LAS VEGAS, NV –
Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) led the Rider University men's basketball team with 22 points and nine rebounds as the Broncs defeated the University of California, Irvine, 90-82, in a Las Vegas Invitational contest Thursday night at Orleans Arena. With the win, the Broncs' third-straight, Rider improves to 4-1. The Anteaters slip to 2-4 with the loss. Rider will now face Hampton for the second time this season tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m. (ET)/7:30 p.m. (PT) following the Pirates' 76-66 win over Northern Arizona on Thursday morning. Rider defeated Hampton, 90-75, to open the season on Nov. 10 at Alumni Gymnasium.
After the Anteaters opened the scoring, Rider responded with a 9-0 run and never trailed again. The Broncs built a lead of as many as 13 in the first half, but the Anteaters whittled it all the way down to two with a 13-2 run prior to the half.
Stevie Jordan's (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) jumper at the halftime buzzer put Rider on top, 40-36.
The Broncs led by double digits for the majority of the second half and the closest UC Irvine could get the rest of the way was to within five. Scott scored 18 of his career-high 22 points in the second half, including 9-of-12 shooting from the free throw line in the period.
Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Calloway) also provided a spark with 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Both Scott and Vaughn finished a rebound away from a double-double.
Quotes & Notes
"We talked about it in the locker room. We knew they were big. We wanted to attack those guys and be the aggressors from start to finish. And we really did a good job of going over the scouting report, executing it. Defensively, really trying to front the bigs to not allow them to be able to duck us in as often as they have against their opponents. I thought our guys did a really good job."
"These guys are battlers. They're just tough kids, a tough mindset and I'm enjoying it."
"I'll be honest with you – they're just ballin'. These guys, it doesn't matter who they play. They don't care. They're just going to show up every night. I've learned that about this group. They don't care who our opponent is. We've just got to get them to understand – time, score, take care of the ball a little bit more, settle down at times and when a team makes a run at us, we've got to be a little more poised. And that comes with experience and youth. But they don't back down. The lead was going down and they didn't stop attacking. And that's something that we haven't had in some years here."
– Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett
- Rider has now made a field goal in the final five seconds of the first half in four of five games this season.
- The Broncs won the first game in the all-time series against UC Irvine.
- The Broncs played from ahead at the half for the first time this season. Rider had been tied in its three prior wins and trailed Xavier in its only loss.
- Rider had more assists (14) than turnovers (13) for the fifth-straight game to open the season.
Broncs by the Numbers
-
Jordan Allen scored in double-digits for the fifth-straight game to open his collegiate career with 19 tonight. Allen has also buried at least three three-point field goals in each of the five games, knocking down 3-of-7 tonight.
- In addition to Scott, Vaughn and Allen, Jordan finished in double figures with 12 points. He also had a team-high four steals.
- Both teams made 9-of-22 three-point attempts.
- Though UC Irvine outshot the Broncs, 49.2 percent (32-65) to 47.5 percent (29-61), the Broncs made 23-of-35 free-throw attempts to the Anteaters' 9-of-19 effort from the charity stripe.
- Rider scored 50 or more points in the second half for the third time this season, with exactly 50 tonight.
- For the season, Rider now has 74 assists and just 53 turnovers for a 1.40 team assist-to-turnover ratio.
