Khalil Alford has played well off the bench. Photo by John Blaine

Who: Rider (12-12, 8-7) at Fairfield (5-21, 2-13)

When: Saturday, 4 p.m., Webster Bank Arena

TV: None

Radio: 107.7 FM The Bronc

Last Time Out: Rider lost to Manhattan, 86-69; Fairfield lost to Quinnipiac, 80-72

Previous Meeting: Rider won 73-65 on Feb. 3

Background: Could it be time for the Broncs to ring in the changes?

Listening to coach Kevin Baggett following Thursday night’s 17-point home loss to Manhattan, that is a real possibility Saturday.

Rider has lost three straight and is in a fight to hold onto the fifth spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Baggett said he’s considering personnel changes to try and find a spark for his sputtering squad. If the second-year coach does make a change expect it to be at the guard position where the banged-up Zedric Sadler is struggling with his sore right knee.

Baggett thought about inserting Khalil Alford into the starting rotation Thursday but stuck with Sadler after the sophomore guard convinced him he wanted to play through the pain.

But Alford has provided instant offense off the bench in the last two contests and may be better suited to stay in that role. The change may be to put senior guard Tommy Pereira into the lineup.

Pereira has played well in spot starts before and the Broncs need him to rediscover the outside touch that produced 20 points in a win over Monmouth last month.

When Pereira makes his first shot, his confidence grows and he tends to have a good night.

Rider also needs a strong night from senior forward Danny Stewart, who had a tough night against Manhattan’s bigs. When Stewart doesn’t play well, it’s hard for the Broncs to win, Baggett said, and he’s had problems when pitted against longer defenders.

With five games left and three of those (vs. Iona, vs. Canisius, at Iona) against schools with winning records — Rider is 2-7 vs. teams with a mark over .500 — the Broncs desperately need a victory over league bottom-feeder Fairfield.

The Stags have dropped two straight since edging Monmouth for their second MAAC win. Rider’s victory on Feb. 3 over Fairfield snapped a four-game losing streak against the Connecticut school.

Projected Starting Lineups: Rider: G-Jimmie Taylor (Fr., 11.1 ppg), G-Anthony Myles (Sr., 17 ppg), G-Tommy Pereira (Sr., 4.7 ppg), F-Danny Stewart (Sr., 15.3 ppg), F-Kahlil Thomas (Fr., 6 ppg).
Fairfield: G-Justin Jenkins (So., 4.3 ppg), G-K.J. Rose (Fr., 8.1 ppg), F-Marcus Gilbert (So, 13.3 ppg), F-Amadou Sidibe (So., 5 ppg), F-Coleman Johnson (So., 4.3 ppg).