LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Redshirt freshman Jordan Allen (Dover, DE/Dover) scored 26 points, including 7-of-13 from long range, as the Rider University men's basketball team defeated hOURglass rival Monmouth, 92-85, Monday night at Alumni Gymnasium. With the win, the Broncs' season-high fifth-straight, Rider improves to 16-7 (9-2 MAAC). The Hawks, who'd won their last two, fall to 7-14 (3-6 MAAC).

Rider closed the first half on a 12-2 run to build its largest lead of the half and take a 46-33 advantage into the break. Included in the run were a pair of Allen three's in the final 41 seconds and another from Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Calloway).

The Broncs upped their lead to 56-36 on three Allen free throws at the 16:54 mark of the second. But the Hawks wouldn't go away. Monmouth gradually whittled the lead down to five on four occasions, the last coming with 15 seconds left. But the Broncs got a pair of stops and made two free throws to secure the 92-85 victory.  

Quotes & Notes
"Good win. I thought we could've done a better job in the second half playing defense. But (Jordan Allen) had a good game and stepped up. And I know everybody is going to talk about the points, but we've been challenging him on the defensive end. We know he can score. And give him credit because he started the game doing it and did it throughout."

"King's a great coach and he's going to get his guys to play hard. Obviously with Micah (Seaborn) being out, that hurts those guys. But I thought they battled. He's got some talent on that team. Tilghman's doing a good job running it. (Deion) Hammond and those guys, they're going to be good. As soon as they get healthy, they're going to be a problem in the tournament as well."

"This was a pretty good stretch for us. And give our guys credit. We were able to win all five games in this five games in 12 days. And, again, no lead is secure in this league. I'm seeing some of the scores now. But give our guys credit for not totally allowing those guys to get back. Then we made some key free throws down the stretch which is important as well."

"It makes me look like a good coach. (Jordan) brings something that – and some of the other guys we have on the team who can shoot it as well – something that we haven't had in really to be honest with you, my six years across the board. We have a lot of guys who can really shoot it, a lot of guys who can score, a lot of guys who can play a multitude of positions. And it really makes our offense dynamic. But again, I'm still learning this part of it because I'm still a defensive-minded guy. And these guys will tell you, every day, I'm harping on that end. And I understand that we can score. But for us to be better and more balanced and give ourselves a chance to compete at the top, we've still got to focus on that defensive end."  – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

"We knew we had to stay with the lead going into the half because that team likes to fight back. We knew they weren't going to go away and knowing everybody on that team, they don't want to lose to us."

"When teams go into zone, it's like, 'why?' We have a lot of shooters on our team and everybody can knock down shots when we're supposed to." – Rider redshirt freshman Jordan Allen

"I think Kevin Baggett has done as good of a job as a coach in this league as anybody. I'm friends with a lot of these guys. I know he hasn't won the 'ship yet. He probably had the best team when he had the big boy, I think it was Lopez. The kid goes down. Kevin has been making this program better from the day he became the head coach."

"I've been through this league a whole bunch of times now and today was the friendliest the Rider people have been to me. And that told me right then that their team is really good."

"I thought their kids brought a lot of energy – the students. I think they bring a lot when you play in this building. So, hats off to Rider." – Monmouth Head Coach King Rice
 
- Rider now leads the all-time series with Monmouth, 29-20.
- The Broncs have now scored 90 or more points eight times this season, including four MAAC games. Rider is undefeated (8-0) when scoring 90 or more points.
- Rider returns to action Sunday, when it travels to Quinnipiac. Tip-off from the TD Bank Sports Center is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Allen's seven three-pointers are a season high, eclipsing the five he made against Hampton (Nov. 10), at Providence (Nov. 28) and against Hofstra (Dec. 9). He also had a season-high three steals.
- Vaughn produced his second double-double of the season and the third of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also added three steals and two blocks.
- Vaughn made 3-of-4 three-point attempts, marking the second time this season he had at least three three-point field goals (5-6 at Saint Peter's, Jan. 18).
- Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) and Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King/Putnam Science) also added 11 points apiece.
- Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) scored nine points and dished out a team-high six assists.
- Rider made 13-of-31 three-point attempts. The 13 made three-pointers are second only to the 14 they made in the season opener against Hampton (Nov. 10).