8th Seeded Rider Moves On To Quarterfinals
MAAC Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The 8th-seeded Rider University men’s basketball team rallied from a eight point second half deficit to defeat 9th-seeded Monmouth University, 71-60, in the first round of the 2014 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship.
Rider outscored Monmouth 8-0 in the final 2:29 of the first half to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. Monmouth opened the second half outscoring the Broncs 21-5 and led 46-38 when Deon Jones hit a jumper with 11:19 remaining in the final stanza.
Rider responded with a 17-2 run over the next 4:21 to take a 55-48 lead with 6:58 remaining. Senior Anthony Myles sparked the rally with a pair of three-point field goals for the Broncs. Monmouth was able to cut the Broncs’ lead to four, 55-51, in the next minute, but Rider extended its lead to as many as 14 points over the final five minutes for the victory.
Senior forward Daniel Stewart led Rider (14-16) with 25 points, and grabbed nine rebounds. Myles added 13 points and freshman guard Jimmie Taylor III scored 12.
Jones scored 18 for the Hawks (11-21), while Josh James scored 11.
The win puts the Broncs in the quarterfinal round against top-seeded Iona, on Saturday, March 8 at noon.