NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Lansdowne, PA/Monsignor Bonner) scored 15 of his game-high and career-high 19 points in the second half as the Rider University men's basketball team earned a 76-70 road win at Niagara Friday evening. With the win, the Broncs improve to 3-7 (3-4 MAAC), while the Purple Eagles slip to 4-5 (3-4 MAAC).

The Broncs jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the early going, but Niagara quickly regrouped and scored the next seven to take its first lead of the game. Later in the half, a 10-2 Niagara run made it a double-digit Purple Eagles lead at 32-21, before the Broncs responded with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to two. The Niagara lead remained two at the break, 35-33. Jeremiah Pope (Clinton, NC/Clinton [Brunswick C.C.]) led the Broncs with eight points off the bench, while Christian Ings (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) and Dontrell McQuarter (Baton Rouge, LA/Believe Prep [Hinds C.C.]) added six points apiece in the period.

The Broncs took their first lead since less than five minutes into the first half on a Rodney Henderson, Jr. (Carson, CA/Avon Old Farms [CSUN]) three at the 18:06 mark of the second period. Spanning the two periods, Rider went on a 15-3 run, capped by Dwight Murray, Jr.'s (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) transition three at the 15:54 mark to put the Broncs on top, 45-38.

The Rider lead extended to as many as nine points, before a 10-0 Niagara run gave the Purple Eagles the lead on a Kobi Nwandu three-point play at the 3:38 mark. Following four more lead changes, Ogemuno-Johnson made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game with 1:20 remaining. The Broncs' defense forced a three-point misfire from 2020 All-MAAC First Team selection Marcus Hammond and Ogemuno-Johnson then scored on a slip to the basket over Kobi Nwandu with 30 seconds left. The Broncs forced a pair of turnovers on Niagara's final two possessions and made all four of their free-throw attempts to close out the win.

Quotes & Notes
"We finally made some three's to open up the court a little bit. When you're not shooting three's very well, teams are trying to pack it in on us. We've been working on trying to get the ball downhill more – getting gaps, find open guys. I thought we were a little more successful. And Jeremiah coming off the bench and making some shots opened up their defense a little."

"We've been able to defend teams' actions, their plays. It's once they break down, being able to stay in front of the ball and not overhelp. We got caught a couple of times in that first half when they took the lead because we were overhelping. Once we stopped overhelping, we became more disciplined and started figuring things out. We're going to need to do that tomorrow." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

"Coming into the season, I focused on three things – rebounding, scoring inside and my free throws. I would shoot a jumper here and there. Coach does give me the liberty to shoot the jumper, but I tried to get better on the inside because I never really scored a lot in the last two years. This is the first time the team has actually depended on me to score the ball. So now, I just have to take up the challenge and do everything better. – Rider junior forward Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson

- Rider leads the all-time series with Niagara, 28-23, including wins in five of the last six.
- The two teams split last season, with Niagara winning in Western New York on a buzzer beater, before Rider won convincingly in Lawrenceville. They were set to meet in the MAAC Quarterfinals before the tournament was halted.
- Rider has now won the opener of each of its three weekend road MAAC series this season, defeating Manhattan, Fairfield and Niagara.
- The Broncs won for the first time this season when trailing at the half.
- Rider has now shot 50 percent or better in each of its three wins this season and is 3-1 when shooting better than 50 percent.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Rider shot a season-high 54.7 percent (29-53) from the floor, including a season-best 47.1 (8-17) percent from long range. Their eight three-pointers made were second only to an 11-of-24 performance (.458) at St. John's on Dec. 8.
- The 54.7 percent effort represents the Broncs' highest percentage since shooting 61.2 percent (41-62) on Jan. 13, 2019, also at Niagara.
- The Broncs outshot Niagara, 54.7 percent to 43.1 percent (25-58) from the floor and 47.1 percent (8-17) to 33.3 percent (9-27) from long range. Niagara (11-13, .846) attempted and made one more free throw than the Broncs (10-12, .833).
- Ogemuno-Johnson made 7-of-11 attempts from the floor and 5-of-6 free throws. He also grabbed seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
- Murray added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. He matched his career-high of four three-pointers made, connecting on 4-of-6 attempts. He also had four assists in 37 minutes.
- Ings also scored in double figures with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He also matched his career-high of six assists, established last year at Marist (Jan. 12, 2020).
- The game featured just 16 total turnovers – nine by Rider and seven by Niagara.
- McQuarter contributed nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
- Rider and Niagara each had 29 rebounds.
- Rider outscored the Purple Eagles, 34-26, in the paint.