LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) scored a game-high 18 points and Caleb Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]) added his second double-double of the year, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell to Coppin State, 68-65, Tuesday night at Alumni Gym. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 1-5, while the Eagles are now 2-7.

After the Eagles took an early 5-2 lead, the Broncs scored the next eight to surge ahead, 10-5, on three's from Cruz and Smith and a Cruz steal and fast-break lay-up at the 17:02 mark. The Rider lead fluctuated between four and eight for much of the period, with the Broncs extending it to 11 on a Shemani Fuller (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes [Clark Atlanta]) block that sprung Devean Williams (Los Angeles, CA/Narbonne [Canisius/Bryant]) on the break to feed Cruz for a fast-break finish and a 30-19 advantage with just under four minutes left in the half.

AB Coulibaly's (Philadelphia, PA/W. Philadelphia/Avon Old Farms) transition tomahawk dunk with six seconds left in the period pushed the Rider lead to 37-24 at the half. Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) led the Broncs with 10 points at the half, while Cruz added eight. Rider enjoyed a 15-2 advantage in fast-break points in the half.

A 7-0 Coppin State run early in the second half trimmed Rider's lead to three and the Eagles twice cut the Rider lead to one, before tying the game on a Jamari Piercy free throw with 9:15 left. After the Broncs retook the lead on four-straight free throws, Coppin State scored the next five points to take its first lead since 5-2 on a Demariontay Hall bucket in the paint at the 6:07 mark. Burton immediately connected on a three to give the Broncs a two-point cushion on the next Rider possession, before Hall again got inside for two for the Eagles, tying the game at 60-60 with 5:25 remaining.

The teams exchanged buckets on each of their next two possessions, pushing the score to 64-64, before Hall gave the Eagles the lead on two free throws with 2:16 remaining. Cruz made 1-of-2 from the line with 1:23 left to cut the deficit to 66-65. But the Broncs misfired and committed a turnover on their next two possessions and, after the Eagles extended to a three-point lead on a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining, Burton's right-wing three wouldn't fall at the buzzer.

Quotes & Notes
"Very frustrating loss. That might be one of my worst losses. That's on me."

"We came out with a lot of energy. We took our foot off the gas. Turned the ball over way too much. Bad shots. Don't rebound. I don't know how many free throws we missed. It just fell apart in the second half. They were tougher. Give them credit. We had them beat on the back door, one of their guys dives on the ground, out of his shoes, to prevent it from happening. They were on the floor a lot. We weren't. If you look at how many 50/50 balls they got the entire game and went their way… they just wanted it more than we did. They out-toughed us." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider had won all five prior meetings with the Eagles, including wins in four of the last seven seasons - 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2024-25. The first meeting came in 2002-03.
- Rider led for at the half for the first time this season after trailing its four Power 5 opponents on the road and tying Eastern at home in five games to open the year.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Cruz scored 18 points and added four rebounds and three steals. He also had a block and an assist. He shot 4-of-12 from the floor, including 1-of-2 from beyond the three-point arc, and made 9-of-12 from the free-throw line.
- Smith made all four of his field-goal attempts, including a three-pointer, and made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line for 10 points. He also grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds, dished out a team-high three assists and made a pair of steals.
- Burton had 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. He made 4-of-13 from the floor, including 3-of-9 from long range, and connected on both of his free-throw attempts.
- Fuller added five points and eight rebounds. All five of his points came on 5-of-8 free-throw shooting. He also blocked four shots.
- Mohamad Diallo (Decatur, GA/Southwest Dekalb [Fla. Memorial]), Williams, Coulibaly and Jamir McNeil (Cape May Courthouse, NJ/Middle Township) added four points apiece.
- For the game, the Eagles outshot the Broncs, 42.2 percent (27-64) to 30.0 percent (18-60) from the floor, including a 45.5 percent (5-11) to 27.8 percent (5-18) edge from long range.
- Rider took a 75.0 percent (24-32) to 50.0 percent (9-18) advantage from the free-throw line.
- Coppin State outrebounded Rider, 45-42. Both teams grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.
- The Eagles took a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint and a 15-8 edge in second-chance points.
- Rider outscored Coppin State, 18-13, on fast breaks and 18-16 in bench scoring.
- Rider led for 31:47 of game time to the Eagles' 3:19 with a lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Thursday, Dec. 4, when they travel to Merrimack to open MAAC play. Tip-off from North Andover, MA, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.