JERSEY CITY, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as the Rider University men's basketball team earned a 62-57 road win at Saint Peter's Thursday night at Run Baby Run Arena. With the win, the Broncs improve to 6-13 (3-5 MAAC), while the Peacocks fall to 10-7 (6-2 MAAC).

Rider came out strong with six of the game's first eight points, and outside of a 9-8 Peacocks lead at the 13:58 mark, the Broncs led for the remainder of the period. After Saint Peter's pulled to within two on a Marcus Randolph lay-up at 8:34, the Broncs responded with a 12-2 run to build its largest lead of the period, 30-18. JT Langston Jr. (Fort Wayne, IN/San Gabriel Academy [East Los Angeles College]) sparked the run with consecutive buckets, followed by three-pointers from Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) and T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) and a fast-break lay-up from Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.).

Rider took a 30-20 lead into the locker room at halftime, with Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) leading the Broncs with eight points and Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) and Langston adding six apiece. Rider limited the Peacocks to 21.9 percent (7-32) shooting from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

Though Saint Peter's would whittle the Broncs' advantage down to one, 48-47, on a Roy Clarke three-pointer at the 5:52 mark, the Broncs quickly responded with the next five points as part of an 8-1 run to push the advantage back to eight, 56-48, with just under four minutes remaining. Weeks Jr. started the run, converting on a back cut off a James drive, before Powell buried a three. After 1-of-2 Saint Peter's free throws, Weeks Jr. punctuated the run with a left-corner three. The lead further swelled to 10 on a James drive and the Peacocks would draw no closer than five the rest of the way, including the final score.

Quotes & Notes
(On playing Saint Peter's) "Bash's teams are no different from Shaheen's teams when he was here. I think they're kind of clones of one another in terms of how they get their guys to defend and play as hard as they do. We challenged our guys all week. We told them this was going to be it. If you're going to go down here and you're going to play soft, they're going to kick us out of this gym."

(On the defensive effort) "Everybody that came off gave me a good effort. Our post guys played well for the most part. Nobody really scored it great. Mervin did some good things. But this was a game we needed to win, regardless of who scored."

(On JT Langston Jr.) "JT played big today. He played big. That's the best I've seen him play since he's been here. It's a confidence thing. It's on him. He's got to be more confident. We know he's skilled. That's why we got him here. He's got more to give us. I thought that was a big-time give today by him." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider leads the all-time series with Saint Peter's, 43-35. The Broncs swept the regular-season series last year, before the Peacocks pulled the upset in the MAAC Quarterfinals.
- Baggett's teams now have an 8-2 record in match-ups with Bashir Mason's teams at Wagner and Saint Peter's.
- The Broncs are 16-11 under Baggett against Saint Peter's, including a 10-3 mark in Jersey City.
- Rider led at the half for the sixth time this season and moved to 5-1 when leading following the first period.
- James return to double figures after scoring eight points apiece in each of the last two. He'd scored in double figures in each of the Broncs' first 16 games this season.
- Saint Peter's took a 44-42 edge on the glass, marking the first time this season the Broncs have won when being outrebounded (1-6).

Broncs by the Numbers
- James scored 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also added a team-high nine rebounds.
- James scored 20 points or more for the ninth time this season.
- Ingraham added 11 points and five rebounds, making 4-of-5 attempts from the floor and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.
- Langston Jr. and Weeks Jr. added eight points and two steals apiece. Weeks Jr. grabbed seven rebounds, while Langston Jr. chipped in with four rebounds, a team-high four blocks and two assists.
- Langston Jr. was a team-best +14 in 23 minutes on the night.
- Powell scored seven points on 2-of-6 from the floor, 1-of-4 from long range and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
- McKeithan had a team-high three assists.
- Rider outshot Saint Peter's, 43.6 percent (24-55) to 30.3 percent (20-66) from the floor. Both teams shot 28.6 percent from long range, with the Broncs making 4-of-14 to the Peacocks' 6-of-21.
- The Broncs took a 62.5 percent (10-16) to 57.9 percent (11-19) edge from the free-throw line.
- The Peacocks took a 44-42 edge on the glass, including a 21-12 edge on the offensive glass.
- Rider outscored Saint Peter's, 34-28, in the paint.
- Saint Peter's took advantages of 17-12 on second chances and 15-6 on fast-break points.
- Rider led for 38:34 of game time to 11 seconds with a lead for Saint Peter's.
   
Up Next
The Broncs return to action Saturday when they travel to Mount St. Mary's. Tip-off from Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, MD, is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.