LAWRENCEVILLE? Coming off a disappointing one-point loss on Friday, the Broncs wanted to make a statement on Sunday. “There are two ways to react to that loss on Friday,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. “You could hang your head and have a hangover effect, or you can come out and play the way we played today. I think we handled the tough loss with maturity.”
The Broncs snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Canisius by 51 points Sunday afternoon, the largest scoring margin for Rider since the 1963-64 season when Rider defeated Hunter 103-50. “After a tough loss Friday I think it shows our maturity the way we came back and made a statement today,” said senior Jason Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape), who compiled 18 points and 15 rebounds in just 26 minutes of action.
Junior Lamar Johnson (Scranton, PA/Scranton) came in off the bench and was perfect, making all six of his shots from the field, all six from beyond the arc, and all three of his foul shots for a career-high 21 points in just 16 minutes of action. “The rim looked huge today,” said Johnson, who compiled a four-point play that gave Rider a 75-28 lead.
The 100 points marked the first time Rider scored 100 in regulation since February 22, 1998 when Rider defeated Siena 102-90, and it made Canisius 0-11 lifetime in Alumni Gym. “It wasn't so much Canisius as it was the way we ran our offense today,” Dempsey said. “Jason was out-running their big men down the floor and we had a lot of options today.”
The ?double-double' for Thompson was his ninth of the year and the 39th of his career. In addition to Johnson and Jason Thompson, sophomore Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) added 15 points and five assists in 22 minutes.
Holding a 12-10 lead, Rider (9-6, 2-2 MAAC) scored 16 consecutive points, nine by Johnson and out-scored Canisius (2-12, 0-4 MAAC) 22-3 to take a 34-13 lead mid-way through the first half.
Holding a 39-23 lead, Rider scored the next 11 points to take a 50-23 lead and led 54-25 at the half. The 54 points is the most Rider scored in a half since January 3, 2005, when Rider scored 57 points in the second half of a 95-86 victory over Saint Peter's.
Rider scored the first 12 points of the second half and out-scored Canisius 17-2 to take a 71-27 lead before emptying the bench with 13 minutes left to play.
The victory was the second for Rider over Canisius in four weeks. Elton Frazier scored a game-high 22 points off the Canisius bench.
The Broncs are now 5-1 at home this season, and have now won 110 of their last 148 (.743) games in Alumni Gym. Last year Rider was 8-5 at home with one winning coming at the Sovereign Bank Arena.
Rider has now won four of its last six games and six of the last nine.
Canisius shot just 11-21 from the foul line.
Rider travels to Iona Friday for a 7:30 MAAC game. “That will be a big challenge for us,” Dempsey said. “Iona has been a tough place for us to play, but we've had some success away from home this year. Our guys tend to like the ?us against the world' feeling on the road.”
Rider defeated Penn State (neutral), Canisius, Monmouth and Rutgers all away from home this year.
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