Box Score NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Mervin James (St. Thomas, USVI/Pebblebrook [North Alabama]) scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including 14 in the final 3:16 as the Rider University men's basketball team earned its fifth-straight win, 71-61, Friday night over Niagara at the Gallagher Center. With the win, the Broncs improve to 13-16 (10-8 MAAC), while the Purple Eagles fall to 14-13 (10-7 MAAC).

A back-and-forth first half concluded with the Broncs up, 31-28. Neither team could create much separation, with Rider building its largest lead, 19-15 on an Allen Powell (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle College HS) lay-up at the 8:07 mark, before Niagara scored 12 of the next 14 points to build its biggest lead, 27-21 on a Yaw Obeng-Mensah fast-break dunk at 5:22. The Broncs ended the half on a 10-1 run, including six points from JT Langston Jr. (Fort Wayne, IN/San Gabriel Academy [East Los Angeles College]) to take a 31-28 lead into the break. Langston led Rider with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half.

The Broncs would maintain a lead for the duration of the second half. Rider pushed its lead to seven with the first four points of the period and the Broncs' lead reached eight points on a Langston Jr. bucket in the paint at 9:10, before Niagara began to chip away. A Yaw Obeng-Mensah free throw at 3:33 cut the Rider lead to 53-51 before James took over to close out the win.

He knocked down a left-wing triple to push the lead back to five, sparking a stretch of 14 points in the final 3:16, pushing the Broncs' lead to as many as 10 in the span. He made all three of his attempts from the floor in the stretch, including two from long range, and all six of his free-throw attempts. James also grabbed three rebounds, two on the offensive glass, in the span.

Quotes & Notes
"We've got guys coming off the bench contributing. The starters are all playing together and sharing the ball. We're just playing team basketball on both ends."

(On JT Langston Jr.) "JT came in and gave Riq and Mervin good minutes. When those guys got into foul trouble in the first half, he did some good things. He continued it into the second half and I'm happy for him. We're going to need each and every one of these guys. Ruben's given us a lift. Guys coming off the bench are now doing good jobs, they know their roles, they know understand what it is what we're asking them to do. I couldn't be more happy for each and every one of those guys." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider leads the all-time series with Niagara, 32-26. The Broncs salvaged a regular-season split for the second-straight year after the Purple Eagles took the first meeting in Lawrenceville on Jan. 19.
- Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett's teams are 17-6 against Niagara, including a 9-4 mark at the Gallagher Center.    
- Rider is now 11-2 this season when leading at the half.
- Rider moved to 5-12 on the road this season, including a 4-5 mark in league play.     

Broncs by the Numbers
- After scoring just four points in nine minutes due to first-half foul trouble, James scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. He shot 7-of-12 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from long range, and made all eight of his free-throw attempts. He also added five rebounds.
- The 8-for-8 shooting from the line marked the fifth time this season James shot 100 percent from the line with at least seven attempts and the sixth time he's made eight or more free throws in a game.
- Langston Jr. finished with a season-high 16 points on 7-of-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 21 minutes off the bench.
- Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) added nine points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Six of his 13 boards came on the offensive glass.
- T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) chipped in with five points, 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.
- Corey McKeithan (Windsor, CT/Windsor) scored all eight of his points in the second half. He also added five rebounds and three assists.
- Powell finished with six points, a team-high five assists and a steal.
- The Broncs outshot the Purple Eagles, 42.9 percent (27-63) to 42.1 percent (24-57) from the floor, including a 37.5 percent (3-8) to 27.8 percent (5-18) edge from beyond the three-point arc.
- Rider also outshot Niagara, 87.5 percent (14-16) to 47.1 percent (8-17) from the free-throw line.
- The Broncs outrebounded Niagara, 42-31, including a 10-5 edge on the offensive glass.
- Rider turned the ball over just seven times in the game and took a 9-3 edge in points off turnovers.
- Niagara took a 36-28 edge in points in the paint.
- Rider enjoyed advantages of 14-8 and 11-9 in second-chance and fast-break scoring, respectively.
- Rider's bench outscored that of Niagara, 19-15.
- The Broncs led for 26:23 of game time to Niagara's 9:20 with the lead.
   
Up Next
The Broncs return to action Sunday, when they wrap up the MAAC's Western New York road trip at Canisius. Tip-off from Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, NY, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.