Men's College Basketball
Rider University 66, Monmouth University 54
LAWRENCEVILLE?Sophomore guard Patrick Mansell (Laverock, Pa./Cheltenham) came off the bench to score 12 points, nine in the second half, as the Rider University men's basketball team defeated cross-state rival Monmouth University 66-54 on Wednesday night in a non-conference game. “I thought Monmouth played very well and they are better than their record,” said head coach Tommy Dempsey. “They [Monmouth] came in with a good game plan and it was a challenge tonight.”
Tied at 41 with 8:24 left in the game, Patrick Mansell hit back to back three-pointers, triggering an 8-0 run as Rider (5-2) took a 49-41 lead with five minutes remaining.
Rider shot five for 18 in the first half from beyond the arc and missed its first nine three-point attempts of the second half before the back to back three's by Patrick Mansell sparked the offense.
Patrick Mansell hit a career-high four three-pointers and finished one off his career high in points in 15 minutes of play.
After shooting 34 percent as a team in the first half, Rider shot 54 percent in the final 20 minutes.
“I thought we played well in crunch time and that was enough tonight,” Dempsey added. “I knew the shots would be there, it was just trying to find the right person to knock them down and Pat did that.”
The Broncs went on an 11-3 run, three points each by Patrick Mansell, sophomore Matt Griffin (Narberth, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) and freshman Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, {Pa./John Bartram) .as Rider opened up its biggest lead of the night, 60-45 with two minutes left.
Griffin finished with six points and five assists, all in the second half with Gadson adding 10 points. The five assists are one off Griffin's career high.
“Matt and Patrick are the back court that pulled us through tonight,” Dempsey said. “They have good chemistry together and good energy. They had the opportunity and they delivered.”
“I told Pat that if he was out there, I would be looking for him,” Griffin said. “I know Pat can really shoot the ball and when he is hot, you have to find him.”
“Pat and Matt are in the gym together every morning,” Dempsey added. “I would consider them the two hardest workers in the program. They work together every day and I think that led to their chemistry late in tonight's game.”
“I've come a long way from when I came into the program,” Patrick Mansell said. “It's good to know that the hard work pays off. I've bought into the program and I'm playing more disciplined.”
Also for the Broncs, junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) had 12 points, nine in the second half and four assists with senior Harris Mansell (Laverock, Pa./Cheltenham) scoring 10 points. Harris Mansell and Thompson led Rider with eight rebounds each.
Trailing by five with 4:29 left in the opening period, Rider went on a 10-0 run, three points each by Thompson and junior Lamar Johnson (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) to lead 28-23 with 1:28 remaining in the first half and the Broncs led 28-25 at intermission. Johnson, making only his second start this year and fourth in the last two seasons, finished with six points, two assists and two steals.
“I went small, with a four guard lineup because I knew we would get a lot of looks against Monmouth's zone,” Dempsey said. “Lamar has been shooting well and I was hoping to expose the zone from the perimeter. That didn't quite happen until Pat came in during the second half.”
The game featured four ties and four lead changes.
The Broncs caused 21 Monmouth turnovers and held a 23-2 points off turnovers advantage.
“Monmouth was hurting us with their high-low game,” Dempsey said. “I thought that if we could trap and scramble, we could neutralize that part of their game.”
Rider had eight steals in the game, the fourth time this season that the Broncs have had eight or more steals.
The Hawks out-rebounded Rider 36-33.
For Monmouth (1-10), Travis Taylor scored a career-high 21 points. “Taylor played great and I was very impressed with him,” Dempsey said. “He played hard. He had a size advantage against us because we went small and he took advantage of it.”
This was the 34th meeting between the former Northeast Conference rivals with Rider winning 19 times.
Rider has won two straight and five of its last six. The Hawks have lost four in a row.
The Broncs are now 3-0 in Alumni Gym this year, also defeating Cal State Northridge and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rival Manhattan.
Rider has won 119 of its last 158 games in Alumni Gym and were 11-2 last year.
Rider and Monmouth are former Northeast Conference rivals. Rider defeated Monmouth in the 1994 NEC Championship Game on ESPN here in Alumni Gym. The Hawks defeated Rider in the 1996 NEC Title Game in West Long Branch.
The Broncs have won four of their last five meetings against the Hawks including a 76-55 victory last year in West Long Branch. Rider is 8-4 against Monmouth since joining the MAAC.
After a week of finals, the Broncs travel to La Salle on December 17 for a 7:00pm game. “Once we finish our finals, we'll be off from school for five weeks and we need to use that time to grow as a team,” Dempsey added. “We have a lot of young guys, a different mix of guys and we just have to continue to grow.”
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