ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Ife West-Ingram was going through his pregame routine of high-flying dunks when teammate Flash Burton turned toward the courtside seating and smiled. “That,” Burton said, “is not normal.” Three in-game dunks and a superb 14-7-6 line later, West-Ingram had repaid the faith coach Kevin Baggett showed in him when he decided to hand him his first career start in a 90-79 victory over Navy. “He’s put the work in,” Baggett said. “I’ve been on him, but that’s what happens when you put the work in.” West-Ingram said he was told that he’d be starting right after the team returned home from Coppin State last Saturday night. This was something he’d been working toward over the summer after a freshman season in which his minutes came in small bits and pieces. “I’ve just been trying to stay confident and trust the coaches,” West-Ingram said. “I had to bide my time. I know the work I’ve been putting in was going to show eventually. I’ve just been trusting the coaches and listening to the older people on the team.” West-Ingram appeared in 20 games last season, but it was at just 6.4 minutes per. He already had an increased role through the first three games at 16.4 minutes per contest and a team-best six rebounds per game, but this was his breakthrough. “He’s been our leading rebounder and energy guy,” Baggett said. “We continue to talk to him about rebound and play defense and let the offense come to you. He’s starting to do that.” The sophomore knocked down all six of his attempts from the field — three of them were dunks — and both free throws. Six of his seven rebounds were on the offensive glass to create an extra possession — Rider was plus-15 in second-chance points — and he dished out six assists as the entry hub in the halfcourt sets. “It was just slowing the game down and staying composed and breathing,” West-Ingram said. “That’s just comes with getting older.” One thing he benefitted from last season was from watching and practicing against Mervin James, the First Team All-MAAC selection who led the league in scoring. “We kept saying pay attention to Mervin because you’re our next Mervin,” Baggett said. “Once Mervin leaves, we expect you to step in, and not be Mervin, but do some of the things to be that replacement. I think sometimes when you are a freshman and you are not playing as much, you get down on yourself, but the growth part of it is he was paying attention.” “It helped me get better a lot,” West-Ingram said. “Defensively, most importantly, because I had to talk.” His teammates have taken notice of the improved player. “He doesn’t even know the level he can be,” said Burton, who, like West-Ingram, is from Philadelphia. “We’re going to get him there and put him in the best position for it.” The schedule doesn’t let up with a the Broncs back on a plane for a matchup at Iowa next Tuesday. But there’s a different vibe in the locker room now. “We attack each game with the mindset that we are going to win it,” West-Ingram said. “We are super confident in ourselves.” *** Zion Cruz scored seven points in 13 minutes off the bench in his Rider debut. Cruz was cleared to play by the NCAA on the eve of the season opener after sorting out an eligibility issue with his junior college, but a foot injured forced him to miss the first three games. The Trenton native knocked down his first shot as a Bronc — a 3-pointer from the right wing — and finished with a pair of 3s and a free throw. “He was still hobbling around yesterday in practice, but he’s a tough kid. He brings energy, brings leadership and he wants to be great,” Baggett said. “Even when he was hurt, he was chomping at the bit to get back on the court. It was great to see his first shot go in and from there he played with a lot of energy.” *** Jay Alvarez has already made more 3-pointers through four games (nine) then he did all of last season (seven) at Houston Christian. He was 5-for-7 on Tuesday night and is 9-for-19 (47.4%) in the early going. So what changed? “He was playing with plantar fasciitis and a knee injury last year and still averaging 15.5 points,” Baggett said. “We have a relationship with his junior college coach, so we went back and watched film on him there. Then his coach at Houston Christian kept saying he’s a better shooter, but he’s been injured all year long.” Baggett said he wanted his team to shoot more 3s — the Broncs are up from 16.8 attempts to 19.5 per game — and while the percentage is just 33.3% — they didn’t shoot well against UCLA or Coppin State in their third road game in six days —they hit on 10-of-19 attempts at Navy. T.J. Weeks Jr. has been the leader in that department. He is shooting the 3 at 40.7% on a team-high 27 attempts. “It was a point of emphasis to be more aggressive and be more of a leader. Not just speaking, but actions, too,” Weeks Jr. said. “If I go out there and be aggressive and confident in every shot then all my teammates will be confident in the shots they take.” *** Rider has won three straight true road games in November for the first time in program history. The last time it won three in a row away from Alumni Gymnasium in November was during the 2010-11 season when it beat USC in Los Angeles and then TCU and Loyola Marymount on a neutral floor in Springfield, Mass.