SYRACUSE, NY – Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) went for 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in his Broncs debut, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell in its season opener at Syracuse, 87-52, Saturday night at the Carrier Dome. With the result, the Orange improves to 3-0, while the Broncs are 0-1.

The Orange came out red hot in the first half, making eight of its first nine attempts from long range to build a 29-8 lead just over nine minutes in. Strong contributions from Murray (10 points), Rodney Henderson, Jr. (Carson, CA/Avon Old Farms [CSUN])(8) and Christian Ings (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti)(7) kept the deficit within the same range, as the Orange took a 49-29 edge into the locker room at halftime.

Rider would draw to within no closer than 19 points in the second half as Syracuse built a lead of as many as 38 points.

Quotes & Notes
"I thought we did some good things. We've got a long way to go. We've got to compete better. We've got to get back to practice and clean up a lot of things, but we've got compete harder." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider and Syracuse were playing for just the second time in two all-time series, which began exactly 70 years ago on Dec. 5, 1950. The Orange took a 2-0 lead.
- Six Broncs – Murray, Henderson, Nehemiah Benson (Streetsboro, OH/Lutheran East), Lawrence Foreman (Kingston, Jamaica/Woodstock Academy), Jeremiah Pope (Clinton, NC/Clinton [Brunswick C.C.]) and Jaelen McGlone (Cheltenham, PA/Cheltenham) each made their Rider debuts.
- Murray, Henderson and Tyrel Bladen (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) made their first starts for the Broncs.
- Rider returned just four players and 12.4 percent of its scoring from a year ago – second-least in NCAA Division I this season.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Murray made 7-of-19 attempts from the floor, including 3-of-6 from long range to go along with 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
- Ings was the Broncs' next-leading scorer with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Henderson and Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.) had eight points apiece.
- All eight of Henderson's points came in the first half, while Powell's eight came in the second half.
-  Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Lansdowne, PA/Monsignor Bonner) grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Broncs on the boards.
- Syracuse outshot Rider, 54.9 percent (28-51) to 29.3 percent (17-58) from the floor, 50.0 percent (15-30) to 25.9 percent (7-27) from long range and 80.0 percent (16-20) to 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free-throw line.
- The 15 three-pointers for Syracuse matched a Carrier Dome record.
- Syracuse took a 41-29 edge on the glass.