Men's College Basketball
Siena College 84, Rider University 62
ALBANY, NY-The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Siena Wednesday evening.
"I'm just disappointed with the way we played tonight," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "From the beginning of the game we seemed a step slow. We're in a bad way right now."
Holding a 58-41 lead, Siena (7-4, 2-0 MAAC) went on a 15-2 run, six points by Clarence Jackson, to take a 73-43 lead with 9:30 left to play. Jackson finished with 22 points.
The two-time defending MAAC Champions, Siena has now won 25 consecutive home games, the third longest current streak in Division I and is now 39-8 in its last 47 MAAC games.
Holding a 35-26 lead, Siena out-scored Rider 11-4 over the final 4:30 of the first half, seven points by Alex Franklin, to take a 46-30 lead at intermission. Franklin finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Holding a 19-18 lead, Siena went on a 10-2 run, four points by Ronald Moore, to take a 29-20 lead with 7:50 left in the first half. Moore finished with eight points and 12 assists. Moore leads the nation in assists per game.
Rider (8-6, 1-1 MAAC) missed all 15 of its three-point attempts in the first half and finished five for 27 from beyond the arc for the game. "Our shot selection was not great," Dempsey said, "but then again there were several open ones that were missed. It is hard to get your energy level up when every shot is off the front or the back of the rim."
Junior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) led Rider with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Sophomore Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) added 10 points and eight rebounds, sophomore Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) added nine points in 12 minutes off the bench, junior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) added 11 points but was one for nine from three-point range and senior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) added four points, three rebounds in just 29 minutes of action.
"I haven't had the season, yet, that everyone thought I would have, that I thought I would have," Thompson said. "We just have to turn the page and get ready for the next game."
"Two years ago we were 8-6 and we finished 23-11," Dempsey remembered. "Last year we were 9-8 before winning 11 of 14, so we usually get better during the second half of the season. I expect more of the same this year. We'll be a much better team the next time Siena sees us February 26."
Rider will play its fifth consecutive road game January 2 at Loyola. "We've grown as a basketball team over the winter break the last few years," Dempsey said, "and we're in position now where we better grow quickly if we want to be a team that lives up to expectations."
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