Rider downs Stags, 76-74, looks to go "dancing"

BUFFALO - For the first time since 1996, the Rider men's basketball team will be playing in a nationally televised conference championship game when the the second-seeded Broncs take on top seed Niagara in tonight's MAAC Tournament final at HSBC Arena.

Rider reached the final with a thrilling 76-74 win over No. 3 Fairfield in Sunday's semifinal game. Niagara moved on with a hard-fought 69-66 win over a pesky Iona team.

It will be the first MAAC title game for Rider since joining the league prior to the 1997-98 season and it will be the Broncs' first league final since a one-point loss at Monmouth in the 1996 Northeast Conference championship game. Rider made four straight NEC title games from 1993-1996, winning in '93 and '94 – marking the Broncs' most recent trips to the NCAA Tournament.

The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. (ET) Monday night.

Freshman and MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Jason Thompson collected 15 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Broncs (19-10), who were led in scoring by Robert Taylor's 16 points. Three other Broncs reached double figures in the scoring column as Jerry Johnson finished with 15, Edwin Muniz with 14 and Steve Castleberry with 10.

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The scoreboard says it all. (photo by Pete Borg for Rider University)