Men's College Basketball
Broncs Host Iona Thursday
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—For the second time in 10 days, the Rider men's basketball team will play a game in which the winner will be in sole possession of first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The Broncs (12-7, 6-2 MAAC) will host Iona (13-6, 6-2 MAAC) Thursday at 7pm in Alumni Gymnasium. The game can be heard on 107.7 FM The Broncs and can be seen on BroncVision.
The Broncs have won 10 of their last 12 games, including an 82-79 win at defending champion Manhattan Sunday afternoon. In that game the Broncs had five players score in double figures, led by Teddy Okereafor, who compiled 16 points, seven assists, six steals and four rebounds. Khalil Alford came in off the bench to make seven of 10 shots from the field, including a pair of field goals in overtime, finishing with a career-high 14 points.
Iona has won seven of its last nine games and is second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (42.3) and three-pointers made (10.6 per game) and fourth in points per game (83.1). Iona won five in a row before losing 78-74 at Canisius on Sunday.
Iona junior A.J. English and senior David Laury are each averaging 21 points per game and rank among the top eight in the nation in scoring. Junior guard Isaiah Williams (14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds per game) missed the road trip to Niagara and Canisius with a foot injury.
The Broncs lost 77-64 at Iona on December 10. In that game the Gaels led 40-28 at the half. AJ English scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Iona and Schadrac Casimir scored 19 points. The Gaels played that game without David Laury.
The Gaels were the number one seed in the MAAC tournament last year and defeated Rider and #4 Canisius on their way to the title game, where Iona lost to #2 Manhattan 71-68. Iona then went to the NIT and lost to Louisiana Tech 89-88, finishing the season with a 22-11 record. Iona led the nation in three-pointers made per game last year.
Since the inception of the MAAC in the 1981-82 season, Iona has compiled a 326-212 (.604) record in regular season conference play. The Gaels' 326 wins and .604 winning percentage are the highest of any current MAAC member. The Gaels became the first MAAC team to reach 300 wins on Jan. 27, 2013 and are currently 63 ahead of Manhattan, the No. 2 team on the list. Iona has won 20 or more games in each of the last five years.
Rider is home again Saturday night, hosting Canisius at 7pm.
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