HOUSTON, TX – Caleb Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]) scored a team-high 13 points, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at nationally-ranked No. 2 Houston, 91-45, Thursday night at the Fertitta Center. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 1-4, while the Cougars are now 5-0.

The Cougars scored the game's first five points and 17 of the first 19 and never trailed. Rider pulled to within 11 twice in the first half, but Houston's lead swelled to as many as 23 in the first half, before settling at 47-25 after 20 minutes. Devean Williams (Los Angeles, CA/Narbonne [Bryant/Canisius]) led the Broncs with 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long range in the first half.

Houston scored the first seven points of the second half and never looked back.

Quotes & Notes
"We got out-toughed tonight. We were intimidated. We didn't compete. We weren't physical. We allowed them to really just take full advantage of us. You would hope that your guys at least give some kind of resistance. We didn't do that tonight."  

"We'll get back and start practicing. We've got to get ready for Coppin on Tuesday, so that's what we'll do."

"Individually, I thought some more guys started to play better. Give credit to Devean and Zion. They really competed tonight." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider and Houston were meeting for the first time in the two programs' histories.
- The last time the Broncs defeated a nationally-ranked team came Nov. 19, 2009, at then-No. 18 Mississippi State.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Smith made 3-of-11 attempts from the floor, including 1-for-2 from beyond the three-point arc, and knocked down all six of his free-throw attempts. He also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
- Smith made 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in both games of the Texas road trip and has made each of his last 14 attempts from the charity stripe, dating back to the end of the Nov. 15 win over Eastern.
- Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) added nine points and a team-high three assists.
- Williams scored all of his eight points in the first half and finished 3-for-5, including 2-for-4 from long range. He added four rebounds and two assists.
- Shemani Fuller (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes [Clark Atlanta]) also chipped in with seven points.
- For the game, Houston outshot Rider, 56.1 percent (37-66) to 30.8 percent (16-52) from the floor, including a 38.5 percent (10-26) to 23.5 percent (4-17) edge from long range.
- Both teams were perfect from the free-throw line, with Rider making all nine of its attempts and Houston going 7-for-7.
- Houston edged Rider on the boards, 33-32.
- The Broncs committed 23 turnovers to Houston's seven, resulting in a 33-9 edge in points off turnovers.
- Houston took advantages of 46-20 in the paint and 25-7 off fast breaks.  

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Tuesday, when they play host to Coppin State. Tip-off from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.