LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) scored a game-high 20 points and Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) added 18 points and a game-high seven rebounds as the Rider University men's basketball team held off Iona, 78-75, for its third-straight win Friday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs move to 11-16 and even their league mark at 8-8. The Gaels fall to 13-13 (8-7 MAAC).

The Broncs sprinted out of the gates with a 7-0 run to begin the game and, after Iona responded with the next six, Rider reeled off another 12 in a row. Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College H.S.) capped the run with a three-pointer to put the Broncs on top, 19-6, at the 13:59 mark. Rider's lead would reach 14 twice in the final two minutes of the period, before an Iona bucket in the paint capped the first-half scoring and left the Broncs with a 41-29 advantage at the half. James led the Broncs with 12 points and five rebounds and Rider shot 51.9 percent (14-27) in the period.

Iona scored 17 of the first 19 points in the second half to take its first lead of the game at the 16:49 mark. But the Broncs were equal to the task, responding with a 12-0 run to rebuild a nine-point cushion, capped by James' jumper in the paint at 11:34. Powell buried a pair of three's in the run. Iona would score the next eight points to pull to within one, 55-54, at the 9:23 mark. But true to form, the Broncs again had an 8-0 run in them and the advantage remained nine following a pair of James free throws with 2:31 left.

Iona wouldn't go away, again whittling the Rider lead down to one on a banked-in three from straightaway at the top of the key with 11.7 seconds remaining. Ruben Rodriguez (Reading, PA/Reading) scored two of his eight second-half points from the free-throw line with 10.6 seconds left to push it back to a three-point advantage and Jeremiah Quigley's attempt at a three wouldn't fall in the final seconds.

Quotes & Notes
(On moving into second all-time at Rider in coaching victories) "I just want to say I'm appreciative of these guys, the current guys, the past guys that have played for me. I'm thankful for Rider, for the opportunity to be their Head Coach the last 12 years. And thankful for our fans who keep turning out. I know sometimes we make it frustrating for them, but they keep turning out. We appreciate them and they helped us again tonight."

(On Ruben Rodriguez) "Freshman. Freshman. He's a winner. We knew that. That's why we went after him as hard as we did."

"When we were in that little bit of a losing streak, we were giving up 70-plus points and I know we did tonight as well. But we had to guard better. I think the other thing, too, is guys are coming together and we're starting to peak at the right time. Everybody fits now, where we were trying to fit the puzzle and it wasn't fitting at that time and guys needed to just find their roles and be comfortable in those roles. Now everybody understands where they are and what it is that we're asking each and every one of them to do. And now they're able to play out of it without thinking worrying about what it is that they need to do. They know. Ruben knows. Mervin knows. Everybody on this team knows." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Iona leads the series with the Broncs, 47-29. Kevin Baggett's teams are now 7-18 against Iona, including a 4-9 mark at Alumni Gym. Tonight's win was the Broncs' first over the Gaels in Lawrenceville since a 110-101 win to clinch the 2017-18 MAAC Regular Season Championship on Feb. 25, 2018.
- With the win, his 188^th, Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett moved past Thomas Leyden (187 wins, 1942-43, 1946-60) for second all-time at Rider in men's basketball coaching victories.
- Rider is now 9-2 this season when leading at the half.
- Rider won for just the second time in league play this season when allowing more than 62 points (2-8, 79-76 in OT vs. Canisius, Jan. 7).  
- Rider moved to 7-4 at Alumni Gym this season, including a 5-3 mark in league play.   

Broncs by the Numbers
- James scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-9 from the field, 1-of-2 from long range, and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also added five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.
- Ingraham made 7-of-9 attempts from the floor and 4-of-8 from the free-throw line for 18 points, eclipsing his previous season-high of 17, established Feb. 4 at Iona. He also added a team-high seven rebounds.
- Powell chipped in with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
- Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) and T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) added nine points apiece. McKeithan made 4-of-7 from the floor, including 1-of-4 from long range. Weeks Jr. went 2-for-4 and made all five of his free-throw attempts. Weeks Jr. also matched James' three steals.
- Rodriguez scored all eight of his points in the second half on 2-of-4 from the floor, including 1-of-2 from long range, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He added six rebounds to match his season high (Nov. 6 vs. Immaculata), while adding three assists and a blocked shot.
- Rider outshot Iona, 56.5 percent (26-46) to 43.5 percent (27-62) from the floor.
- Iona took a 46.2 percent (12-26) to 38.9 percent (7-18) advantage from beyond the arc.
- Rider enjoyed a 76.0 percent (19-25) to 60.0 percent (9-15) advantage from the free-throw line.
- The Broncs outrebounded Iona, 31-28.
- The Gaels took a 9-2 edge on the offensive glass, leading to a 10-4 advantage in second-chance points.
- Both teams had 30 points in the paint.
- Iona forced 18 Rider turnovers, while committing 12 itself. The Gaels took a 21-13 edge in points off turnovers.
- Rider took a 15-12 edge in fast-break scoring.  
- The Broncs led for 36:59 of game time, while trailing for just 13 seconds. The game featured two ties.  

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Sunday, when they play host to Quinnipiac. Tip-off from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.