big and I said, 'they still believe in me.'" – Redshirt freshman guard Jordan Allen on making his first three prior to the half after missing his first four
 
- The Broncs won their season opener for the second-straight year and the third time in six years under Baggett.
- Three Broncs made their first career starts in Scott, Durham and Allen, while Marshall made just his third-career start.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Rider made 14-of-31 three-point attempts, led by Allen's 5-of-12 performance. The 14 made three-pointers are tied for the most in Kevin Baggett's six-year tenure (Dec. 23, 2015 vs. Morgan State), while the 31 attempts are the most, one more than the 30 hoisted on Dec. 4, 2015 at Fairfield (11-30).
- The Pirates outshot the Broncs, 42.9 percent (27-63) to 41.2 percent (28-68) from the floor, but the Broncs took a 45.2 percent (14-31) to 40.0 percent (8-20) edge from long range.
- Rider took a 47-41 edge on the glass, including a 19-10 advantage on the offensive boards, which the Broncs converted into a 21-11 discrepancy in second-chance points.
- The Broncs also turned the ball over just nine times to the Pirates' 16, resulting in a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers.
- Scott and Marshall rebounded their way to double-doubles in different fashions – Scott grabbed 13 of his 14 boards on the defensive glass, while seven of Marshall's 12 boards came on the offensive glass.