LAWRENCEVILLE -- Well, Rider is insisting on doing this the hard way once again.

The Broncs are in an early hole for the second straight season after failing to win either of their December MAAC games.

This time it was a 72-67 setback to shorthanded Quinnipiac on Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium that left the home team frustrated and looking for answers.

"We definitely have some work to do," said junior guard Zion Cruz, who scored a team-high 15 points in his first start. "Everybody knows we can be good, so we're going to come into practice and get better."

Can and are, however, are to very different things right now.

Rider (4-6, 0-2) has lost four straight games and any good vibes from the four wins on the season opening seven-game road trip have evaporated in a mist of 50/50 balls, missed block outs and inopportune turnovers.

"Obviously, it's frustrating going down two in league play, but we got to keep practicing," said big man Tariq Ingraham, who posted his second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. "Make sure we get things right."

The Broncs were in this position last season -- they actually lost the first three league games -- before rallying to finish fourth with a 12-8 record.

The MAAC looks a very tightly-contested league. Five of the six games on Friday night were one possession games in the last three minutes.

The little details matter.

"We all have to take pride in guarding and rebounding. That's about it," Cruz said. "The little mistakes we can try and limit."

MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Amarri Monroe finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. He hit a dagger 3 with 25 seconds left that gave the Bobcats (4-5, 1-0) -- who were playing without point guard Savion Lewis and key wing Alexis Reyes -- a five-point lead on a catch-and-shoot from an inbound play that started with three seconds on the shot clock.

That possession came after officials overturned a goaltending and wiped out an Ife West-Ingram basket that would have tied it at 67-all with 59 seconds left. The Broncs retained the ball, but West-Ingram had it ripped away from him and Monroe ended the game with his 3-pointer.

"I don't want to speak on the refs. I'm sick of it. I'm going to leave my opinions to myself," coach Kevin Baggett said. "I'm not going to blame them. We got to get stops at the right time. I thought that was a goaltend. Ask Wally (Rutecki)."

Rider trailed for nearly the entire second half until a quick five-point flurry courtesy of a Jay Alvarez 3 and Flash Burton steal and layup made it 65-63 with 2:24 to go. Burton (10 points), who was inserted into the starting lineup in place of the struggling Ruben Rodriguez, then sank two free throws to make it 65-all with 1:47 left.

Doug Young's banker put the Bobcats back ahead by two to set up the final-minute drama.

"We're panicking a lot," Ingraham said. "Late-game situations, you can't panic."

So now it's back to practice. There's a week off until the first of three non-league contests to close out December.

"It's a long year," Baggett said. "We just got to get better. We're not far off."

Notes: T.J. Weeks Jr. injured his non-shooting shoulder in the second half and exited the game with 6:48 remaining. He did not return. ... Quinnipiac out-rebounded Rider, 37-29, and had 15 offensive rebounds. This was the second straight game the Broncs got beat on the glass after winning in that area for six in a row. ... The 3-point struggles continued as the Broncs went 3-for-14 (21.4%). Quinnipiac was 6-of-23 (26.1%), but Monroe hit the biggest shot of the game from beyond the arc. ... Both teams missed six free throws.