Men's College Basketball
Rider University 85, Cal State Northridge 72
LAWRENCEVILLE?Junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) compiled 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Rider to victory over Cal State Northridge in the home opener Saturday afternoon. “I thought it was a great fight by our kids right from the start,” said head coach Tommy Dempsey. “I think we threw the first punch, went right after them, and we kept fighting all day long.”
Rider (3-1) out-scored Northridge (1-4) 10-4 to start the second half, seven by Thompson, to take a 51-35 lead with 16:00 remaining. Rider's biggest lead was 17 points, 60-43, with 10:57 remaining.
“Give Rider a lot of credit,” said Northridge head coach Bobby Braswell, who has taken all 12 of his Northridge teams to post-season play. “Rider made some big shots and some big plays, but more than that, they out-toughed us, out-rebounded us, out-hustled us. They did all the little things needed to win.”
Trailing 8-6, Rider out-scored Northridge 18-6, 11 points by Thompson, to take a 24-14 lead with 7:33 left in the first half. Rider led by as many as 12 points in the first half, 33-21, and 39-27, and Rider led 41-31 at intermission on 15 points by Thompson.
“I thought it was important that we play a good first half,' said Dempsey, who saw his team trail by 13 points in the second half at Lehigh and 15 points in the second half at Lafayette, only to come back and win both games. “We were about done with those late comebacks in those last couple of games.”
“Being at home sparked us,” Thompson said. “It's great playing when you have the crowd behind you the whole game. We were just really excited to get a game at home. When things are going good, shots are going to start falling.”
Thompson threw down a thunderous dunk eight minutes into the game to give Rider a 15-10 lead. “I started my jump early and just kept on going,” Thompson said. “That was the best dunk I've seen in this gym,” Dempsey said. “It was explosive and it changed the complexion of the first half a little bit. In the stands, half of the people were on their feet and the other half was in shock.”
“A guy as good as Thompson is, we did a terrible job finding him in transition,” Coach Braswell said. “He's obviously a great player and we lost him a few times and he made big plays.”
Late in the second half Northridge went on a 9-2 run, six points by freshman Matthew Wallace, to cut the lead to 79-70 with 53 seconds remaining, but could get no closer. Wallace finished with 16 points off the bench.
Northridge was led by Tremaine Townsend, who compiled 20 points and six rebounds.
Rider out-rebounded Northridge 46-35. “To be plus 11 on the glass against a team that was a lot bigger than us was a sign of our fight,” Dempsey said. “That is important to our team. We know we are a little small, and we cause match-up problems at the offensive end, but we also have to take care of the glass on the defensive end. When we do that we're a tough team to match up with.”
Also for Rider, senior Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) added 14 points and six rebounds, and sophomore Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) added 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. “Everyone did a good job communicating today,” Ringgold said. “The energy was there being at home and we hit the boards tonight. It doesn't matter that they are bigger, we have to rebound regardless.”
Freshman Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram), the MAAC Rookie of the Week for his last two games, at Lehigh and Lafayette, added 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. “Ryan will usually be our leader in the scoring department but I think you'll see a balanced attack from us on most nights,” Dempsey said. “This is how we like to play.”
Northridge is picked to win the Big West Conference. “We had a lot of respect for our opponent today,” Dempsey said. “This will look like a much better win in a few months. I still think Northridge is a 20-win team.”
Freshman Jermaine Jackson (Reading, Pa./Reading), making his first collegiate appearance after preseason knee surgery, scored just 15 seconds after entering the game, giving Rider its first lead of the game, 10-8 5:00 into the contest. “It was nice to get Jermaine into the flow,” Dempsey said. “His energy was good, he banged, and he was physical.”
Sophomore Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy), who saw his first action of the season at Lafayette last Sunday after preseason knee surgery, started and compiled nine points, three assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
The victory is the third in a row for Rider. The Broncs won 10 in a row last season, at the time the fourth longest streak in the nation.
The Broncs traveled to Northridge last year for the BracketBuster game and came home a 73-72 winner.
According to the latest poll, November 24, Rider is ranked 25th among Mid-Majors in the CollegeInsider.com Preseason Poll. Cal State Northridge was ranked 25th in the Preseason Poll. Cal State Northridge has dropped out of the top 25 but is sixth among “Others Receiving Votes”.
Rider has now won 11 of the last 13 home openers, including the last three. “It was great to be at home,” Dempsey said. “The energy level was great. I think we came out on a mission today, to beat a quality opponent.”
California State University Northridge, with 34,000 students located on a 356-acre campus in the heart of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, was a Division II power for many years, winning 30 National Championships, before moving up to Division I for the 1990-91 season. Northridge plays in the Big West with Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Cal Davis, Cal Irvine, UC Riverside, Cal Santa Barbara and Pacific.
Rider hosts Rutgers Wednesday, December 3 at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.
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