LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Five Broncs scored in double figures as the Rider University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire in an 82-61 victory over in-state rival Saint Peter's Friday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs' sixth-straight, and a Siena loss in overtime at Manhattan, Rider (12-9, 9-3 MAAC) moves into a tie with the Saints atop the MAAC, a game up in the win column over Iona (8-3 MAAC). The Peacocks fall to 9-13 (4-9 MAAC).   

Rider used an early 9-0 run to create separation. A pair of buckets from Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) bookended the run, with Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) converting an up-and-under lay-up and Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook) hitting a three, putting Rider up, 14-5, at the 14:35 mark. After Saint Peter's scored the next five points, Rider went on a 23-2 run to build a 25-point cushion, 37-12, by the 5:20 mark of the half. The Broncs held the Peacocks without a field goal for a span of more than 10 minutes of game time and extended the lead to as many as 27 points, 44-17, at the 2:38 mark. After Saint Peter's scored the next six points, Rider ended the half with a Powell pull-up, taking a 46-23 cushion into the locker room.

Rider outshot Saint Peter's, 60.9 percent (14-23) to 23.8 percent (5-21) in the first half, including a 100 percent (4-4) to 20.0 percent (2-10) edge from long range. The Broncs took advantages of 16-6 in the paint, 14-2 on fast breaks and 23-6 in bench scoring. Powell led the Broncs with 10 first-half points, while Murray and Ogemuno-Johnson had eight points apiece. All 12 healthy scholarship players played for Rider in the first half, with nine scoring.

An 8-0 run early in the second half pushed Rider's lead to 29 points four minutes into the period and the Peacocks never got closer than to within 17 points the rest of the way.   

Quotes & Notes
"I thought it was a great job, start-to-finish. A little dicey in the second half a little bit when you play with a lead like that. I thought our guys defended their behinds off today. What we've worked on and we're just getting better." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The Broncs hold a 41-34 lead over Saint Peter's in the all-time series. The two teams split the last two regular-season series, with each team winning on the road last season. Kevin Baggett's teams are 14-10 against Saint Peter's, including a 6-4 mark at Alumni Gym.
- Rider held Saint Peter's without a field goal for a span of at least 10 minutes for the second time in as many meetings. The Broncs held the Peacocks without a field goal for a span of 12:32 last Feb. 11 in Jersey City.
- Rider had won its last five games, all when trailing at the half. The Broncs led at the half for the first time since Jan. 6 vs. Quinnipiac and won when leading at the half for the first time since Dec. 31 at Canisius.
- Rider's six-game winning streak is the longest current streak in the MAAC.
- The Broncs have won six-straight games for the third time under Baggett, with the most recent coming as part of a 10-game winning streak from Jan. 18-Feb. 18, 2018, the longest string of victories in the 11^th-year Head Coach's tenure. Rider also won six-straight from Dec. 13, 2014, to Jan. 10, 2015.
- The Broncs are now 6-2 at Alumni Gym this season.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Murray led the Broncs with 15 points and six assists, while also grabbing five rebounds. He made 5-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long range, and connected on both of his free-throw attempts.
- Murray was a game-high +22 in his 36 minutes played.
- Adetokunbo Bakare (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict's [NJIT/Indian Hills C.C.]) scored a career-high 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long range.
- Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) also scored 11 points, including eight in the second half after sitting most of the first due to early foul trouble.
- Powell and Ogemuno-Johnson added 10 points apiece. Ogemuno-Johnson also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
- Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) scored a season-high eight points on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
- Allen Betrand (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic [Towson/Rhode Island]) connected on 2-of-3 three-point attempts for six points.
- Jack McFadden (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell) scored his first points as a Bronc, hitting a jumper in the paint.
- 11 of the 13 Broncs who entered the game scored at least two points.
- Rider shot 54.2 percent (26-48) from the floor, its second-highest percentage of the year behind only the 57.7 percent (30-52) it shot on Nov. 30 against Monmouth.
- The Broncs held Saint Peter's to 36.7 percent (18-49) shooting on the night.
- Rider outshot Saint Peter's, 66.7 percent (8-12) to 25.0 percent (5-20) from beyond the three-point arc.
- The Peacocks took an 80.0 percent (20-25) to 78.6 percent (22-28) edge from the free-throw line.
- Rider outrebounded Saint Peter's, 33-22.
- The Broncs took a 30-22 edge in the paint, a 22-8 advantage on fast breaks and the Rider bench outscored that of Saint Peter's, 36-22.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Manhattan. Opening tip from Draddy Gym is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN3.