LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) and Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) led the Rider University men's basketball team with 17 points apiece as the Broncs defeated longtime rival Monmouth, 88-62, Wednesday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs (2-4) snap a three-game losing skid, while the Hawks slip to 0-8.

Runs were the story of the first half. The Hawks began the game on an 8-0, before the Broncs responded with the next 14. The Rider lead remained six after the two teams traded a pair of three-pointers each and Monmouth followed with a pair of free throws to cut it to four. But Rider again went running with 10 of the next 12 to build its largest lead of the period at 30-18 with just over six minutes remaining. Murray and Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) scored four points apiece in the run.

Monmouth countered with the next nine points to cut the Broncs' advantage to three, 30-27, but Rider closed the half with seven-straight points to take a 37-27 lead into the locker room at halftime. Eight Broncs scored in the period, with James and Murray leading the balanced Rider attack with eight points apiece. Rider outshot Monmouth, 53.8 percent (14-26) to 33.3 percent (10-30).

Rider kept up the late-second-half momentum, making eight of its first 11 attempts in the second half to build its lead to 20, 60-40, at the 11:14 mark of the period. Monmouth would draw to within no closer than 15 the rest of the way, with the Broncs building its lead to the 26-point final margin of victory.
 
Quotes & Notes
"It's a great series between us. It's been a great series. I'm thankful for the fact that (Monmouth Head Coach King Rice) is one of the few (coaches) who wanted to come in and play us here. Every time I watch his team play, those guys are getting better. I think he ran up against a team that's a little more hungry at this point. We needed a win. We were more desperate. We were the home team. I thought we did a decent job. We could do a lot better. But I'm never going to complain about a win, especially when they've come few and far between of late." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider leads the all-time series with Monmouth, 33-27. The teams split a pair of regular-season meetings last season, before Monmouth edged the Broncs, 72-68, in the MAAC Semifinals. Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett is 11-12 against King Rice's Monmouth teams since taking over in 2012-13.   
- The win was the Broncs' first over a team in the Colonial Athletic Association at the time of the game since a 90-82 win over Drexel on Dec. 16, 2016, at Alumni Gym.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Rider shot a season-high 57.7 percent (30-52) from the floor, including 44.4 percent (8-18) from long range. The last time Rider shot the ball better came on Jan. 13, 2019 at Niagara (61.2 percent, 41-67).
- Murray scored 17 or more points for the sixth-straight game to open the season. He made 6-of-9 attempts from the floor and made all four of his free-throw attempts. He also added four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
- James made 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
- Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) also finished in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-7 from long range.
- Allen Betrand (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic [Towson/Rhode Island]) finished with nine points and led the team with four assists and two blocked shots.
- Ingraham also had nine points in 13 minutes.
- Zahrion Blue (Princeton, NJ/Princeton [Lincoln]) and Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) added seven points and four rebounds apiece.
- The Broncs outshot Monmouth, 57.7 percent (30-52) to 35.1 percent (20-57) from the floor, including a 44.4 percent (8-18) to 35.3 percent (6-17) margin from long range.
- Rider also took a 74.1 percent (20-27) to 55.2 percent (16-29) edge from the free-throw line.
- Though being just +3 in turnovers (14-11), Rider took a 22-13 edge in points off turnovers.
- Rider led for 33:24 of game time to Monmouth's 4:40.
- Monmouth edged Rider on the glass, 35-33, including a 14-4 edge on the offensive boards.

Up Next
After playing the most recent team to leave the MAAC, the Broncs play their league opener at the MAAC's newest team, Mount St. Mary's, Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.