LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) scored a game-high 27 points and T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) added 16, including the 1,000^th of his collegiate career as the Rider University men's basketball team defeated Manhattan, 71-58, Friday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs' second straight, Rider improves to 5-11 (2-3 MAAC), while the Jaspers fall to 4-10 (1-4 MAAC).

An evenly-played first half concluded with the teams tied at 33-33. The Broncs led by three on three occasions early, before Manhattan went on a 7-0 run to take a 17-13 advantage. After the Broncs came back to tie it twice, the Jaspers twice regained a six-point cushion, the last on Jaden Winston's three-pointer at the 1:33 mark. But James sparked and punctuated a 6-0 Rider run with a pair of buckets to close the half and tie the game. James finished the period with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-for-3 from long range, to go along with a team-high four rebounds.

Rider began the second half with a 12-1 run, including five points from Weeks Jr. and an Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.) three-pointer to punctuate the stretch at the 14:28 mark, giving Rider the lead for good. Rider methodically stretched the lead to as many as 21 points, 62-41, on a DJ Dudley (San Diego, CA/LA Premier Prep) three with 9:38 remaining to push to a 35-8 run, stretching back to the 1:24 mark of the first half.

Manhattan would score the next eight points and later pull to within 10 with just over two minutes remaining, but could draw no closer.

Quotes & Notes
"Good win. Started a little sluggish in the first half. Just have to play better. I thought we started the second half right and got started."

"Merv and T.J. played well in the first half and kept us in it. Mervin really dominated the inside and outside, shot the ball well. We've just got to play smarter down the stretch."

(On Mervin James' season high of four three-point attempts and made field goals) "Listen man, I've got no complaints with whatever Mervin does. He's been carrying us all year long. So he's not going to hear me say anything." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

(On everyone contributing in the second half) "When it's just Merv, it was a tie game. But when everybody's involved, then we started blowing the game out. It was an 18-point game, 16-point game. That's what we have to do from the start instead of waiting on Merv to start it up for us." – Rider graduate guard T.J. Weeks Jr.

(On T.J. Weeks Jr.) "It's a big difference, because everybody knows he's a shooter. So when he sees a couple go in, we already know he's going to keep hitting for us. So, we just need everybody else to lock in and hit their shots." – Rider senior forward Mervin James

- Rider leads the all-time series with Manhattan, 38-26. The Broncs have won the last four, including a season sweep last year. Rider is 17-8 against Manhattan under Head Coach Kevin Baggett, including a 9-2 mark at Alumni Gym, with wins in each of the last nine in Lawrenceville.
- The Broncs were tied at the half for the second time this season (Dec. 1 at Siena) and are now 1-1 on the season when knotted after 20 minutes.
- Weeks Jr. scored the 1,000^th point of his collegiate career on a tip-in in the final minute of regulation. He scored 843 points in 85 games over four years at UMass, before adding the last 158 in 16 games this year for the Broncs.  

Broncs by the Numbers
- James scored 27 points, making 10 of his first 13 attempts, before finishing at 10-of-17, including all four of his three-point attempts. His four made three-point field goals eclipsed his previous high of three, accomplished twice in his five-year career. James also added six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
- Weeks Jr. added 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-6 from long range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and added two assists and two steals.
- Dudley added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 1-of-2 from long range, for his highest scoring output since a 10-point performance in his Rider debut on Nov. 6 against Immaculata.
- Powell added seven points and four assists.
- Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) matched Powell's four assists, while grabbing five rebounds and making two steals.
- JT Langston Jr. (Fort Wayne, IN/San Gabriel Academy [East Los Angeles College]) chipped in with six points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
- Rider outshot Manhattan, 40.0 percent (26-65) to 39.3 percent (22-56) from the floor, including a 47.4 percent (9-19) to 25.0 percent (6-24) edge from long range. Rider also took a 76.9 percent (10-13) to 53.3 percent (8-15) edge from the free-throw line.
- After the Jaspers shot 50.0 percent (14-28) from the floor in the first half, the Broncs' defense buckled down in the second, limiting Manhattan to 28.6 percent (8-28).
- The Broncs took a 40-36 edge on the glass, including a 13-9 advantage in offensive rebounds.
- Rider enjoyed a 13-6 edge in second-chance points.
- Rider led for 29:16 of game time to 6:22 for Manhattan.
   
Up Next
The Broncs return to action Sunday, when they travel to Marist. Tip-off from Poughkeepsie, NY, is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.