Men's College Basketball
Rider University 69, Lehigh University 68
BETHLEHEM, PA? Senior Lamar Johnson (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) made six three-point field goals but it was his block of a three-point attempt in the closing seconds that gave Rider a come-from-behind win at Lehigh Thursday night. “I was kidding Lamar that if he had fouled on that play he'd be walking home,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey.
Lehigh's Rob Keefer's three-point attempt was blocked by Johnson in the closing seconds. Keefer grabbed his own miss and scored a two-pointer at the buzzer for the final score. Keefer finished with 11 points.
“Just a gutsy performance by our guys tonight,” Dempsey said.
The only senior in the Rider line-up, Johnson replaced his injured roommate in the starting line-up and finished with a game-high 20 points. “With Harris (senior Harris Mansell of Cheltenham, Pa.), out, he's our best shooter, so I knew I had to stay confident and keep shooting, even if I miss a few shots,” Johnson said. “That's what Harris told me to do.”
Johnson made six of 12 shots, all from three-point range. The six three-pointers is one shy of his career high.
Junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) scored a driving lay-up and was fouled with 11.8 seconds left. His foul shot gave Rider (1-1) a 68-66 lead. Thompson finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. “We called time out, called Ryan's number, he got the space he needed and made an athletic finish,” Dempsey said.
“I had the feeling Coach was going to give me the ball at the end,” Thompson said. “My teammates were telling me to step up at the end.”
Freshman Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) made a foul shot with 4.8 seconds left to give the Broncs a 69-66 lead. Penn finished with eight points in 21 minutes off the bench. “I loved the way Brandon played,” Dempsey said. “He played with a lot of confidence.”
Rider freshman Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) compiled 17 points in 22 minutes before fouling out. “I was very happy with Novar tonight,” Dempsey said. “I thought he let the game come to him more tonight after struggling in the exhibition game and at Saint Joe's in the opener. His shot selection was much better.”
Gadson was six for eight from the field. “Sometimes less is more,” Dempsey said.
Trailing 55-45, Rider out-scored Lehigh 8-0, six points by Johnson, to cut the lead to 55-53 with 9:52 left to play. Johnson hit his sixth three-pointer with 6:43 left to give Rider a 58-57 lead, Rider's first lead since 17-16. “I think actually being down helped us,” Dempsey said. “It forced us to press and get it going with our transition game. That is when we are at our best. I think the press really bothered them. They are a good half court team.”
Trailing 48-36, Rider went on a 9-2 run, four points by sophomore Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), to cut the lead to 50-45 with 14:00 remaining. Ringgold finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Trailing 17-16, Lehigh (2-1) went on an 8-0 run, five points by Phil Anderson, to take a 24-17 lead with 6:31 left in the first half. Anderson finished with 10 points.
Holding a 26-22 lead, Lehigh out-scored Rider 11-3 over the final 3:40 of the first half, four points by Prentice Small, to take a 37-25 lead at intermission. Small finished with nine points and five assists. “It couldn't have looked much uglier in the first half,” Dempsey said. “We never got into a rhythm. We were not playing Rider basketball. The pace was too slow.”
Lehigh junior guard Marquis Hall, an All-Patriot League selection who led the conference in assists last year, made a foul shot with 1:58 remaining to give the Mountain Hawks a 66-65 lead, their final lead of the game. Hall finished with seven points and three assists.
Zahir Carrington led Lehigh with 15 points and five rebounds.
The Broncs were playing without senior Harris Mansell, a team captain and veteran of 93 games, who injured his elbow during the season opener at Saint Joseph's, along with sophomore starting point guard Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) and freshman Jermaine Jackson (Reading, Pa./Reading), who are recovering from knee surgery.
This was the 50th meeting between Rider and Lehigh, with the Broncs holding a 30-20 advantage in the series that began in 1965-66. The last meeting was a 76-69 Lehigh victory during the 1989-90 season, Lehigh's fifth win in a row over Rider. Rider and Lehigh are former Middle Atlantic Conference (early 1970s) and East Coast Conference (1974-1990) rivals.
The loss was just the tenth for Lehigh in the last 42 non-conference home games.
The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties.
Rider returns to the Lehigh Valley Sunday to play a 1pm game at Lafayette.
-ru-
