LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – T.J. Weeks Jr. (Warwick, RI/Bishop Hendricken Catholic [UMass]) scored a game-high 17 points as the Rider University men's basketball team defeated Saint Peter's, 67-64, Friday night at Alumni Gym. The win was the 200^th of Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett's career, all at Rider, becoming just the fourth coach to win 200 games at MAAC schools and just the second to win 200 at a single MAAC school. The Broncs improved to 8-13 (4-6 MAAC), while the Peacocks fell to 7-10 (2-7 MAAC).

The Broncs scored the game's first four points and never trailed. The Peacocks tied the game at 12-12, but Rider used an 11-0 run to create double-digit separation, 30-17, at the 2:45 mark. Weeks Jr. capped the run with a putback, steal and fast-break three-point play. Saint Peter's scored the next six and Rider settled for a 34-25 lead at halftime. Weeks Jr. led the Broncs with 10 points in the period, while Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) added eight. The Broncs outshot Saint Peter's, 51.9 percent (14-27) to 34.6 percent (9-26) in the opening 20 minutes.

The Broncs' lead swelled to as many as 13 points, both coming on Weeks Jr. buckets, the last coming at the 5:26 mark. Saint Peter's made things interesting, 19-7, over the next 5:16 to make it a one-point game, 65-64, on a Bryce Eaton three-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation. But Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) made a pair of pivotal free throws to push it back to a three-point lead and Marcus Randolph's three-point attempt in the final seconds wouldn't fall.
 
Quotes & Notes
"Happy to escape out of that situation with a win. I thought Saint Peter's did a good job battling back, getting into the game. We made some ill-advised turnovers, but our guys hung in there and closed it out."

(On 200 wins) "It's just a blessing. I'm thankful for our administration here. I'm thankful for my athletic director, Don Harnum. Thankful for all the players that have played for me. All the coaches, managers, athletic trainers – I love them all. It's always been about the people. It always will be about the people for me."

"I thought we played well. That was one of our things, to move the ball, move bodies, take good shots. We know that they want you to take quick shots, take a lot of three's. I thought our guys were very poised and moved the ball and cut and found the open guys more often than not. I thought we got stagnant a little late toward the end of the second half. But, again, we held on." – Rider Men's Basketball Head Coach Kevin Baggett

"The energy that the students brought helped us out there on the court. We emphasized during the week that we need to protect home court because it's harder to win on the road. So we had to do better at protecting that."

"I told the guys before the game to hit first. They were going to be physical. So, I told them to hit first and I feel like we went out there and did that." – Rider graduate guard T.J. Weeks Jr.

- The win was the 200^th of Baggett's 13-year head coaching career, all at Rider. He becomes just the fourth coach in the 44-year history of the MAAC to win 200 games at a league school, joining Joe Mihalich (265, all at Niagara), John Dunne (244, 153 at Saint Peter's, 91 at Marist) and Jimmy Patsos (222, 145 at Loyola, 77 at Siena). He ranks third all-time in wins in league play with 134 behind Mihalich (166) and Dunne (150). 
- Both Baggett's 100^th and 200^th wins have now come at home against Saint Peter's in late January (100^th on Jan. 26, 2018).
- Rider leads the all-time series with Saint Peter's, 45-36.
- Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett is now 10-3 against third-year Saint Peter's Head Coach Bashir Mason's teams, dating back to both coaches' first years leading a team. Mason coached Wagner from 2012-13 until taking the Saint Peter's job in 2022-23. 
- The Broncs are 18-12 under Baggett against Saint Peter's, including an 8-4 mark at Alumni Gym.
- Rider is 7-0 this season when holding the opposition to fewer than 72 points.
- Rider never trailed in a game for the first time since a 104-62 victory on Feb. 18, 2024, at Manhattan.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Weeks Jr. scored a game-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-5 from long range, and connected on all three of his free-throw attempts.
- Cruz added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. He added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Playing for the first time since Jan. 5, Ife West-Ingram (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line in  16 minutes off the bench. He added three rebounds and an assist.
- Tariq Ingraham (Philadelphia, PA/Bonner-Prendergast [Wake Forest]) added eight points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Burton also added eight points on 2-of-4 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, with all four free throws coming in the final 18 seconds. He also made two steals.
- Making first start as a Bronc, Andre Young (Mableton, GA/Pebblebrook [Troy/Gulf Coast State Coll.]) dished out a team-high three assists.
- The Broncs outshot Saint Peter's, 52.9 percent (27-51) to 42.3 percent (22-52) from the floor.
- The 52.9 percent shooting matches Rider's season high, established Nov. 12 at Navy.
- Saint Peter's took a 38.1 percent (8-21) to 18.2 percent (2-11) edge from beyond the arc.
- Rider outshot Saint Peter's, 84.6 percent (11-13) to 70.6 percent (12-17) from the free-throw line.
- Saint Peter's took a 31-26 edge in rebounds, including a 14-7 edge on the offensive glass.
- Despite being doubled up on the offensive glass, the Broncs matched the Peacocks' 10 second-chance points.
- Rider took edges of 14-12 on points off turnovers, 26-24 on points in the paint and 23-17 in bench scoring.
- Saint Peter's took a 9-4 advantage on fast-break scoring.
- Rider led for 37:57 of game time. Saint Peter's never led, tying the game once in the first half.  

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Sunday, when they play host to Merrimack. Opening tip from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ESPN+.