NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) scored a game-high 22 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with less than four seconds remaining as the Rider University men's basketball team erased an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat Iona, 70-67, Sunday afternoon at Hynes Athletic Center. The win snaps a three-game losing skid for the Broncs (7-9, 4-3 MAAC) and the Gaels' (12-6, 5-2 MAAC) 21-game home winning streak.

Tied after nearly the first eight minutes, Iona created separation with an 11-1 run capped by consecutive Berrick JeanLouis drives. A Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) three-point play and a transition jumper from Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) cut the deficit in half and drew a Rick Pitino timeout. The Gaels responded with six straight to push the lead back to double digits and eventually pushed their advantage to 15, before Murray scored the half's final three points to make it a 40-28 deficit at the break. Murray led Rider with 11 points, while Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) added six points and five rebounds before departing after eight minutes with his second foul.

Iona extended its lead to 18 early in the second half, hitting three-straight three-pointers, including two from Jenkins. The Broncs scored the next five points to begin whittling away, before a 10-0 run cut it to four just past the midway point of the period. James got things going with a fast-break lay-up, before Nehemiah Benson (Streetsboro, OH/Lutheran East) knocked down a pull-up jumper. Threes from Murray and Adetokunbo Bakare (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict's [Indian Hills C.C./NJIT]) capped the run. Following a Jenkins floater, Bakare nailed two more triples to tie the game at 54-54. Murray then made a short jumper to give Rider the lead, 56-54, and the advantage grew to three following two Ingraham free throws with 4:43 left. The Rider run finished at 20-3 over a span of 8:18 of game time.

The Gaels weren't done, however, retaking the lead on consecutive buckets from Nelly Junior Joseph and Cruz Davis. Murray was fouled attempting a three-pointer on the other end and made all three free throws to give Rider a 65-63 lead with 1:46 left. Iona would tie the game twice more, the last coming on two Jenkins free throws with 27 seconds left. But with the shot clock off, Murray milked most of the clock and lined up a right wing three, knocking it down over the contest from Berrick JeanLouis with 3.8 seconds left. Without a timeout, Iona got a Jenkins three-point attempt off from the top of the key, but it didn't draw iron.   

Quotes & Notes
"My guy here (Murray) always wants the big shot. And, even if he misses it, he's going to want it again. It's just dealing with adversity at its best. Nothing was going right for us. We stayed together. We talked about it at halftime. We just started getting stops. And our whole thing was just try to keep it close and find a way in the end." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

"All my teammates knew I was going to take that shot and they all trusted me. I'm just proud of my team that we came back and fought back. That's nothing surprising, like Coach said. Georgia game, we came back. Niagara game, we came back. I missed the Niagara shot. I knew I was going to keep on having those [chances] again. It's just that I never give up. I had those two games on an off night. I stayed in the gym. Took a little rest. Other than that, Coach always trusts in me regardless and I trust in him. And my teammates trust in me, so that's a good feeling." – Rider Senior Guard Dwight Murray, Jr.

- The Broncs won their second-straight against Iona. The Gaels lead the all-time series, 45-28. The Broncs snapped a decade-long MAAC Quarterfinal drought and an eight-game losing skid to Iona in last year's MAAC Championships, defeating the top-seeded Gaels, 71-70, after losing both games in the regular season to Iona.
- Iona had won its last 21 games at the Hynes Center and lost for the first time with Rick Pitino as Head Coach with fans in attendance. The Gaels were 22-2 entering the game at Hynes under Pitino, but the only two losses came while fans were not permitted in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Rider's last win in New Rochelle came in a 103-85 victory on Feb. 19, 2017, when all five Rider starters scored in double figures, led by 28 from Jimmie Taylor. Rider had lost four-straight at the Hynes Center.
- The last time Rider won consecutive games against Iona came in a season sweep in 2008-09.  
- The Broncs moved to 4-5 in true road contests this season.
- Baggett shook up the starting line-up, with Tyrel Bladen (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) starting for the second time this season, the first since Nov. 22 at Rutgers. Zahrion Blue (Princeton, NJ/Princeton [Lincoln (Pa.)] also made his first start as a Bronc.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Murray scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range, to go along with 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. He also added six rebounds and four assists.
- James chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds. He made 7-of-11 attempts from the floor.
- Bakare made his only three attempts in the game, all from long range, for nine points, matching his season highs. He also grabbed four rebounds.
- Ingraham added eight points on 2-for-2 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Included in the production was a pair of conventional three-point plays. Ingraham also blocked two shots.
- Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) contributed four points, six rebounds and three steals.
- Powell had six points and a team-high five assists.
- Rider matched its season high with 17 assists, established Dec. 28 at Georgia.
- Rider's bench outscored Iona's, 25-6.
- The Broncs outshot Iona, 46.6 percent (27-58) to 39.7 percent (23-58), including a 42.9 percent (6-14) to 23.8 percent (5-21) margin from long range.
- Rider also took a 71.4 percent (10-14) to 57.1 percent (16-28) edge from the free-throw line.
- Iona outrebounded Rider, 37-34, including a 17-13 margin on the offensive glass.
- The Gaels enjoyed advantages of 17-7 on second chances and 15-6 on fast-break points.
- Iona led for 30:16 of game time to Rider's 5:31 with the lead.
- Rider outscored Iona, 42-27, in the second half.
- The Broncs won for the third time (3-6) when trailing at the half.
 
Up Next
The Broncs return to action on Friday, Jan. 20, when they play host to Niagara. Opening tip from Alumni Gym is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.