LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) scored a team-high 27 points and grabbed six rebounds, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell to Fairfield, 88-81, Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gym. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 1-7 (0-2 MAAC), while the Stags are now 2-6 (1-1 MAAC).

A fast-paced first half saw nine lead changes and five ties. The Broncs led by four early on a James three-point play at the 17:05 mark, before the Stags used a 7-0 run to turn a one-point Rider advantage (29-28) into a 35-29 Fairfield lead. Fairfield twice pushed the advantage to eight late in the period, before Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) converted a bucket before the halftime buzzer to cut it to 48-42 Fairfield at the break.

Fairfield maintained the lead throughout the second half, pushing its advantage to as many as 13 at the 15:42 and 15:10 marks. Rider answered with an 8-0 run to cut it to five-point deficit and further whittled to four on James' bucket in the paint at the 9:03 mark. Fairfield pushed its lead back to 10 on three occasions, before a 7-0 Rider run, including five points from James and two Powell free throws at the 2:17 mark, whittled the deficit down to three. Fairfield again led by three with 1:24 left following two James free throws, but the Broncs would draw no closer.  

Quotes & Notes
"Give credit to Fairfield. They came in here and just got after us. It's as simple as that. They got after us."

"Plenty of breakdowns. Shot clock's running down and we're fouling. We're not blocking out, coming up with the loose balls. Too many breakdowns, too many overhelps. Gave up 60 percent from three to start the first half. They shot 52 percent for the game. Not going to win games like that." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The Stags pushed their lead in the all-time series to 38-36. Rider scored a pair of dramatic regular-season wins over the Stags last season to cut Fairfield's lead in the all-time series to 37-36. Fairfield had won the prior three meetings to retake the series lead after Rider won the previous six meetings to even the series. Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett's teams are 12-11 against the Stags.
- The Broncs returned home following nearly a month on the road, with the prior game at Alumni Gym coming on Nov. 6 against Immaculata.

Broncs by the Numbers
- James scored in double figures for the eighth time in as many games this season. He scored 27 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. He grabbed five of his six rebounds on the offensive glass and added two steals, two assists and a blocked shot.
- Powell added 17 points 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, 1-of-5 from beyond the arc and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. He grabbed four rebounds.
- Powell now sits three points shy of 1,000 for his Rider career with 997.
- T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) added 13 points and nine rebounds. He made 4-of-9 attempts from the floor and all five of his free-throw attempts. He also made three steals.
- Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) added six points and five rebounds, making 3-of-6 attempts from the floor.
- Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) added four points, matched his career high with six rebounds, dished out three assists and made two steals.
- Ife West-Ingram (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) gave the Broncs a spark with four points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- The Stags outshot the Broncs, 52.0 percent (26-50) to 40.8 percent (31-76) from the floor, including a 47.4 percent (9-19) to 8.3 percent (1-12) advantage from long range. The Stags also outshot the Broncs, 84.4 percent (27-32) to 75.0 percent (18-24) from the free-throw line.
- Rider outrebounded Fairfield, 44-33, including a 24-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The margin resulted in a 23-7 edge in second-chance points.
- The Broncs outscored Fairfield, 50-26, in the paint.  

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Friday, when they play host to Stonehill. Tip-off from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.