JERSEY CITY, NJ – Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) had a career-high 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as the Rider University men's basketball team earned a 73-60 road win at Saint Peter's Thursday night. With the win and a Siena loss to Manhattan, Rider (16-12, 13-6 MAAC) has clinched the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championships. Saint Peter's slips to 11-17 (6-13 MAAC) with the loss.

A back-and-forth first half that featured eight lead changes and four times ended with the Broncs on a 10-0 run to take their largest lead to that point going to the locker room at halftime. Dwight Murray, Jr. (Austell, GA/Pebblebrook [Incarnate Word]) scored all seven of his first-half points to spark the run, while Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) punctuated it with a three-point play at the 1:10 mark. Ingraham led the Broncs with 11 points and six rebounds, while Murray added five rebounds and two assists. Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) also added eight points on a pair of three's and 2-for-2 shooting from the line. Saint Peter's shot 50.0 percent (12-24) in the first half, including 55.6 percent (5-9) from long range, to Rider's 48.1 percent (13-27) overall and 50.0 percent (5-10) from deep.|

On two occasions in the second half, the Peacocks whittled the Broncs' lead to two, but could draw no closer. On both occasions, Ingraham got inside for the next two points as the Broncs kept Saint Peter's at arm's length. Key three-pointers late from Powell and Allen Betrand (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic [Towson/Rhode Island]) pushed the lead back to eight, before Rider further built the lead to the final 13-point margin from the free-throw line.
 
Quotes & Notes
"Defensively, we're out of sorts right now. It's not characteristic of what we've been doing in the past. We're getting spread out. Those guys drove us and got us in foul trouble. Fortunately we made some big shots. Allen Powell hit a couple three's. Allen Betrand hit a couple three's and allowed us to build the lead."

"I knew we were going to have to lean on Riq a little bit more. But we need our posts. Points in the paint were important and I thought we got that tonight." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider holds a 42-34 lead over Saint Peter's in the all-time series, including a regular-season sweep of the Peacocks this year. Kevin Baggett's teams are 15-10 against Saint Peter's, including a 9-3 mark in Jersey City.
- The Broncs have clinched the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championships, setting up a meeting with the winner of Tuesday night's second Opening Round game between No. 7 Fairfield and the No. 10 seed, which is still to be determined. If the season ended today, the No. 10 seed would be Saint Peter's.
- Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) added a game to his program-record games-played mark, pushing it to 135 career games played.
- The Broncs are now 9-6 in true road games this season.
- Rider led at the half for the seventh time in the last eight games.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Ingraham scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots, setting new career highs in points, rebounds and blocks.
- Powell was the Broncs' next-highest scorer with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. The four three-pointers made are his most of the season and his most since hitting 5-of-7 in the 2022 MAAC Semifinals vs. Monmouth.
- Murray also finished in double figures with 12 points, narrowly missing a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. He also led the Broncs with three assists and blocked a shot for the first time this season.
- Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) had eight points, while Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Delta State, Nigeria/Bonner-Prendergast) and Betrand also made solid contributions with seven points apiece. Ogemuno-Johnson also matched Murray's team-high three assists.
- For the game, Saint Peter's took a slight 47.7 percent (21-44) to 47.1 percent (24-51) edge from the floor.
- The Broncs outshot the Peacocks, 57.1 percent (8-14) to 50.0 percent (9-18) from long range.
- Rider also took a 70.8 percent (17-24) to 47.4 percent (9-19) advantage from the free-throw line.
- The Broncs outrebounded the Peacocks, 32-25, including an 11-8 margin on the offensive boards.
- Rider took a 28-24 edge in points in the paint.
- The Broncs' bench was edged in scoring by that of Saint Peter's, 19-18.
- Rider led for 25:41 of game time, including the entire 20 minutes of the second half. Saint Peter's led for 11:00, all in the first half.    
   
Up Next
The Broncs close out the regular season Saturday, when they play host to MAAC Regular Season Champion Iona. Tip-off from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.