5 Thoughts: Rider stays hot, wins fourth straight in upset over Saint Peter’s

Allen Powell (2) moves past Daryl Banks III as Rider defeated Saint Peter’s Friday. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Rider avenged an early season loss by defeating Saint Peter’s, 58-49, at Run Baby Run Arena on Friday. The Broncs took advantage of a Saint Peter’s second half dry spell to win their fourth straight MAAC contest. Rider (10-13) is 6-7 in the MAAC, while Saint Peter’s (11-9) falls to 9-4.

Allen Powell paced all scorers with 13 points. Saint Peter’s, without a double-digit scorer, was led with nine each from Matthew Lee and Isiah Dasher. The five points of emphasis:

The first four minutes: Coaches preach the axiom that the first four minutes after halftime are crucial. If you are ahead, you want to keep the momentum. If you have a deficit, the first four minutes can be utilized to get back on track. Trailing 28-26 at the intermission, the first four minutes saw the Broncs go on a 10-5 run to forge ahead, 36-33. In the process, Rider scored twice off offensive rebounds, sending a message to Saint Peter’s. 

“The second-half start gave us a chance to do what we wanted in our game plan,” Kevin Baggett said. “Their pressure took us out of a few things we wanted to do. We just had to play with our heads up and settle down.”

Edert exudes energy: In his freshman year, Doug Edert was known for his outside shooting. Now, Saint Peter’s junior guard contributes a great deal more than the perimeter shot. Edert pushes the ball in transition, gets in the lane and passes to an open teammate on the weak side and attacks the basket. Playing aggressively, he constantly gets in the opposition passing lanes to get steals or deflections. In the first half, Edert’s play energized the Peacocks as they built an eight-point lead, largely due to his presence.

Turnovers: A recurring problem for the Peacocks. Entering the game, Shaheen Holloway’s team gave the ball away at a 20 percent rate, the third-highest in the MAAC. On the evening, Saint Peter’s committed 19 miscues for an outlandish 27 percent rate. Rider scored only nine points off those turnovers, but the damage was done, as turning the ball over meant wasting a possession and an opportunity to score.

Dry spell: With 12 minutes remaining, the hosts held a 41-36 lead. From that point, the Peacocks scored only one field goal, An uncontested layup by Daryl Banks III with 12 seconds to play and Rider comfortably in the lead. During that stretch, Saint Peter’s was able to produce that one field goal and six free throws. 

“It wasn’t anything Rider surprised us with on defense,” Holloway lamented. “It was just one of those nights.”

One at a time: Rider has now captured four straight and five of its last six. 

“Our guys know all we talk about is one at a time,’ Baggett observed. “I will say, we have come a long way this season.”

Holloway subscribes to a similar theory, taking it even farther. The Saint Peter’s mentor prefers to take it one day at a time, focusing on each individual practice, each individual game. When asked about an upcoming meeting against Iona on Tuesday the coach responded, “all I am concerned with is looking at the tape, seeing what needs to be fixed and how we can get better. We’ll go over that as a team tomorrow.”