NEWARK, DE – The Rider University men's basketball team erased a 12-point second half deficit to tie the game with two minutes remaining, but fell at the University of Delaware, 65-57, Tuesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 1-9, while the Blue Hens are now 4-7.

Tied at 8-8 through eight minutes, Delaware would go on a 12-0 run capped by a Jayden Taylor fast-break lay-up at the 6:34 mark. Burton countered with the first of his three first-half triples at the 6:18 mark to help the Broncs begin to cut into the deficit and scored the final five points of the period as Rider trimmed the Delaware lead to 31-25 at the break.

The Blue Hens opened the second half on an 8-2 run to extend to a 12-point advantage. Still an 11-point Delaware lead with nine minutes remaining, the Broncs would outscore the Blue Hens, 19-8, over the next seven minutes to tie the game on a Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) three-pointer at the 2:09 mark. AB Coulibaly (Philadelphia, PA/W.Philadelphia/Avon Old Farms) sparked the run with consecutive jumpers, while Davis Bynum (O'Fallon, IL/East St. Louis [Cal St. Fullerton]) led Rider with six points in the run. Burton had five points in the run, while Mohamad Diallo (Decatur, GA/Southwest Dekalb [Fla. Memorial]) added four points.

But Delaware point guard Christian Bliss scored on consecutive buckets in the paint and the Blue Hens' advantage continued to grow from the free-throw line.

Quotes & Notes
"It was good to see Flash play well and come out of it. It was good to see Zion back on the court healthy. I thought our guys played better. We've just got to close out the games the right way. We tied it and then had a couple of breakdowns defensively. So give those guys credit as well."

"We met for a long time today and guys had a chance to talk things out and it showed up today. When you stay together like that, the bench is live and everybody who came in gave us good minutes… we'll be fine." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Rider and Delaware have played close games in each of the last four seasons, with the Blue Hens winning 3-of-4 to take a 35-31 lead in the all-time series.
- Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) returned from a two-game absence due to injury.
- Bynum made his second start of the season and his first since the season opener at Virginia on Nov. 3.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Burton scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-11 from long range.
- Shemani Fuller (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes [Clark Atlanta]) scored a season-high 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and added a steal. He was 4-of-6 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
- Cruz scored all eight of his points in the second half and was 3-of-15 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line for the game. He also dished out three assists.
- Bynum also scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds.
- Diallo contributed seven points on 3-for-3 from the floor and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
- Coulibaly chipped in with six points and four rebounds.
- Devean Williams (Los Angeles, CA/Narbonne [Bryant/Canisius]) matched Cruz's team-high three assists.
- The Broncs' 10 assists are a season-high against a Division I program (15 vs. Division III Eastern, Nov. 15).
- Rider committed just nine turnovers for the game.
- For the game, the Blue Hens outshot the Broncs, 46.8 percent (22-47) to 36.1 percent (22-61) from the floor, including a 31.3 percent (5-16) to 16.0 percent (4-25) advantage from long range.
- Rider made all nine of its free-throw attempts, while Delaware hit at 80.0 percent (16-20).
- Rider edged Delaware on the boards, 33-32, including an 11-4 advantage on the offensive glass, leading to a 16-4 edge in second-chance points.
- Rider scored first and led for 1:21 of game time, while Delaware led for 34:40.  

Up Next
The Broncs close out non-conference play Monday, Dec. 22, when they travel to VCU. Opening tip from Richmond, VA, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.