Men's College Basketball
Rider University 88, Saint Peter's College 76
LAWRENCEVILLE? With a 4-2 record this season while playing in front of a national television audience, the Broncs are now seeking a seventh national TV game, March 10 in the conference championship game.
Senior Jason Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Saint Peter's Friday night in a game televised nationally on ESPNU. “This was a game we needed and we got it,' said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey.
The victory kept Rider (20-9, 12-5 MAAC) tied for first place in the MAAC with Loyola and Siena, while Niagara falls back to fourth place (11-6), tied with Fairfield, with the loss at Siena Friday night.
Holding a 75-68 lead, Rider out-scored Saint Peter's (6-22, 3-14 MAAC) 12-2, 10 points by J. Thompson, to take an 87-70 lead with :45 left. “I thought Jason was terrific tonight,” Dempsey said. “This is his last few games at home and he is determined to make sure we have a chance to win a championship.”
Rider led 74-60 before the Peacocks went on an 8-1 run, all eight by Todd Sowell, to cut the lead to 75-68 with 4:42 remaining. Sowell, a 6'7', 250 pound senior forward, finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds. “Sowell is a handful,” Dempsey said. “He's so big and strong. When he gets position you can't get him out of there. He had a really good game tonight.”
Rider led 62-46 before SPC went on a 10-2 run, eight points by Darrell Lampley, to cut the lead to 64-56 mid-way through the second half. Lampley finished with 20 points. “Lampley is just a freshman and he's going to be a star in this league,” Dempsey said.
For Rider, junior Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, PA/Cheltenham) added 18 points and six rebounds. Mansell has now scored 73 points in his last four games. “I'm playing with confidence right now,” Mansell said. “I'm playing loose and just shooting the ball.”
Rider jumped out to an 11-1 lead, five points by J. Thompson, and never looked back. “We got off to a great start,” Dempsey said. “We came out with terrific energy.”
Rider led 26-14 before going on an 11-2 run, eight points by sophomore Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape), to take a 37-16 lead. R. Thompson finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Trailing 44-20, Saint Peter's out-scored Rider 13-2 over the final 4:31 of the first half, six points by Lampley, to cut the lead to 46-33 at the half. “We lost our focus a little bit when we got the big lead,” Dempsey said.
The victory is Rider's 20th of the season, the most wins since Rider collected a team-record 21 wins in 1993-94. It is the seventh time in the 79-year history of the sport at Rider that the Broncs compiled 20 wins.
With the victory Rider is now 10-2 at home. The last time Rider was 10-2 in Alumni Gymnasium was during the 2000-01 season. “It was great to be back home,” J. Thompson said of Rider's first game in Alumni Gym in three weeks.
Rider swept Saint Peter's for the second consecutive season and is now 20-21 against the Peacocks since the series began in 1942-43. The Broncs beat Saint Peter's 76-67 in Newark on January 27.
With the victory, Rider finishes the regular season 6-0 against other New Jersey teams, also defeating Rutgers, Monmouth, FDU and NJIT.
The ?double-double' for Thompson was his 19th of the season and the 49th of his career. Thompson enters the final game of the regular season Sunday with 1,937 points and 1,101 rebounds.
Freshman Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) finished with 13 points and five rebounds for Rider.
Rider shot 53.1 percent from the field (34-64) and 38.5 percent from three-point range (5-13). The Broncs entered the game 11th in the nation in field goal percentage, 24th in three-point field goal percentage and 34th in scoring.
The Peacocks have now lost their last three games, five of their last six and 13 of their last 15 games.
The Broncs return to Alumni Gym for the regular season finale Sunday. “We've got a big game ahead of us on Sunday,” Dempsey said. Rider hosts Fairfield Sunday at 2pm. Fairfield defeated Rider by 12 points on February 16 in Bridgeport, CT. “We have to play better defense against Fairfield than we did last time,” Dempsey said.
It will also be Senior Day for four graduating Broncs, including Jason Thompson. “With my last two home games this weekend,” J. Thompson said, “this past week seemed the longest week of my life.”
In one more week, Rider will be competing in the MAAC tournament in Albany, NY, seeking that seventh nationally televised game.
-ru-
