RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead five Broncs in double-figures scoring as the Rider University men's basketball team defeated Bucknell, 85-79, in the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division Consolation Game Wednesday afternoon at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Convention Center. With the win, the Broncs (3-4) and Bison (1-5) split a pair of games over the last eight days, with Rider snapping a three-game losing skid and Bucknell extending to one of its own.

Rider built an 11-0 lead to begin the game three points each from Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor), Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) and Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School [Ole Miss]) to go with a bucket inside from James. Still a 10-point Rider cushion at the eight-minute mark of the period, Bucknell scored 22 of the next 27 points to build a seven-point lead, 38-31, with 2:48 remaining. The Broncs trimmed the deficit to three on a Nehemiah Benson (Streetsboro, OH/Lutheran East) bucket inside, before a pair of Bucknell free throws pushed it back to 44-39 at the half. James led Rider with nine points at the half.

An 8-2 Bucknell second-half-opening run pushed the Bison's lead to its largest point (11) before the Broncs started to chip away. Down nine, Rider went on a 7-0 run to cut it to two with 13:24 remaining. The run consisted of an Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.) three, a jumper from Murray and a Benson bucket in the paint.

Rider grabbed the lead back on a James bucket with 9:24 remaining before Bucknell retook the lead on a Jake van der Heijden triple. The wheels nearly fell off when Murray didn't get the call on contact in the lane, was assessed a technical for his complaint and Head Coach Kevin Baggett was also issued a technical for asking that Murray be given a warning prior to the technical. Bucknell's Andrew Funk made 3-of-4 free throws, pushing the Bison's lead to five, 70-65, at the 6:43 mark.

Still down, four with 5:30 remaining, the Broncs scored nine-straight points to put the game away. Vaughn sparked the run with a pair of free throws and gave the Broncs the lead on a third-chance putback at the 3:10 mark. James followed with two free throws and McKeithan punctuated it by banking in a three at the end of the shot clock with 1:08 left. Bucknell would draw to within no closer than four the rest of the way.   
 
Quotes & Notes
"We knew we needed to have this game. We went in at halftime and said we needed to do whatever we needed to do to win. If that was blocking out, block out harder. If it was diving on a loose ball, we had do a better job. Guys were firing off the screens on Funk, making sure he didn't have many open looks. We dove on loose balls. We got offensive in transition. We went inside to Dimencio. We went inside to Mervin."

"People don't understand right now – I'm minus Tyrel Bladen and I'm minus Ajiri. We're still learning. We're adjusting. We went into this thing thinking we were going to have multiple bigs. We only have Mervin at this point and Dimencio is undersized. People have to understand that it's just going to take some time. Mervin finally arrived. Mervin is an All-Tournament player today. We played better as a team. We shared the ball more. We did some better things and defensively, we just locked down better." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- With the season split, Bucknell now leads the all-time series with Rider, 31-26. The two teams were Middle Atlantic Conference and East Coast Conference foes from the mid-1960's to the early 90's.
- James was named to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team.
- Rider was playing in the Cancun Challenge for the third time and the fourth time in Mexico.
- Rider trailed at the half for just the second time in seven games this season.
- The Broncs played without starting center Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Monsignor Bonner) who couldn't make it to Mexico because of visa issues.
- Bucknell was also without its center, Andre Screen, due to injury. Screen went for 20 points and eight rebounds in last week's game.
- The Broncs return to action Sunday, when they travel to the University of South Carolina. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.   

Broncs by the Numbers
- The Broncs scored a season-high 85 points, eclipsing the 81 they scored Nov. 12 against Coppin State.
- James made 8-of-14 attempts from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also had three steals.
- The Broncs were +18 in James' 20 minutes and 16 seconds on the floor. James fouled out for the fourth time this season.
- Vaughn scored 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 2-of-3 from long range, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds.
- McKeithan made his first start this season and scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 2-for-4 from long range and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds.
- Murray compiled his second double-double of the year with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He also had two steals.
- Playing off the bench for the first time this year, Powell scored 10 points on 2-of-5 from long range and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
- A day after Rider was granted just eight free-throw attempts, the Broncs and Bison each shot 24 free throws. Bucknell took an 83.3 percent (20-24) to 79.2 percent (19-24) edge.
- Benson added eight points and six rebounds, ending the three-game tournament with averages of 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
- A day after turning the ball over a season-high 21 times, the Broncs committed just eight turnovers, while forcing 16 Bucknell turnovers.
- Rider took a 16-5 edge in second-chance points, the product of a 39-33 edge on the glass and a 13-6 advantage on the offensive boards.
- For the game, Bucknell outshot Rider, 44.6 percent (25-56) to 42.6 percent (29-68) from the floor. However, the Broncs took a 47.1 percent (8-17) to 32.1 percent (9-28) advantage from long range.
- An evenly-played game, both teams led for more than 19 minutes, with the Bison (19:43) holding the lead for slightly more time than the Broncs (19:01).