ALBANY, NY- Junior Anthony Myles (Dover, DE/Poly-Tech) scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory at Siena Friday night. “Anthony did a great job tonight,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.
Holding a 48-42 lead, Rider (6-4, 1-0 MAAC) went on an 8-4 run, three points each by Myles and seniorJonathon Thompson (Orlando, Fla./Jones), to take a 56-46 lead with 4:35 left to play. Thompson finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Siena (2-8, 0-1 MAAC) used a 13-5 run to cut the lead to 48-42 with 7:30 remaining. “We were struggling a little in the second half, we just had to find a way to weather the storm,” Baggett said, “and we did.”
The Broncs out-scored Siena 9-5 to start the second half, five points by junior Nurideen Lindsey(Philadelphia, PA/Overbrook), to take a 41-27 lead with 15:00 left to play. Lindsey finished with 11 points and a pair of steals.
Rider junior Daniel Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) added six points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Zedric Sadler (Detroit, Mich/Cody) contributed eight points, six rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal. “The great thing about Zedric is that he knows we just need him to play defense and take care of the ball,” Baggett said. “When the opportunities are there he’s taking advantage of them.”
Rider out-scored Siena 10-3 over the final 4:05 of the first half, six points by Myles, to take a 32-22 lead at intermission.
Trailing 12-8, Rider went on a 14-4 run, six points by Thompson, to take a 22-16 lead with 8:35 left in the first half.
Rider out-rebounded Siena 42-34.
The last time Rider was 1-0 in the MAAC was during the 2009-10 season.
The victory was Rider’s fourth in the last five games, while the loss was the sixth in a row for Siena. “I know Siena is on a bit of a losing streak but they really battled tonight,” Baggett said.
The Broncs defeated Siena 83-72 in the last meeting, January 29, 2012 at Rider, but lost 83-72 the last time they came to the Times Union Center, January 12, 2012.
Siena 6’8″ forward O.D. Anosike compiled 11 points and 10 rebounds. Last year Anosike compiled 45 points and 30 rebounds in the two games against Rider. “He’s a great player, we know that,” Baggett said. “Our guys did a great job of bringing the double coverage on him.”
Rider hosts Fairfield Sunday afternoon in a MAAC game beginning at 2pm. “Let’s hope we can get to 2-0 in the league on Sunday,” Baggett said.
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