NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King/Putnam Science) had a season-high 22 points and 14 rebounds in his first double-double of the season as the Rider University men's basketball team cruised past Niagara, 104-84, Sunday afternoon at the "Taps" Gallagher Center. The Broncs (9-7) shot a season-high 61.2 percent (41-67), including 73.7 percent (28-38) in the second half, to improve to 4-0 in the MAAC for just the second time in 22 years in the league - the first since 2000-01. Niagara falls to 8-9 (1-3 MAAC) with the loss.

Rider created separation in the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 32-24 lead. Though Rider would hold Niagara to just one field goal in the final seven-plus minutes of the first half, the Purple Eagles converted their last eight free-throw attempts and a James Towns runner with two seconds left in the period to close to within two, 36-34, after 20 minutes.

Niagara opened the second-half scoring with a Keleaf Tate three to retake a 37-36 lead. However, the lead lasted just 15 seconds and a 15-2 Rider run created a double-digit cushion. Anthony Durham (Philadelphia, PA/Abington/Putnam Science) scored seven points in the run. The Broncs' lead would swell to as many as 26 points on a Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) three-point play with 3:33 remaining.
 
Quotes & Notes
"I thought our guys did a really good job, especially in the second half. We defended better. We did a good job guarding Prochet, their best player. I thought we did a better job guarding the ball screens, which hurt us in the first half. We were over-helping on some of the shooters. We just were very attentive to detail with what we needed to do defensively."

"Offensively, our focus was to get it inside to our big guys, get it down there to Tyere. He responded. Guys played off of him. Stevie played unbelievable. Kimar set the tone early in the game. It was just a team effort today that I'm appreciating and enjoying because that's what we're going to need to do - play together like we've been starting to play together of late." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The game was the 48^th in the all-time series with Niagara. The Broncs now lead the all-time series, 26-22.
- Rider has won six of the last seven at the Gallagher Center.
- The Broncs led at the half for the first time in four league games.  
- Rider is 4-0 in MAAC play for just the second time in 22 years in the league. The first time came in 2000-01, when the Broncs began league play with six-straight wins. 
- The Broncs swept the MAAC's Western New York weekend for the first time since 2014-15.
- Rider returns to action Saturday, when it plays host to Manhattan. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.  
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Six Rider players scored in double figures, led by Marshall's 22 points. Jordan Allen (Dover, DE/Dover) scored all 16 of his points in the second half, while Jordan, Kimar Williams (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution [Florida International] and Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) had 14 points apiece. Durham rounded out the double-figures scorers with 12 points.
- Six Broncs scored in double figures for the first time since Feb. 16, 2011, when Mike Ringgold (14), Anthony Myles (12), Danny Stewart (12), Jonathan Thompson (12), Novar Gadson (11) and Brandon Penn (10) each scored at least 10 points in an 82-70 win at Loyola (Md.).
- The Broncs shot a season-high 61.2 percent (41-67), their best single-game performance since shooting 61.4 percent (43-70) in last year's regular-season finale against Iona (Feb. 25, 2018).
- Rider's 73.7 percent (28-38) from the floor in the second half is easily the Broncs' best single-half shooting performance at least the last five years. The next-highest single-half percentage was 68.0 percent (17-25) in the second half against Hampton on Nov. 24, 2017, in Las Vegas.
- Rider scored 68 points in the second half, its most in a single half in more than nine years. The next-closest total in that time frame was 65 scored against Quinnipiac on Feb. 11, 2017.
- After leading for just 24 minutes and 43 seconds in their first three league games combined, Rider led for 32 minutes and 27 seconds today.    
- The double-double was Marshall's first of the year after posting a team-best seven a year ago. He had a strong showing from both the floor (7-11) and the free-throw line (8-of-10).
- Jordan dished out a team-high eight of Rider's 20 assists, while also making a pair of steals, giving him 115 for his career, tied for 20^th all-time at Rider with former teammate Jimmie Taylor '17.
- Williams hit 7-of-8 attempts from the floor, with the lone miss coming on a forced shot at the end of the shot clock. He also added four assists and four rebounds.
- Durham made 5-of-7 from the floor, including all three from inside the three-point arc and 2-of-4 from beyond it.
- After struggling from beyond the three-point arc through three league games (7-40), Rider knocked down nine three-point field goals (9-24) today. Allen led the way with 4-of-9, while Durham hit 2-of-4. Scott, Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School) and Ryan O'Leary (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville) each added one triple.
- Allen has now knocked down three or more three-point field goals in 26-of-48 career games played.
- The three-pointer accounted for O'Leary's first-career points.
- Rider outscored Niagara, 60-36, in the paint – the Broncs' fourth-straight game over at least +18 in the paint to begin league play. Rider has now outscored the opposition by 82 points in the paint through four games, an average of 20.5 points per game. Rider averaged 12.5 points per game more than its MAAC opponents in 2017-18.
- Rider outrebounded Niagara, 39-30.