Despite holding a nine-point lead in the second half, Rider couldn’t stop Purdue from rallying for a 81-77 victory Sunday night at Mackey Arena.

Anthony Myles led Rider (0-2) with 19 points. His 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining cut the Boilermakers’ lead to 77-75.

But Sterling Carter made both free throws with the Broncs forced to foul and a turnover by Zedric Sadler allowed Ronnie Johnson to coast in for a layup with 20 seconds left to ice the game.

Danny Stewart finished with 16 points and six rebounds before fouling out. Freshman Jimmie Taylor added 13.


The Broncs led 55-46 after Sadler, who was playing his first game after missing the opener, connected on a 3-pointer with 15:24 remaining.

Ronnie Johnson led Purdue (3-0) with 16 points, while his brother Ternone finished with 14.

The Boilermakers improved to 8-0 against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Both teams made their way to the free throw line in a game that featured 54 fouls. Rider made 24 of 31 from the stripe compared to Purdue’s 16 of 31.

Rider fell to 1-8 against Big Ten opposition with its only win coming six years ago over Penn State in the Old Spice Classic.

The Broncs closed the first half on a 15-2 run to pull even, 40-40, at the break.

Rider, which trailed by as many as 11, crept back into the contest by making 15 of 16 free throws in the opening 20 minutes.

The Broncs are back in action next Saturday when they visit Central Connecticut State.