WHO: Mount St. Mary’s (11-5, 4-1) at Rider (5-11, 1-4) WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m., Alumni Gymnasium TV/ RADIO: ESPN+/ 107.7 The Bronc Retro LAST TIME OUT: Rider def., Niagara, 68-65; Mount St. Mary’s def. Sacred Heart, 73-71 STREAK: Rider W1; Mount St. Mary’s W3 SERIES HISTORY: Rider leads, 16-13. The Broncs swept the season series last year, with both victories coming by four points. These two teams were previously rivals in the Northeast Conference. The Mount secured its first NCAA Tournament berth with a victory over Rider in the 1995 NEC championship game. NCAA NET RANK: Rider 333; Mount St. Mary’s 214 KENPOM RANK: Rider 330; Mount St. Mary’s 223 SCOUTING RIDER: The Broncs got off the deck after the debacle at Canisius to beat Niagara and get their first MAAC win. Now they have to build on that and start stacking victories even against a tough stretch of the schedule that begins on Thursday night with a visit from the Mount. The glass half full approach tells you to look at a congested MAAC table where nine of the 13 teams have either three of four losses. There’s plenty of maneuvering to be done between now and the end of the month when teams will really start to take stock of how they stack up (remember only the top 10 make it to Atlantic City in March). Four of Rider’s five MAAC contests have been a one-possession game in the final minute and have been decided by a total of 12 points. “We’ve lost three buzzer beaters,” is how forward Tank Byard summed it up. The Broncs have struggled to guard the perimeter — opponents are shooting 37.4% from 3 — and combined with their own poor shooting has been a bad mix. However, they did a better job last time out and matched Niagara with seven made 3s. They also got a good T.J. Weeks Jr. game (18 points; 4-of-7 on 3s). Weeks Jr. is a streaky shooter, but at 34.1% and with volume opponents have to at least respect him. Rider is a better team when Weeks Jr. makes shots. SCOUTING MOUNT ST. MARY’S: First-year coach Donny Lind has the Mountaineers off to their best 16-game start since joining the Division I ranks. They have won three straight and five of the last six and sit just behind the lead pack in the MAAC. Forward Dola Adebayo hit a 15-footer at the buzzer to give the Mount a two-point win over Sacred Heart last time out. The Mountaineers have a balanced offensive attack as all five starters average at least 6.9 points. Adebayo is the top scorer at 11.7 points, while 6-9 forward Jedy Cordilia operates in the paint to the tune of 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. Terrell Ard Jr. gives them good sixth-man punch with 11.4 points off the bench (leading scorer Dallas Hobbs has missed the last three games with an injury). The Mount defends the 3-point line very well by holding opponents to 29%, which ranks second in the MAAC behind Saint Peter’s and 28th nationally. An oddity: KenPom says the Mountaineers are the third luckiest team in the country.