LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) scored a season-high 22 points, but the Rider University men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to Canisius, 81-80, Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium. Canisius' Jonathan Sanks banked in a three-pointer with 7.9 seconds left to give the Griffs (10-13, 7-4 MAAC) the win. The Broncs slip to 12-11 (7-4 MAAC) with the loss.

Canisius rode hot shooting early to a 13-point lead, 37-24, with just over five minutes to play in the first half. But Rider outscored the Griffs, 16-5, the rest of the period to whittle the deficit to two. Jordan led the Broncs with 11 first-half points. Rider shot 60.0 percent (18-30) in the opening 20 minutes. Canisius shot 53.6 percent (15-28), including 6-of-14 from long range and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Jordan's three-pointer at the 16:27 mark of the second gave Rider its first lead of the game, 51-50. The Broncs would maintain the lead for more than the next 16 minutes, pushing it to as many as 11 points on Frederick Scott's (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) bucket in the paint at the 8:39 mark. Rider's lead remained six with less than two minutes to play and stood at four with just over a minute left.

Malik Johnson got inside for two with 1:01 remaining, before the Broncs milked the shot clock all the way down, misfired, got the offensive board and Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School) was fouled. But Vaughn misfired on both free throws, leaving the door open for Sanks' triple. Following a Canisius timeout, the Broncs turned the ball over bringing it up court and the Griffs were able to run out the clock.  

Quotes & Notes
"I thought Canisius did a good job coming in and beating us. At the end of the day, we beat ourselves. Poor execution down the stretch. Defensive breakdowns. Missed free throws."

(On how to bounce back from this loss) "Come back tomorrow. Get ready to go. Get out of your feelings, get out of your way, find a way." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The game was the 50^th in the all-time series with Canisius. Rider now leads, 36-14.     
- The loss snapped the Broncs' 17-game winning streak at Alumni Gym, dating back to Dec. 16, 2017.
- Rider trailed at the half for the eighth time in 11 MAAC games. The Broncs erased a double-digit deficit for the seventh time in league contests and is now 4-3 in those games.
- Rider returns to action Sunday, when it plays host to Siena at 2 p.m.      
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Jordan's 22 points give him 991 for his career. He also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
- Scott (14), Vaughn (13) and Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King/Putnam Science) also finished in double figures scoring.
- Rider shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the floor, outshooting Canisius (50.0%, 28-56). However, the Griffs made 10-of-26 three-pointers and 15-of-17 free throws, to the Broncs' 3-of-12 from long range and 17-of-29 from the free-throw line.
- Jordan's two steals give him 129 for his career, four away from the top 10 in program history.
- Vaughn had a game-high three blocks.  
- Entering the game 10^th in the nation at 9.1 steals per game, Rider had eight steals today.
- Rider outscored its opponent in the paint for the 10th time in 11 MAAC games, taking a 48-32 edge. The Broncs have now outscored league foes, 436-322, in the paint for an average of +10.4 points per game.