LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long range as the Rider University men's basketball team cruised past Fairfield, 96-77, Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium. With the win, the Broncs improve to 9-6 (2-1 MAAC), while the Stags slip to 6-8 (1-2 MAAC).

With Fairfield leading, 11-9, Rider went on a 10-0 run and scored 24 of the next 29 points to build a 17-point lead and never trailed again. Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Calloway) scored six of the 10 points in the initial 10-0 run, while Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King/Putnam Science) scored the other four. Scott took over from there, scoring eight of the next 14 Rider points.

The Broncs' lead swelled to as many as 24 with 12:49 left on a Kealen Washington-Ives (Providence, RI/Classical) three-pointer. Fairfield whittled the Rider lead down to 12 on three occasions, but could get no closer, as the Broncs shot 50.0 percent (32-64) for the game.  

Quotes & Notes
"I thought we got off to a good start tonight. I thought Freddy got us off to a good start. I thought Durham did some good things. We were very focused on Tyler Nelson. There's a reason why he was the Preseason Player of the Year pick. I know he had 21, but we did a good job trying to make him earn every basket."

"We're getting better. It's exciting to see this team." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

"Nothing changed. I feel like my coaches expect the exact same thing out of me. Nothing less. So, I just stay aggressive whenever I'm on the floor." – Redshirt freshman Frederick Scott on coming off the bench

"That was our game plan the whole week. We were going to start off Dimencio on him and then we'd switch off on him. Dimencio is strong. He plays really physical on defense. I'm a little bit quicker than Dimencio. So, just giving him different looks and trying to make it tough for him. He's a good player. He's good at getting open and creating shots. So we were just trying to make it as tough as possible on him tonight." – Junior Anthony Durham on defending MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Nelson
 
- Fairfield now leads the all-time series with the Broncs, 34-29. The Stags had won the prior four contests with Rider.  
- The MAAC's third-leading scorer, Fairfield's Tyler Nelson (20.8 ppg.), scored at his average with 21. However, the Broncs forced him into seven turnovers.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Rider's 50 points in the first half were a first-half season high. Their previous high was 44 on Dec. 6 at Robert Morris.
- Rider used a 10-0 run to turn an 11-9 deficit into a 19-9 lead. The Broncs' run swelled to 24-5 and their first-half lead built to as many as 17 on a Paxton Wilson (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) three with 8:28 left.
- Five Broncs scored in double-figures – Scott (25), Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) (18), Vaughn (14), Jordan Allen (Dover, DE/Dover) (10) and Anthony Durham (Philadelphia, PA/Abington/Putnam Science) (10).
- Scott and Vaughn combined to hit 9-of-11 attempts in the first half, including 4-of-5 from long range for 24 points. For the game, the duo hit 13-of-19 and 6-of-9 from deep.
- Durham dished out a team-high five assists without committing a turnover.
- The Broncs turned 19 Fairfield turnovers into a 32-8 edge in points off turnovers.
- Rider shot 50 percent or better for the for the second-straight game after hitting at a season-high 52.0 percent on Dec. 31 at Niagara.
- The Broncs have now shot 50 percent or better four times this season, going 3-1 in those contests.