UNCASVILLE, CT – The Rider University men's basketball finished on a 25-0 run to defeat Columbia, 87-63, Saturday night and advance to Sunday's Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament Presented by Citi Springfield Championship. The Broncs will face the winner of tonight's other Springfield bracket game between Central Connecticut and Vermont.

The Lions built an early lead that grew to as many as nine points on a Mike Smith three-pointer at the 7:36 mark. But the Broncs responded with a 10-0 run, including a pair of Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) jumpers to take their first lead of the game at the 3:35 mark. With the game tied at 39-39, Smith's off-balanced three from the top of the key fell, giving Columbia a three-point lead at the break. Both teams shot well in the opening 20 minutes, with the Lions taking a 55.2 percent (16-29) to 50.0 percent (15-30) edge.

Columbia further built its lead to 52-42 at the 14:33 mark of the second half, with Jack Forrest scoring five-straight points for the Lions. Consecutive three-pointers from Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) and Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School) cut the deficit to four, before the Broncs retook the lead with another 7-0 run, with the last five being scored by Scott.

Following seven more lead changes, the Broncs took the lead for good on the eighth, as a fast-break lay-up from Marshall sparked the decisive 25-0 run at the eight-minute mark. Marshall led the Broncs with 11 points in the run, while Jordan added nine, Vaughn had four and Scott contributed a free throw. In the run, the Rider defense forced 18-consecutive Columbia missed shots and four turnovers.

Quotes & Notes
"I thought we defended well in the second half. I thought our guys really buckled down. We really limited them from the three-point line. They had 10 in the first half. I just thought the guys really did a good job communicating, talking, doing the things we needed them to do out on the court, by themselves; not from the coaches."

"We were paying so much attention to Smith and we were leaving guys open because we were trying to slow Smith down. Finally, we were like, 'let's make Smith finish. Let him finish at the basket or do whatever he's going to do. If he's going to score two's, we certainly don't want to give up three's.' I thought that helped us and I thought our guys paid more attention to their men and not leaving open guys nearly as much as we did in the first half." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider now leads the all-time series, 3-1. It was the first meeting since Jan. 15, 1992.
- The Broncs were facing former Rider assistant coach Jim Engles, who spent six seasons in Lawrenceville under Don Harnum.  
- Rider is wrapping up a stretch of six-straight games away from home to begin the 2019-20 season. Up next is the fourth and final game of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament Presented By Citi. Rider concludes the tournament with a neutral-site contest at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, against Central Connecticut or Vermont tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. in the Springfield Championship Game.
- Rider's home opener comes Dec. 3 against Bucknell.   
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- A game after going for career highs of 28 points and 20 rebounds at UMass, Marshall finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, hitting on 10-of-15 field-goal attempts. He's now shooting 71.2 percent (37-52) on the year.
- Jordan added 19 points and seven assists. His fifth assist of the night was the 500^th of his collegiate career. Only Deon Hames (598) and Fred Lee (567) have dished out more assists at Rider.
- Scott added 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long range, and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
- Vaughn finished in double-figures with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long range.
- Willy Nuñez, Jr. (Orlando, FL/Oak Ridge [Florida International]) made his first start of the season and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Rider outshot Columbia, 51.6 percent (32-62) to 35.7 percent (25-70), including a 40.0 percent (6-15) to 36.4 percent (12-33) edge from long range. The Broncs took a 53.1 percent (17-32) to 22.0 percent (9-41) advantage from the floor in the second half.
- Rider outrebounded its fifth-straight opponent to open the season, taking a 41-34 edge on the glass.
- Rider committed a season-low 12 turnovers for the second-straight game.
- The Broncs outscored Columbia, 50-18, in the paint, 25-10, off turnovers, 15-6, on fast breaks and 12-4 on second chances.