Rider center Matt Lopez is day to day after injuring his right knee in a freak collision during Thursday night’s victory over Quinnipiac.

Lopez was running the floor on the fastbreak when he was hit low while leaping up to attempt a layup. The 7-foot center crashed to the floor as did two Bobcat players and appeared to get rolled up on before hitting the basket support.

Lopez had to be helped off the floor by teammates and was checked out by trainers. He could be seen riding the exercise bike and stretching his right leg before returning to the bench for the game’s final few minutes. 

The senior center, who leads Rider in points (12.3) and rebounds (7.7), had an MRI on Friday and a source said Friday he’s unlikely to play Saturday against Niagara (5-21, 4-13) with the team opting for caution.

“I’m sorry to see Matt go down because I really like the way we were playing,” head coach Kevin Baggett said Thursday night. “This team from top to bottom is a really good team. I’ve talked about the depth all year long and it continues to show up every game.”

Baggett picked up his first technical foul of the season for protesting the no-call on the play.

Senior center Junior Fortunat is expected to start in Lopez’s place. Fortunat filled in once before — a 69-59 victory at Marist on Jan. 2 — scoring 10 points in 21 minutes.

The second-place Broncs (19-9, 13-4) have won five straight and are 17-4 in their last 21 games. They beat the Purple Eagles six days ago, 69-60, to complete the sweep of the Western New York trip.