Men's Basketball Plays Host to hOURglass Rival Monmouth Friday

What You Need To Know - Rider and Monmouth are meeting for the 52nd time in the all-time series, with the Broncs holding a 29-22 edge. The Hawks have won the last two, both in West Long Branch, while Rider took a 92-85 win last Jan. 29 at Alumni Gymnasium. - Rider has lost five-straight games, matching the longest losing skid in Head Coach Kevin Baggett's seven years at Rider. The last time Rider lost six-straight came Nov. 25 - Dec. 14, 2011. - Rider ranks 11th nationally at 9.0 steals per game. - Though Rider has trailed by double-digits in regulation of seven of 13 MAAC games and trailed at the half in eight of 13, the Broncs have erased the deficit in all eight and won four of the eight. - Stevie Jordan now ranks 5th all-time in assists at Rider with 444. He also scored his 1,000th point on Feb. 12 at Quinnipiac. - RU has outscored MAAC opponents by 10.0 points per game in the paint. - Head Coach Kevin Baggett (119-102) tied former mentor Tommy Dempsey for fifth all-time at Rider on Jan. 31 with his 119th career win (119-105). Next on the list are Don Harnum (127-103) and Kevin Bannon (128-103). - Rider had six players score in double figures in a single game twice in a four-game span, Jan. 13-27, after not achieving the feat since Feb. 16, 2011. - The Broncs have been outscored by 53 points combined in the first halves of 13 MAAC games. By comparison, Rider is +87 in the second halves. - MU has won its last four games over Siena, Rider, Saint Peter's and Fairfield. - Ray Salnave (12.1 ppg.) and Deion Hammond (11.9 ppg.) are Monmouth's leading scorers, with Salnave also distributing a team-best 2.5 assists per game. Diago Quinn has also contributed 8.5 points and a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game, while Mustapha Traore is close behind at 6.8 ppg. and 5.3 rpg. - The Broncs returned all five starters, their top six scorers and 95 percent of their scoring from last year's team. - Seventh-year Head Coach Kevin Baggett's teams have posted a 119-102 record. Baggett won MAAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018.