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Men's College Basketball
Rider University 76, Manhattan College 73
LAWRENCEVILLE?Sophomore Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) scored 20 points, his second straight 20-point game, to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Manhattan Sunday afternoon. “Mike really stepped up,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey.
Manhattan (4-3, 1-1 MAAC) led 46-38 and led 58-54 mid-way through the second half. “I was concerned coming into this game,” Dempsey said, “and I thought we were flat. It wasn't a good performance but we had some guys step up in the second half and make sure it didn't become a loss.”
Rider went on a 10-0 run, five points by senior Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham), to take a 64-58 lead with 6:41 remaining. Mansell finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals. “I think I missed my first three shots,” Mansell said. “We weren't in the best flow in the first half. In the second half, when it comes down to winning the game, that's when we play our best, and we did that again today.”
“I'm just happy to look down on the stat sheet and see that we won,” Dempsey said. “It just didn't look like it was going to happen today. But there wasn't any panic, never a sense that we weren't going to win. We've come back quite a few time over the past few years. We grind.”
Rider was 18 for 26 from the foul line (69 percent), including an 0 for 5 stretch in the final minute of the game. “You have to get there and make them when the game is on the line, and ?Griff' did that at the end,” Dempsey said.
Holding a 72-70 lead, Rider (4-2, 1-0 MAAC) made all four of its foul shots in the final 15 seconds, two by sophomore Matt Griffin (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) and two by senior Lamar Johnson (Scranton, Pa./Scranton), to preserve the victory. Johnson finished with 16 points off the bench, making two three-pointers and all six of his foul shots.
Rider led 29-25 before Manhattan out-scored the Broncs 9-2 over the final 3:40 of the first half, seven points by Devon Austin, to take a 34-31 lead at intermission. Austin had 19 points in the first half and finished with 24.
Manhattan jumped out to a 14-6 lead before Rider went on an 11-0 run, five points by sophomore Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy), to take a 17-14 lead with 9:10 left in the first half. Robinson finished with nine points and three assists.
Junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) added eight points for Rider, his season low, along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. “Ryan doesn't have to score a lot to help us,” Dempsey said. “He does so many other things on the court to help us.”
Ringgold scored 20 points after scoring 22 points against Rutgers on Wednesday. “I don't put a point number on it, but I expect Mike to be able to deliver when we throw him the ball, and he's done that the last two games,” Dempsey said. “We were struggling a little bit today and he delivered. Mike is a very good low post player.”
For Manhattan, Antoine Pearson added 19 points and Andrew Gabriel added 14 points and eight rebounds.
This was the 32nd meeting between Rider and Manhattan, with both teams winning 16. Rider has won the last four. The last time Manhattan won at Rider was during the 2002-03 season, losing the last six.
Rider is 7-5 in its 12 MAAC openers. Rider won four of the last six MAAC openers, including a loss at Niagara last season. Rider defeated Iona to start the 2006-07 season.
Rider hosts Monmouth in a non-conference game Wednesday. “Monmouth is a former Northeast Conference rival of ours and a cross-state rival and I am sure they are going to come in here looking for a big win,” Dempsey said.
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