LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) and Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) posted double-doubles as the Rider University men's basketball team earned a 67-56 road win at Manhattan Sunday afternoon, extending its win streak to seven games. With Siena's loss to Niagara, the Broncs (13-9, 10-3 MAAC) take over sole possession of first place in the MAAC, a game ahead of Iona (9-3 MAAC) in the win column and a full game ahead of Siena (9-4 MAAC). The Jaspers fall to 8-14 (6-7 MAAC) with the loss.

Rider never trailed in the game for the second-straight contest. After the Broncs scored the first four points of the game and Manhattan countered with six of the next eight to tie it, Rider went on a 10-0 run to create separation. Nehemiah Benson (Streetsboro, OH/Lutheran East) got thing started with a bucket in the paint, before Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) knocked down a three, Ogemuno-Johnson hit two free throws and Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) punctuated the run with a triple. Following a Manhattan three, the run extended to 17-3, with another Murray three-pointer making it 23-9 Broncs.

Manhattan responded with six straight and cut the Rider lead to seven on an Ant Nelson free throw at the four-minute mark. But consecutive James buckets and an Ogemuno-Johnson three-point play pushed the advantage back to 14, where it remained at 35-21 at the half. James led Rider with 10 points and six rebounds at the break, while Ogemuno-Johnson had eight points and six rebounds and Murray chipped in with eight points and three assists. Rider limited Manhattan to 29.0 percent (9-31) shooting in the period, while shooting 45.2 percent (14-31) itself.

Manhattan opened the second-half scoring with a free throw, before the Broncs scored six straight, four from James, to draw a Jaspers timeout at 41-22 with 18:18 remaining. Manhattan scored 13 of the next 17 to cut the Broncs' lead to seven, 45-38, by the 13:18 mark. The Jaspers twice cut the Broncs' lead to four at the 10:37 and 9:51 marks. But the Broncs withstood the charge and wouldn't allow the Jaspers to get any closer, twice rebuilding the lead to 11, including the final margin.  

Quotes & Notes
"Another good win. Road win. It's tough to get. (Manhattan's players) are tough. They make things dicey at times and we lost our composure a little bit and then we got it back. It was happening too easy at times and then we took that for granted. They made their run, they made some big shots. Give them credit. They made some big time shots. And then we rallied back with these two guys (James and Ogemuno-Johnson), DJ and AP."

"The putbacks were huge. Ajiri and Mervin playing off one other was huge. Being able to outrebound them, which is one of their strengths, I thought these guys did an excellent job."  – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider leads the all-time series with Manhattan, 37-26. The win gives Rider a regular-season sweep of the Jaspers this year and three-straight wins over Manhattan. The two teams split the regular-season series last year, before Rider won in the MAAC Tournament Opening Round. Rider took this year's first meeting in Lawrenceville, 67-65, on Jan. 22. The Broncs are 16-8 against Manhattan under Head Coach Kevin Baggett, including a 6-6 mark at Draddy Gym in that time.
- Rider led at the half for the second-straight game after having not held a lead at the break since Jan. 6, a span of six games. Despite the lack of a lead, Rider began its seven-game winning streak with five-straight deficits after 20 minutes.  
- Rider's seven-game winning streak is the longest current streak in the MAAC. Niagara's four-game winning streak and Iona's three-game streak are the next-longest.
- The Broncs have won seven-straight games for the second time under Baggett. The other streak came as part of a 10-game winning streak from Jan. 18-Feb. 18, 2018.
- The Broncs are now 7-5 in true road games this season.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Rider had just two double-doubles on the year entering today's game, both from James.
- James' double-double was the 12^th of his career and his third of the season.
- Ogemuno-Johnson compiled his sixth career double-double, his first of the year, after going for four double-doubles last season. Similarly, Ogemuno-Johnson played his best basketball late last season, with just one of his four double-doubles coming prior to Feb. 13 last season.
- James went for 20 points on 10-of-23 from the floor and 12 rebounds, six apiece on the offensive and defensive glass. He also dished out three assists and made two steals.
- Ogemuno-Johnson was 5-of-6 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line for 14 points to go along with 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. He dished out three assists and blocked a shot. The Broncs were +12 in his 24 minutes, the best mark on the team.
- Murray also scored 14 points, hitting 4-of-11 shots, including 3-of-4 from both beyond the arc and the free-throw line. He also dished out a team-high four assists and made two steals.
- Powell contributed seven points and was +10 in his 37 minutes, the second-best mark on the team.
- Rider outshot Manhattan, 46.7 percent (28-60) to 37.5 percent (21-56) from the floor and 77.8 percent (7-9) to 50.0 percent (6-12) from the free-throw line.
- Manhattan took a 29.6 percent (8-27) to 28.6 percent (4-14) edge from long range.
- The Broncs outrebounded the Jaspers, 44-27, including a 12-7 edge on the offensive glass.
- Rider took a 40-24 edge in points in the paint, including a 17-6 advantage in second-chance points.
- Manhattan took a 14-3 edge in points off turnovers.
- Rider's bench outscored that of Manhattan, 24-14.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Friday, when they play host to Fairfield. The 7 p.m. tip from Alumni Gym will be nationally-televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN+.