Men's College Basketball
Rider University 73, Fairfield University 69
LAWRENCEVILLE?On Senior Day, it was only fitting that a senior made the big shot. Rider senior Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) made a jump shot with 1:07 remaining to break a 69-69 tie, giving the Broncs a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Fairfield in the regular season finale. Mansell finished with 17 points in his final game in Rider's Alumni Gym.
“I'm happy for Harris because he has made so many big, clutch shots in his career,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. “Harris is one of the most clutch players I have ever coached. The three-point shot he made the other night at Loyola to tie it in the last minute, the huge game-winner against Niagara last week, and the shot today. He made several big shots in our current four-game winning streak.”
“I don't really think about being ?the guy' at the end of the game,” said Mansell, who now has 1,292 career points, 16th highest ever at Rider. “I just play to do whatever helps the team win. I might miss making the game-winning shot when the season is over. It's fun, but I don't think much about it.”
“Every time Harris shoots the ball I think it's going in,” said junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape), who compiled 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Rider (18-11, 12-6) Sunday afternoon. “It surprises me when it doesn't go in. I have a lot of confidence in Harris.”
Thompson grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made two foul shots with 14.6 seconds left for the final score. “We found a way to win,” Dempsey said. “That is what this team has been pretty good at. It is not always perfect, not always pretty, but we've won four in a row, we have 12 league wins in a great league, and we've won nine of our last 12, so I think we've had a very good year.”
Thompson now has 1,249 career points, 18th highest ever at Rider.
Rider ends the season 11-2 in Alumni Gym for the second straight year. Before last year the last time Rider won 11 games at home was 1995-96.
Rider out-rebounded Fairfield 40-26, and made 18 foul shots to Fairfield's five, but made 22 turnovers. “We dominated the glass and got to the free throw line, and those were the difference in the game,” Dempsey said. “If we took care of the ball better we would have been in more control of the game. That many turnovers is very uncharacteristic of our team. That is what gave them the chance to hang in the game.”
Trailing 69-60 with 5:21 left, Fairfield (16-14, 9-9) out-scored Rider 9-0, six points by Yorel Hawkins, to tie the score at 69-69 with 1:36 left to play. Hawkins finished with 15 points.
Fairfield scored the first seven points of the second half before the Broncs went on their own 7-0 run, four points by freshman Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram), to take a 48-39 lead with 14:42 left to play. Gadson, the five-time MAAC Rookie of the Week, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Trailing 32-31 with 3:36 left in the first half, Rider out-scored Fairfield 10-0, six points by Mansell, to take a 41-32 lead at the half.
Rider sophomore Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) added 12 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) had eight points and five rebounds.
The Broncs have now won five of the last six games with Fairfield. Rider and Fairfield have now met 44 times since the series began in 1951-52, with Rider winning 21. Rider defeated the Stags 66-49 on January 23 in Fairfield's Alumni Hall. Rider defeated Fairfield in the 2008 regular season finale in Rider's Alumni Gym, clinching a first place finish in the MAAC for the third time (2002, 2005).
It marks the third time in five seasons that Rider has won 18 or more games. The Broncs have now won 18 or more games in a season 14 times in the 79-year history of the sport at Rider.
Rider has now compiled 57 wins over the last three seasons, the most over a three-year period since compiling a best-ever 58 wins in the mid-1990s (?94, '95, '96).
The Broncs now travel to Albany, NY for the MAAC Championship tournament. Rider is the third seed and will play at 9:30pm Saturday in the quarterfinals against the sixth seed, Saint Peter's. The official pairings will be announced by the MAAC office.
Rider defeated Saint Peter's by 11 on the road and lost to the Peacocks at the Sovereign Bank Arena by one point this season. “I think, in a strange way, the fact that we lost to them helps us,” Dempsey said. “If we had beaten them handedly twice, you might not have the right mental approach. The fact that they beat us the last time we played them should really help our guys focus.”
“Everyone has a clean slate now,” Thompson said. “Records don't mean anything. You can't worry about what happened during the regular season. It's anybody's game up in Albany.”
“As long as we're playing hard, good things will happen,” Mansell said. “We can't control it if the shots don't go in, or if the other team's shots are dropping, but we can control how hard we play.”
A victory Saturday night and the Broncs would play in the semifinals Sunday at 8:30pm against either #2, #7 or #10. The Title Game is Monday at 9pm on ESPN2.
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