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Men's College Basketball
Rider University 70, NJIT 49
LAWRENCEVILLE?Junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) scored 19 points to lead Rider to victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon. “Today was about taking care of business, and we did that,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey.
Holding a 6-5 lead, Rider (6-3) went on an 18-3 run, seven points by Thompson, to take a 24-8 lead mid-way through the first half and never looked back. “We dominated the first 20 minutes,” Dempsey said.
Holding a 29-16 lead, Rider out-scored NJIT (0-10) 11-3 over the final 5:12 of the first half, six points by sophomore Patrick Mansell (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham), to take a 40-19 lead at the half. Mansell finished with 11 points in 20 minutes off the bench. “I thought our first half performance was right where it needed to be,” Dempsey said.
Rider senior Lamar Johnson (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) added 13 points, while sophomore Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) and sophomore Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) each added 11 points. Sophomore Matt Griffin (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) compiled three points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Rider out-rebounded NJIT 48-40, including eight rebounds by Ringgold.
For NJIT, who is coached by former Rider assistant coach Jim Engles, Garry Garris scored 14 points, while Brendon Lyn added 10 points and seven rebounds. “Rider is a very good team,” said Engles. “We played Penn State, Saint John's, and Rider is as much a match-up problem. We just played Towson and Rider is as good as Towson is.”
The loss was the 43rd in a row for NJIT over three seasons, including all 10 this year and all 28 last season. “We didn't take them lightly,” Dempsey said.
“You don't want to be the team that loses to them,” Thompson said. “You don't want to be on ESPN for the wrong reason,” Johnson said. “It will be national news when they win.”
The 49 points is the least Rider has given up since holding Canisius to 51 points last season.
Rider has won three of its last four games.
Rider is now 4-0 in Alumni Gymnasium this season and has won 17 of the last 20 in the Broncs' Zoo.
The Broncs were playing without starting senior guard Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham), who is still recovering from an elbow injury sustained in the season opener. Mansell is Rider's third leading scorer this season, having played in seven of Rider's first eight games, all as a starter. “Harris is such a tough kid, he tried to play through it and I don't think he let on how much it bothered him,” Dempsey said. “It was my decision to rest him and my focus is to get him back for Iona (January 1), for the MAAC games.”
Johnson and Patrick Mansell filled in for him and combined for 24 points. “Both of those guys played well today,” Dempsey said.
The Broncs travel to Binghamton December 23 and return home December 27 to host Drexel in a 3pm game televised on CN8.
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