Rider hosted Iona Thursday night in Lawrenceville, NJ, but fell short with a final score of 73-67 in favor of Iona. It was looking very promising for Rider as coming into this game, they were on a three-game winning streak after overcoming a shocking nine-game losing streak. Rider drops to a (7-12) record on their season and are (3-5) in their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in ninth place, while Iona is fifth in the MAAC standings and are now (7-12) as well in their season.
Iona set the tone very early in the game with their high court pressuring off of Riders’ inbounds, which would occasionally cause many turnover problems for Rider. Coming into this game, Iona was ranked third in the NCAA for most turnovers caused, and they surely showed why in this showdown facing off against Rider.
It was a tight back-and-forth game between the two teams as the highest lead in the first quarter was 7 points with a score of 21-14 in favor of Iona in the middle of the first. Whenever Iona extended their gap by just a bit, Rider always seemed to have the answer to catch up. This was thanks to no other than senior Jay Alvarez, who came into this game having scored his team’s highest single game point total of 23, and broke that in two quarters, recording his highest point game of the season with 28 points and led in points for both teams on the night. Alvarez played 39 minutes on the night, being the most on the team, and recorded 28 points while also contributing 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and snatching 2 steals.
Tariq Ingraham was the second-highest scorer on the night for Rider, dropping 15 points and helping contribute with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. T.J Weeks Jr. followed it up with 13 points on the night.
Baskets came left and right in the second half of the match-up. After every basket made by either team, it was followed up on the very next drive. Again, Ionas’ fast defensive transitions and high pressuring caused many problems for Rider as they gave the ball away easily or, at some times, were forced to take timeouts from all of their players being marked up by the Iona players and not finding a way to get the ball down the court fast enough. The final minutes of the shot clock came down to the wire as the scoreboard was looking in anyone’s favor.
Rider was down by two, seconds before the final buzzer after an and-one from Jay Alvarez closing the score down 69-67. After gaining possession back from a missed shot by Iona, Rider had the opportunity to either tie the game or end it off with a three by draining the clock down with only 25 seconds left. Instead, Rider unluckily turned the ball over, leading to a straight dunk in favor of Iona to wind down the clock with the final free throws of the match.
Adam Njie Jr. led the Iona Gaels in points, dropping 23 on the night, while Clarence Rupert, Justin Menard, and Dejour Reaves combined for a total of 29 points. Iona will be back with more basketball showdowns, hoping to extend their win streak on Saturday, hosting Siena.
Rider will look to bounce back on Saturday as well, traveling on the road against a strong Quinnipiac side who currently sit (11-8) on their season and are 7-1 in their conference.
