RIVERDALE, NY – Frederick Scott (Munster, IN/Simeon [DePaul]) posted his team-lead-tying fourth double-double of the year with 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Rider University men's basketball team held off Manhattan, 67-63, Sunday afternoon at Draddy Gymnasium. With the win, the Broncs' second-straight, Rider improves to 11-8 (5-4 MAAC), while the Jaspers fall to 8-9 (4-4 MAAC).  

Rider never trailed in the game. The Broncs scored the game's first five points and added an 8-0 run to establish an early eight-point lead. The Jaspers twice cut the Broncs' lead to two in the period, before Rider pushed the lead to nine on a Scott three-pointer with 49 seconds left in the period. The Jaspers scored on their final possession of the half to make it a seven-point Rider lead at the half. Scott led Rider with 13 points in the period. Off the bench, Tyrei Randall (Aurora, CO/St. Thomas More) had seven, Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Lansdowne, PA/Monsignor Bonner) had five and Tyrel Bladen (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) added four points as the Rider reserves outscored Manhattan's 16-2 in the half.

In the second half, Manhattan cut the Broncs' lead to three on a Samir Stewart three-pointer with 9:20 remaining. But the Broncs responded with a 10-0 run to push the lead to its largest point, 13. Scott got things started with four-straight free throws, before Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School) converted a three-point play at the 7:39 mark, saddling Manhattan big man Pauly Paulicap with his fourth foul. Randall finished the run with a three-pointer at the 6:54 mark.

Six-straight Paulicap points cut Rider's lead to three with 43 seconds left, and after Stevie Jordan (Bensalem, PA/Conwell-Egan/API) made a pair of free throws, Stewart hit a three-pointer while being fouled with 14 seconds remaining to cut the Rider lead to two. His free throws wouldn't fall, however, and the Jaspers got no closer. Randall made four-consecutive free throws to ice the game.

Quotes & Notes
"I knew our guys were locked in the minute we got on the bus. I knew they were determined, minus Tyere, to find a way to come down here and get a win. We know it's been tough to come down here and play in this atmosphere. They're a good team. Masiello does a great job with his team and we knew it was going to be a dog fight. We had to battle. We knew we needed to make free throws, we needed to take care of the ball and execute when we had to execute." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider leads the all-time series with Manhattan, 31-24. The Jaspers won the prior meeting on Feb. 5, 2019, at Draddy Gym. However, the Broncs had won the prior five contests between the two teams.
- Rider was playing without senior center Tyere Marshall (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King/Putnam Science), who didn't make the trip with the team due to injury.
- The Broncs return to action Friday, when they play host to Fairfield. Opening tip from
Alumni Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m.  
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Scott matched his season and career high of 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-7 from long range and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
- Five of Scott's 11 rebounds came on the offensive glass. He tied Vaughn and Marshall for the team lead with his fourth double-double.
- A game after upping his career high to 12 points, Randall again eclipsed the mark with 16 points. He also added four rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Ogemuno-Johnson chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
- Jordan had eight assists, one off his season high of nine. He now has 556 career assists, good for third all-time at Rider. Next on the list is Fred Lee in second with 567. Deon Hames is the Broncs' all-time leader with 598 assists.
- Manhattan took a 37.9 percent (22-58) to 36.7 percent (22-60) edge from the floor, while Rider outshot the Jaspers, 27.8 percent (5-18) to 20.8 percent (5-24) from long range. The Broncs also took a 64.3 percent (18-28) to 63.6 percent (14-22) edge from the free-throw line.
- Despite playing without Marshall (7.9 rpg.), Rider took a 44-40 edge on the glass to outrebound its 15^th opponent in 19 games this season.
- Rider's bench outscored that of Manhattan, 27-13.
- Rider led for 39:23 of game time, scoring 14 seconds into the game and scoring on their next possession after the Jaspers tied the game at 5-5.