GAME 1 – Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Rider Broncs (0-0) vs. Duquesne Dukes (0-0)
Location: Pittsburgh, PA – UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse
Tip: 7 p.m.
Live Video – ESPN+
Live Stats – GoDuquesne.com
Twitter – Twitter.com/RiderMBB
 
What You Need To Know
- Rider opens the 2021-22 season Tuesday night at Duquesne on ESPN+.  
- Dwight Murray, Jr. and Dimencio Vaughn were named to the Preseason All-MAAC First and Second Teams, respectively.
- Murray led the Broncs in points (15.8), rebounds (6.0), assists (4.1) and steals (1.0) per game last season, while shooting 85.9 percent from the free-throw line and 41.7 percent from long range. He earned All-MAAC Second Team honors last year.
- Vaughn returns to Rider following last season at Ole Miss. He scored 1,239 points, grabbed 565 rebounds and made 165 steals in his first four years in the Cranberry and White and projects to be the Broncs' all-time steals leader with another full season played in 2021-22. Vaughn was a two-time All-MAAC First Team selection – the only Bronc to achieve the feat in Kevin Baggett's tenure with the Broncs and one of just two First Teamers since 2012-13 (Matt Lopez).
- The Broncs were picked fifth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll a year after finishing 11^th of 11 teams in 2020-21.
- In addition to Vaughn, the Broncs added Division I transfers Sedrick Altman (Pepperdine) and Mervin James (North Alabama). Altman was a starter and 2019 West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team honoree at Pepperdine, while James earned All-Atlantic Sun Second Team honors last season. All three transfers had prior connections to Rider, with Altman's brother playing for Baggett when he was an assistant at UMBC and James being a high school teammate of Murray.
- Rider also returns starting center Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson and starting guard Allen Powell. Ogemuno-Johnson averaged 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting a team-best 60.6 percent from the floor. Powell lived up to his reputation as a sharpshooter, hitting a MAAC-best 44.0 percent from long range.
- Despite finished 11^th in the MAAC Standings last season, the Broncs earned a MAAC Championship First Round win over sixth-seeded Canisius on the strength of 22 points from Murray and 19 from Powell.  
- The Broncs won an exhibition game against Kutztown, 78-76, Saturday evening. Vaughn posted a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while James also scored 19 points. Murray did not play due to a minor injury.
- 10th-year Head Coach Kevin Baggett's teams have posted a 147-133 record. Baggett won MAAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018.
- Only John Carpenter (292) and Thomas Leyden (187) have more wins at Rider than Baggett.
- Listen to all Rider men's and women's home games this season on 107.7 The Bronc Retro WRRC2. Tune in online at 1077TheBronc.com, or download our free Google Play, Apple and Alexa apps and skills. Search and download: WRRC2.