LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – All 14 active Rider University men's basketball student-athletes scored, led by 18 points from Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) as the Broncs defeated Division III Immaculata, 113-67, in their season opener Monday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs open the season at 1-0.

After Immaculata started the game hot, making three of its first four attempts for an 8-2 lead and pushed its lead to seven on a Tyler Tillery lay-up at the 15:35 mark of the first half, the Broncs erased the deficit with a 9-0 run. James sparked and punctuated the run with buckets. Immaculata briefly retook a one-point and later tied the game at 19-19. But the Broncs scored the next six points on three-pointers from Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.) and Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) and never trailed again. A 13-0 Rider run capped by a T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) three made it a double-digit advantage and the lead grew to its largest point of the half, 61-38, on Nic Anthony's (Brantford, Ontario/Raleigh Christian Academy) jumper with 12 seconds left in the period.

The Broncs emptied the bench in the second half and the lead grew to its largest point, the final score of 113-67.
 
Quotes & Notes
"I felt like we were just having fun out there. Seeing shots go in made the team happy. We were just going off the momentum in the gym. The crowd helped as well." – Rider senior guard Allen Powell

- Rider won its season opener for the first time since a 91-84 win over Coppin State on Nov. 5, 2019. It was also the Broncs' first opener at home since the 2019-20 season. The losses in the last three seasons came to Providence, Duquesne and Syracuse.
- DJ Dudley (San Diego, CA/LA Premier Prep), JT Langston Jr. (Fort Wayne, IN/San Gabriel Academy [East Los Angeles College]), Ruben Rodriguez (Reading, PA/Reading), Ife West-Ingram (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends), Moustapha Sanoh (Allentown, PA/Executive Education Academy Charter School), Anthony, TJ Weeks Jr. and Tyriek Weeks (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim [Miami Dade College]) all made their Rider debuts.

Broncs by the Numbers
- James scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. He also had four rebounds and four assists.
- T.J. Weeks Jr. contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. He made 3-of-8 three-point attempts.
- Powell went for 12 points, three assists and three steals, making a pair of three-point field goals.  
- Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) added 11 poinst, three assists, three rebounds and two steals in less than 18 minutes. He made 4-of-5 field-goal attempts, including 1-of-2 from long range.
- Dudley and Langston Jr. added 10 points on five field goals made apiece. Dudley went 5-for-8, while Langston Jr. made 5-of-6 from the floor.
- Tyriek Weeks chipped in with nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.
- West-Ingram was one off the team lead with eight rebounds in 16 minutes.
- Rider outshot the Mighty Macs, 55.4 percent (46-83) to 32.8 percent (22-67) from the floor, including a 34.8 percent (8-23) to 21.9 percent (7-32) edge from long range.
- Immaculata took an 84.2 percent (16-19) to 61.9 percent (13-21) advantage from the free-throw line.
- Rider outrebounded Immaculata, 53-34, including a 17-11 edge on the offensive glass.
- The Broncs dominated the paint, outscoring the Mighty Macs, 64-28.
- Rider's bench doubled up Immaculata's, 52-26.  
   
Up Next
The Broncs return to action Friday, when they travel to Milwaukee, WI, to take on nationally-ranked No. 5 Marquette. Tipoff from Fiserv Forum is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (ET)/7:30 p.m. (CT) and will be nationally-televised on FS1.