WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook) scored all 17 of his points in the second half, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at in-state rival Monmouth, 60-58, Friday night at OceanFirst Bank Center. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 10-15 (6-9 MAAC), while the Hawks are now 17-9 (9-6 MAAC).

Neither team could find much rhythm in the opening 20 minutes. The Hawks built a lead of five points, 25-20, on three George Papas free throws with 3:46 remaining in the half, before the Broncs outscored the Hawks, 9-2, to close out the period and take a 29-27 lead into the locker room. Murray led the Broncs with nine points at the half, including a three-pointer off glass with two seconds remaining to give Rider the lead.

The Broncs scored the first four points of the second half to extend to a six-point lead, before the Hawks battled back. Three lead changes and a tie later, Monmouth rebuilt a nine-point lead, 51-42, thanks to an 8-0 run, capped by two Shavar Reynolds free throws with 9:26 remaining. The Broncs wouldn't go away, however, scoring 10 of the next 11 points to tie the game, 52-52, on an Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) jumper with the shot clock expiring at the 3:54 mark.

Monmouth scored the next five points on a Myles Foster lay-up and a George Papas three. Rider again pushed back with consecutive James buckets, the second with 48.8 seconds left to pull to within one, 57-56. Reynolds converted on a drive with 24 seconds remaining to push the Hawks' lead back to three, before Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Monsignor Bonner) made a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining to again cut the deficit to one. Reynolds made 1-of-2 free throws with 7.2 seconds left to make it 60-58, but Dwight Murray, Jr.'s (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) deep three wouldn't fall at the buzzer.

Quotes & Notes
"We played afraid in the first half. We played scared. We played tentative. We played passive. Because they got up in us a little bit, we played passive. And then once we figured it out a little bit, just move, set screens and cut hard, then we were better off for it."

"They dominated us on the glass. That was the biggest thing at the end of the day. They weren't making shots. I thought we did a decent job on Papas. 5-for-27 (as a team on three-point field goals), 2-for-10 (Papas individually). I mean you can't ask for a better defense on Papas. He hit a bit one. Mental breakdown on our behalf. But that's where you have to come up with rebounds on the glass. 17 offensive rebounds. That's the story of the game right there. That's toughness. We lack that a lot of times and tonight, that showed up bigtime." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider leads the all-time series with Monmouth, 31-26. MU swept a pair of close games last season in Lawrenceville - a 77-74 overtime decision to open the weekend series and a 65-62 win to take the sweep. Tonight's results make it three Monmouth wins in a row by three points or fewer. Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett is 9-11 against King Rice's Monmouth teams since taking over in 2012-13. 
- The Broncs return to action Sunday, when they travel to Manhattan. Tip-off from Draddy Gym in Riverdale, NY, is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Broncs by the Numbers
- James scored all of his 17 points in the second half on 7-of-11 shooting and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line after missing his only two attempts in the first half.
- Murray finished in double figures with 11 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.
- Powell added nine points and five assists.
- Dimencio Vaughn (New York, NY/Callaway/The Masters School [Ole Miss]) contributed seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds. He also made two steals to run his program-record total to 211.
- Ogemuno-Johnson chipped in with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
- The Broncs outshot Monmouth, 40.4 percent (23-57) to 33.8 percent (22-65) from the floor and 20.0 percent (3-15) to 18.5 percent (5-27) from long range.
- Monmouth took a 64.7 percent (11-17) to 52.9 percent (9-17) edge from the free-throw line.
- The Hawks outrebounded the Broncs, 45-39, including a 17-9 edge on the offensive glass.
- Monmouth enjoyed a 13-0 edge in fast-break points.