LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) scored a game-high 21 points to lead four Broncs in double figures as the Rider University men's basketball team won its home opener over Eastern University, 86-54, Saturday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs improve to 1-2, while the Eagles even their record at 2-2.

The Broncs scored the game's first five points on a pair of buckets from Mohamad Diallo (Decatur, GA/Southwest Dekalb [Fla. Memorial]), the second going for a conventional three-point play. The Rider lead extended to 18-9 on a steal and score from Burton at the 13:21 mark, before the Eagles scored the next nine as part of a 13-2 run to take their first lead of the game. Two lead changes and two ties later, the Eagles pushed to a four-point lead twice, before a transition bucket from Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) and a free throw from Caleb Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]) knotted the game at 36-36 at the half. Burton led the Broncs with 12 first-half points, while Diallo added 10.

The Broncs opened the second half on a 30-3 run to remove all doubt. Smith scored on consecutive drives to open the run and scored six in the run. Cruz and Burton scored nine points apiece, while six total Rider players scored in the spurt. Eastern would draw to within no closer than 22 points the rest of the way and the Broncs' advantage swelled to its largest point, 86-54, on AB Coulibaly's (Philadelphia, PA/W.Philadelphia/Avon Old Farms) fast-break give-and-go alleyoop with Jamir McNeil (Cape May Courthouse, NJ/Middle Township) with 43 seconds remaining.

Quotes & Notes
"All the credit goes to the players. At halftime, Zion and Flash asked us coaches to remove ourselves out of the locker room. Whatever they said worked because they came out in the second half with their hair on fire and went on a 30-3 run. So give those guys credit. It's not always about the coaching."

"No knock on (Eastern), we still haven't played a team at our level, mid-level, mid-majors, one of our peers or guys in our league. I'm still trying to gauge our team. Still trying to learn our team. Still trying to bring everybody together. There's 10 new guys. Some are a lot further ahead than others, but I trust in our recruiting and what we've gotten done. We've just got to get some other guys to get better and make better decisions on the court when they do get in the game." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider at Eastern were meeting for the first time in the two programs' histories.
- Burton, Cruz and Smith each scored in double figures for the second time in three games this season, while Diallo reached double digits for the first time as a Bronc.  
- 10 of 12 Broncs to enter the game scored at least two points.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Burton went for 21 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. He made 7-of-14 from the floor. All seven of his misses came in 1-of-8 shooting from long range, while he made 6-of-7 free-throw attempts.
- Cruz scored 16 points, grabbed three rebounds and made a steal. He made 7-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.
- Diallo scored a season-high 12 points on 5-of-5 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line. He grabbed six rebounds, blocked two shots and added an assist.
- Smith added 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. He made all three of his field-goal attempts and 4-of-9 from the free-throw line.
- Daniel Helterhoff (Cologne, Germany/Urspringschule [USC Upstate]) added eight points and five rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
- Cole McCabe (Miami Beach, FL/Miami Country Day/IMG Academy) added five points, eight rebounds, a team-high four assists, a block and a steal.
- Shemani Fuller (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes [Clark Atlanta]) chipped in with seven points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. In 10 minutes off the bench.
- The Broncs outshot Eastern, 55.2 percent (32-58) to 24.2 percent (16-66) from the floor, including a 65.5 percent (19-29) to 9.4 percent (3-32) edge in the second half.
- Eastern edged the Broncs, 24.1 percent (7-29) to 23.5 percent (4-17) from long range. However, after misfiring on all seven of its attempts in the first half, Rider took a 40.0 percent (4-10) to 6.7 percent (1-15) advantage in the second half.
- Eastern outshot Rider, 71.4 percent (15-21) to 60.0 percent (18-30) from the free-throw line.
- Rider outrebounded Eastern, 48-38. The Eagles took a 20-14 advantage on the offensive glass.
- The Broncs outscored Eastern, 52-12, in the paint.
- Rider led for 31:53 of game time to Eastern's 6:04 with a lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Tuesday, when they begin a two-game Texas road trip at the University of Texas. Tip-off from the Moody Center in Austin, TX, is scheduled for 9 p.m. (ET)/8 p.m. (CT) on SEC Network.