BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Jerry Johnson scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, leading Rider to a 79-59 win over Canisius in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference second-round playoff game Saturday night.
Edwin Muniz added 15 points and nine rebounds, allowing the Broncs (18-10) to advance to the tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the MAAC in 1997-98.
Chuck Harris scored 20 points for Canisius (11-18), which lost its fifth straight to Rider, including all three meetings this season. The loss prevented Golden Griffins' coach Mike MacDonald from winning his 100th career game.
With Rider trailing 34-32 early in the second half, Johnson scored eight consecutive points to spark a 12-0 run. He hit two free throws to put the Broncs up for good two minutes in, and then followed with consecutive 3-pointers.
Johnson finished 5-of-13 from the field and 4-of-10 in 3-point attempts, shrugging off a poor first-half effort in which he went 1-of-6 and missed all five 3-point shots. That was a particularly cold start for one the nation's best 3-point shooters, averaging 3.4 a game.
After the Golden Griffins cut the lead to 44-39 on a Harris drive with 14:38 remaining, the Broncs took control by outscoring Canisius 23-7 over the next seven minutes.
Canisius senior guard Dewitt Doss hit a 3-point basket with 50 seconds remaining, scoring his 1,001st point. Doss became the 26th Golden Griffins player to break the 1,000-point plateau.
