BUFFALO, NY – Down 11 at the half and by as many as 13 in the second half, the Rider University men's basketball team used a pair of double-digit runs to storm back and defeat Canisius, 82-73, on the road Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center. With the win, the Broncs' third-straight, Rider improves to 8-7 overall and 3-0 in the MAAC, while the Griffs (5-10, 2-1 MAAC) suffered their first setback in the league.
 
After the Broncs took a 15-12 lead in the early going, Canisius opened a double-digit lead on the strength of a 15-2 run. Following three points at the free-throw line for Rider, the Griffs scored the next seven to push its lead to 14, 34-20, at the 5:28 mark. Rider whittled the Canisius lead down to eight on consecutive buckets from Jordan Allen (Dover, DE/Dover) and Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Lansdowne, PA/Monsignor Bonner), but Canisius re-upped its lead to 11, 41-30, at the half. Playing a major factor in the first half was three-point shooting, with the Griffs taking a 63.6 percent (7-11) to 9.1 percent (1-11) advantage.

Canisius absorbed the Broncs' initial punch in the second half. After Rider cut the deficit to six, 46-40, the Griffs scored seven-straight to push their lead back to 13, 53-40, with 14:14 left. The Broncs responded with the next 14 points in just over three minutes, including 10 from Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]), to take a 54-53 lead.

Four lead changes later, the game was tied at 63-63 with 3:11 remaining. Scott's head fake got Takal Molson in the air and the Broncs' redshirt sophomore forward drew the foul. He'd make all three free throws, sparking a 10-0 run. The closest Canisius could get the rest of the way was to within five.
 
Quotes & Notes
"I'm really happy with how our team responded in the second half after coming out with a lack of energy in the first half. I thought Freddy did a good job of responding in the second half when we challenged him in the locker room. Give our guys a lot of credit. The second half with our press ignited our comeback and gave us energy and life."

"I think once we start to press, our guys get excited about doing it. It brings energy. We get some turnovers, we get some steals, we get some easy baskets, rather than trying to sit in the half court and trying to execute the entire time. The guys embrace it and they want to do it. We came back from 17 against Fairfield and we've had some comebacks in the past – last year and some this year. It's who we are. I'd like for us to defend better. I'd like for us to play more consistently on both ends of the court. But it was just good to be able to respond."

"I thought we did a good job down the stretch executing defensively and then offensively, taking what they gave us." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

"It's all about how you respond. You're going to be down sometimes, but it's all about how you respond to get back. That's what we focused on in the second half."

"I was able to get those three free throws and knock those down. I knew that was a turning point and I needed to knock down all three free throws and that's what I did." – Rider redshirt sophomore forward Frederick Scott

- The game was the 49^th in the all-time series with Canisius. The Broncs now lead the all-time series, 36-13.
- The two teams split last season, with each team winning on its home court en route to sharing MAAC Regular Season Champion honors.
- Rider is 3-0 in MAAC play for the first time since 2013-14, when the Broncs won their first three in the league. Rider also started 3-0 in 2004-05 and 2008-09. Rider's only undefeated start to a MAAC slate of more than three games came in 2000-01, when the Broncs began league play with six-straight wins.  
- The Broncs are now 2-7 this season when trailing at the half. Both wins have come in league play and while erasing a double-digit deficit after 20 minutes (down 14 vs. Fairfield on Jan. 3).
- Through three MAAC games, the Broncs have not yet led at the half.   
- All-MAAC performer Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School) returned from a four-game absence due to injury.
- Rider returns to action Sunday, when it concludes the MAAC's Western New York road trip at Niagara. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Scott scored all 22 of his points in the second half on 7-of-8 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Scott played just four minutes and 25 seconds in the first half due to two quick fouls.
- Anthony Durham (Philadelphia, PA/Abington/Putnam Science) and Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) added 14 points apiece. Durham made 4-of-6 field-goal attempts, while Jordan made 6-of-10.
- Jordan added three assists, giving him 400 for his career. He's just the sixth Bronc all-time with 400 career assists.
- Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King/Putnam Science) rounded out the Broncs' double-figures scorers with 11 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. He made 5-of-8 field-goal attempts.
- Kimar Williams (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution [Florida International]) added six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
- Rider forced 13 of Canisius' 19 turnovers in the second half.
- For the game, the Broncs outshot Canisius, 51.7 percent (30-58) to 41.8 percent (28-67), limiting the Griffs to just 36.4 percent (12-33) in the second half, while connecting at 63.0 percent (17-27) in the latter stanza.     
- Following a pair of +20 games in points in the paint to begin league play, Rider enjoyed an 18-point advantage (48-30) tonight. Rider averaged +12.5 points per game more than its MAAC opponents in 2017-18 and has averaged +19.3 through three games this season.  
- For the third-straight game, the opposition led for twice as long as the Broncs in a Rider win. Tonight, Canisius led for 25:46 to the Broncs' 12:18.
- Canisius edged the Broncs on the glass, 40-38, including a 14-9 advantage on the offensive glass and a 17-6 cushion in second-chance points.