PISCATAWAY, NJ – Caleb Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]) posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds and Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) added 11 points, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at Rutgers, 81-53, Wednesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 0-2, while the Scarlet Knights won their season opener.

The Broncs scored first on a Cole McCabe (Miami Beach, FL/Miami Country Day/IMG Academy) three-pointer and retook the lead, 5-3, on a pair of Smith free throws at the 17:33 mark of the first. But Rutgers responded with the next 10 points and never trailed again. Rider used spurts of 6-0 and 7-0 later in the period to draw to within two, 20-18 and 22-20, on a free throw from Cruz at 6:22 and a fast-break lay-up from Davis Bynum (O'Fallon, IL/East St. Louis [Cal St. Fullerton]) at 5:14. But the Scarlet Knights outscored the Broncs, 13-4, over the final five minutes of the half to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Still just a 14-point Rutgers advantage five minutes into the second, the Scarlet Knights would score the next 13 points and the lead would eventually balloon to as many as 32 with 2:46 remaining.

Quotes & Notes
"We're giving up way too many offensive rebounds. Part of that is breaking down, not executing the right way. Turnovers at inopportune times. Putting guys on the free throw line. Not tough enough. Those are things that get you beat against teams at this level."

"We missed lay-ups. We missed lay-ups. We've got to make the lay-ups. You've got to make your free throws. We go through too many scoring droughts and next thing you know, we get down pretty fast."   – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The Broncs and Scarlet Knights squared off for the 18th time, with Rutgers holding a 17-1 lead in the all-time series. The Scarlet Knights have won the last five meetings, while Rider took its lone win in the series on Dec. 21, 2007, when Rider Hall of Famer Ryan Thompson led the Broncs with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go along with nine rebounds.
- Smith's double-double was the first for the Broncs this season and the first since Tariq Ingraham and T.J. Weeks Jr. both posted double-doubles in the Broncs' MAAC Championship Opening Round win over Siena last March 11.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Smith scored 12 points on 2-of-9 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Four of his 10 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
- Cruz scored 11 points on 5-of-19 from the floor and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. He also added six rebounds, an assist and a steal.
- Mohamad Diallo (Decatur, GA/Southwest Dekalb [Fla. Memorial]) chipped in with four points and nine rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass.
- McCabe and Jamir McNeil (Cape May Courthouse, NJ/Middle Township) scored five points apiece.
- Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) had a team-high two assists and two steals.
- For the game, the Scarlet Knights outshot the Broncs, 39.1 percent (25-64) to 27.7 percent (18-65) from the floor, including a 37.0 percent (10-27) to 10.0 percent (2-20) edge from beyond the three-point arc.
- The Broncs took an 83.3 percent (15-18) to 63.6 percent (21-33) advantage from the free-throw line.
- Rutgers edged the Broncs on the glass, 47-46, despite a 21-20 Rider advantage on the offensive glass.
- Rutgers led for 37:18 of game time to the Broncs' 22 seconds with the lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Saturday, Nov. 15, when they welcome Eastern University for their home opener. Tip-off from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.