HAMDEN, CT – Freshman AB Coulibaly (Philadelphia, PA/W.Philadelphia/Avon Old Farms) had a career-high 20 points and nine rebounds, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at two-time defending MAAC Regular Season Champion Quinnipiac, 72-58, Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Arena. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 1-7 (0-2 MAAC), while the Bobcats improve to 7-3 (2-0 MAAC).

The Bobcats scored the game's first 12 points and Quinnipiac's lead remained double digits for the remainder of the period. AB Coulibaly (Philadelphia, PA/W.Philadelphia/Avon Old Farms) heated up and led all scorers with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the period. But the Bobcats' lead swelled to as many as 20, 38-18, before Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) knocked down a jumper with four seconds left in the half to make it 38-20 after 20 minutes.

The Broncs began to connect from beyond the three-point arc in the second half, hitting 6-of-11 in the final 16:03, including 3-of-5 from Antwan Wilson (Salisbury, MD/Wicomico [UMES/Weatherford]), 2-of-4 from Coulibaly and 1-1 from Kristupas Kepezinskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/Ugnes Karvelis). The Kepezinskas triple at the 9:56 mark of the second cut the deficit to nine, 52-43. But the Broncs could draw no closer.

Quotes & Notes
(On playing without Zion Cruz) "We definitely lose some experience there, but AB Coulibaly filled that void pretty nice, right? So, again, it's that next man up mentality. Now obviously, we miss Zion and we'd love to have him and when he gets healthy, we're going to be fine. We could've used him today for sure and AB's contributions along with Zion would've been great. But you learn your team more. You learn that AB and Antwan Wilson both played well. They're coming along and this team is coming along and I feel good about us once we can get healthy."

"I thought our guys competed. If we just came out with the right mindset and not been as nervous and just came out more aggressive, we would've been fine and not put ourselves in that hole. But again, you're learning your team and we're learning. We're learning how to win. We're learning that when you cut it to nine, you can't take bad shots. You've got to slow the possessions down and get good shots and give yourself a chance, because you did dig yourself a big hole. So, again, teaching moments. We found two more guys that are going to continue to contribute going forward in AB and Antwan, so our team is better for it." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- Quinnipiac took the lead in the all-time series, 15-14. After dominating the early portion of the series with Quinnipiac, 12-2, the Broncs have fallen to the Bobcats in 13 of the next 15.
- Coulibaly is the first Rider true freshman to score 20 or more points in a game since Burton accomplished the feat on Jan. 18, 2025, at Marist.
- Coulibaly's easily eclipsed his previous career highs of six points and three rebounds, both at Texas (Nov. 18). His 32 minutes played were 20 more than his previous high of 12 vs. Coppin State (Nov. 25).
- Wilson made his first start for the Broncs.

Broncs by the Numbers
- Coulibaly scored his 20 points on 9-of-16 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from long range. Four of his nine rebounds came on the offensive glass and he added two steals, a block and an assist.
- Wilson scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, including 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, all in the latter stanza. He finished the game 5-of-9 from the floor and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Burton scored nine points and added two rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-15 from the floor and made 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
- Cole McCabe (Miami Beach, FL/Miami Country Day/IMG Academy) and Shemani Fuller (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes [Clark Atlanta]) added four points apiece. McCabe added five rebounds and three blocks, while Fuller had four rebounds and two blocks.
- Mohamad Diallo (Decatur, GA/Southwest Dekalb [Fla. Memorial]) and Caleb Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]) also contributed on the boards with six and five rebounds, respectively.
- For the game, Quinnipiac outshot the Broncs, 42.9 percent (30-70) to 38.7 percent (24-62).
- The Broncs took a 42.9 percent (6-14) to 33.3 percent (6-18) edge from beyond the three-point arc.
- Quinnipiac hit 66.7 percent (6-9) from the free-throw line to the Broncs' 50.0 percent (4-8).
- The Bobcats edge the Broncs, 39-37, on the boards, including a 13-11 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Quinnipiac outscored Rider, 42-20 in the paint, 20-5 off turnovers, 13-0 on fast breaks, and 16-10 on second chances.  
- Rider's bench outscored Quinnipiac's, 26-15.
- Quinnipiac never trailed and led for 39:40 of game time.

Up Next
The Broncs return to non-conference play Tuesday, when they welcome Bucknell to Alumni Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.