JERSEY CITY, NJ – Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) scored a team-high 17 points, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at league-leading Saint Peter's, 69-58, Saturday afternoon at Run Baby Run Arena. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 2-15 (1-7 MAAC), while the Peacocks are now 10-6 (7-1 MAAC).

After an even start to the game and a 12-12 through nine minutes, Saint Peter's went on a 17-5 spurt to open a double-digit lead, 29-17, with 5:27 left in the first. The Broncs would chip away, including the final six points of the half to close the deficit to 34-29 at the half. Burton led the Broncs with 11 first-half points.

A pair of Cruz three-pointers early in the second whittled the deficit to one, 40-39, before the Broncs took their first lead of since the 15:15 mark of the first on a Davis Bynum (O'Fallon, IL/East St. Louis [Cal St. Fullerton]) bucket in the paint at 15:04. Bynum later sparked a 7-0 Rider run with a conventional three-point play, with Burton scoring on a jumper in the paint, stealing the ball and feeding Caleb Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]) for a fast-break lay-up and a 48-42 lead at the 13:21 mark.

But Saint Peter's turned up the defensive pressure and forced six Rider turnovers in a 9-0 run to retake the lead. Rider twice retook the lead and the game remained tied, 56-56, following two Smith free throws at the 7:40 mark. But Saint Peter's went on an 11-0 run and scored 13 of the final 15 points of the game to close out the victory.

Quotes & Notes
"We need to keep our composure. We had a number of guys that weren't keeping their composure. Our guys battled. They battled, they battled, they battled. We've just got to be smarter when (Saint Peter's) got chippy. We can't get chippy back with them. We've got to stay focused. Let the refs determine those calls." – Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett

- The Broncs lead the all-time series with Saint Peter's, 45-38. The Peacocks have won the last two, both in Jersey City.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Burton scored a team-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 1-of-3 from the free-throw line. He added a season-high six assists to go along with four rebounds and two steals.
- Bynum added a double-double, the first of his collegiate career, with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. He shot 4-of-11 from the floor and made 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. Seven of his 10 rebounds came on the offensive glass. He also added two steals and two blocks.
- Smith added 10 points and eight rebounds.
- Zion Cruz (Trenton, NJ/Donda [DePaul/Pratt CC]) chipped in with eight of his 10 points in the second half. For the game, he shot 4-of-14, including 2-of-6 from long range. He added five rebounds.
- For the game, Saint Peter's outshot Rider, 47.5 percent (29-61) to 39.7 percent (23-58) from the floor, including 23.5 percent (4-17) to 20.0 percent (2-10) from long range.
- The Broncs took a 71.4 percent (10-14) to 50.0 percent (7-14) advantage from the free-throw line.
- Rider outrebounded Saint Peter's, 37-32.
- Saint Peter's took advantages of 21-14 off turnovers, 42-36 in the paint, 23-6 in bench scoring.
- The Peacocks led for 30:52 of game time to Rider's 4:39 with the lead.

Up Next
The Broncs return to MAAC play Monday, when they play host to Sacred Heart. Opening tip from Alumni Gym is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.