LAWRENCEVILLE — Cole McCabe and his Rider teammates probably weren’t anticipating feeling game pressure in the second half of an exhibition against Rowan.
The Division III school out of the NJAC proved to be tougher to shake than anybody imagined.
Flash Burton scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and the Broncs finally pulled away in the final eight minutes for a 76-64 victory on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
“It’s another outside competition that we have so I think we can go back and look at the film,” said McCabe, who finished with nine points and two blocks in 24 minutes. “Sometimes it gets hard when you are playing against each other a lot. We’re playing an outside competition and looking back at that can help us for sure.”
McCabe, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Miami Beach, isn’t a new player — he appeared in 26 games as a freshman — but he’s going to have an increased role.
McCabe started alongside Burton, Zion Cruz, Antwan Wilson and Mohamad Diallo.
“Just to work,” McCabe said when asked how he’s prepared himself for this opportunity. “Just every day doing what I have to do, stay in the weight room, stay in the gym and everything else is going to work itself out.”
That work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“One of our hardest workers, man,” coach Kevin Baggett said. “He’s in the gym three or four times a day and everything that he gets he’s earned. As a coach, these are the kind of guys you want to coach. He’s only going to get better. Once he starts to get enough minutes under his belt to become more comfortable being out there that transferred over from last year. The sky is the limit for him.”
Rider actually trailed by three with 13:09 left in the second half before Burton scored five straight points to retake the lead. The Broncs pushed the advantage to as many as 16 with 3:10 remaining.
“It was good for us to be in that situation, but also not good because we should have never been in that situation,” Baggett said. “Give our guys credit because I think with about 15 minutes to go we started to really dial in, get turnovers, get some easy baskets and put pressure on them. We got up early in the first half and then we rested and the next thing you know it was a one-point game at half. It is a matter of a lot of guys coming together, but it’s a matter of us becoming a better team.”
Rider’s Flash Burton reacts after scoring a basket against Rowan during an exhibition men’s college basketball game on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 at Alumni Gymnaisum in Lawrenceville. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
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Shemani Fuller scored 14 points and hauled down 11 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
Fuller is a 6-9 forward from the Bronx who came in after one season at Western Michigan and two at Division II Clark Atlanta. He averaged 12 points and 8.1 rebounds last season at Clark Atlanta.
“He’s a guy who is still learning us and our offense and defense,” Baggett said. “He’s been the guys who has been coached the hardest because he just didn’t know. … He makes some mistakes, but it’s not because he doesn’t play hard and it’s not because of his effort.”
Rider doesn’t have a true interior the scorer in the way it has in years past. Fuller will score around the rim with his activity as will the 7-footer Diallo.
But the Broncs won’t be hammering it into the post like it did last season with Tariq Ingraham, who is finishing his collegiate career at Memphis following four seasons in Lawrenceville.
“(We) should be able to run to the rim more,” Baggett said. “You saw some of the lobs that the guys got. We got to rebound with two hands, they got to catch the ball in traffic a little better and not bring it down and allow the guards to get their hands on it. Those are things we are working on and by the middle of the year those guys will settle in.”
Rider’s Shemani Fuller attempts a free throw against Rowan during an exhibition men’s college basketball game on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 at Alumni Gymnaisum in Lawrenceville. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
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Guard Devean Williams was unavailable do to disciplinary reasons.
“At Rider University you have to go to class,” Baggett said. “I’m never going to play a guy for wins and losses and the team rules … our guys know this to go to class. It’s not for me, it’s for you to get your education. If you can’t do that then you can’t be part of the team until you do it our way.”
Williams previously played at Canisius and Bryant.
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Ryan Thompson returned to Alumni Gymnasium as an assistant on Rowan’s staff.
In four seasons from 2006-10, Thompson scored 1,879 points to rank fourth all-time in program history just behind his older brother Jason who tallied 2,040 points from 2005-08.
“It was good to see Ryan back here,” Baggett said. “He’s one of my favorites of all time. One of Rider’s greatest of all time.”
Rowan assistant coach Ryan Thompson looks on in pregame against Rider during an exhibition men’s college basketball game on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 at Alumni Gymnaisum in Lawrenceville. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)