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Men's College Basketball
MAAC Quarterfinals

Rider University 67, Saint Peter's College 58

 

ALBANY, NY? Junior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) missed most of the 2008 post-season with a concussion.  On Saturday night, he made up for lost time.

 

Thompson scored a career-high 30 points to lead Rider to victory in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinals Saturday night. "Ryan did what he needed to do to get his team into the next round," said head coach Tommy Dempsey. "They did not have an answer for him so we rode him tonight."

 

"A lot of shots that usually fall weren't falling for us tonight," Thompson said, "and my teammates were telling me to step up and make open shots. It seemed the ball was falling for me today. I guess the MAAC tournament is as good a time as any to have a career-high."

 

The third seed, Rider (19-11) will now play the second seed, Niagara (25-7) in the semifinals Sunday evening at 8:30 pm. "Niagara was great tonight and showed why they are one of the best teams in the MAAC," Dempsey said after Niagara defeated Marist 79-50 in the quarterfinals. "We have a great opportunity in front of us to win a game that not a lot of people expect us to win. We'll be a decided underdog and I think we play really well in that role."

 

"It is always easier to be the underdog," Thompson said. "You have a lot more to prove so you go into the game with a lot more aggression."

 

Trailing Saint Peter's 48-46, Rider went on a 9-0 run, seven points by Thompson, to take a 55-48 lead with 6:40 left to play. That was the fourth and final lead change of the game.

 

Holding a 56-54 lead, Rider out-scored Saint Peter's 11-4 over the final five minutes of the game, six points by Thompson.

 

Thompson made 10 of 13 field goal attempts, all two-pointers, and 10 of 12 foul shots to lead the Broncs. "He was just so good all night," Dempsey said. "That's what you need sometimes from your star player."

 

A First Team All-MAAC and First Team NABC All District 1 selection, the 6'6" point guard Thompson ranks second in the MAAC in scoring (17.7), second in minutes played (37.8), seventh in assists (3.3) and 12^th in rebounding (6.3).

 

Saint Peter's out-scored Rider 10-2 to start the second half, six points by sophomore guard Nick Leon, to take its first lead of the game, 42-41. Leon finished with 14 points.

 

Sophomore forward Ryan Bacon led Saint Peter's with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Rider jumped out to a 20-6 lead, eight points by Thompson.  "We got off to a good start," Dempsey said, "but we never really shot the ball well."

 

Rider was 24 for 59 (.407) from the field for the game, including just four of 19 from three-point range (.211). "It's tough to win when you shoot 20 percent from three," Dempsey said.

 

"It wasn't pretty but we got the job done and that's all that matters in these one and done games," said senior Harris Mansell (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham), who added 12 points for the Broncs, and now has 1,304 career points, 16^th highest ever at Rider. "Just get the win, and we did that. We relied on our defense down the stretch and that's what good teams can do."

 

Saint Peter's (11-19), the sixth seed, went on a 12-5 run, six points by Wesley Jenkins, to cut the lead to 27-23, and Rider led 39-32 at half time.  Jenkins finished with 14 points.

 

Rider freshman Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) collected a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with nine points and three assists off the bench. Gadson, the MAAC Rookie of the Week six times, including the final week of the season, was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team.

 

Sophomore Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) grabbed 11 rebounds for the Broncs, as Rider out-rebounded the Peacocks 39-30, including 24-12 in the second half. "We out-rebounded them by 12 in the second half and that was the key," Dempsey said. "When we really needed the rebounds we got them."

 

Rider will now make its third appearance in the MAAC semifinals, where Rider has never lost. The Broncs beat Fairfield in the 2005 semifinals and beat Marist in the 2008 semifinals.

 

Rider is on a five-game winning streak. The last time Rider won five straight was just prior to the 2008 MAAC title Game.

 

If Rider defeats Niagara Sunday the Broncs return to the MAAC Title Game for the third time in five years.

 

Rider and Saint Peter's split their two regular season meetings this year, with Rider winning (78-67) January 25 in the Prudential Center in Newark and the Peacocks winning (65-64) February 13 at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton. Rider beat Saint Peter's five straight times before the loss at the Sovereign Bank Arena.

 

The Title Game, Monday at 9:00 pm, is televised on ESPN2.

 

Siena (24-7, 16-2 MAAC) is the top seed and is playing on its home court, the Times Union Center, formerly known as the Pepsi Arena, formerly known as Knickerbocker Arena.

 

Siena defeated Rider in the 2008 MAAC Title Game and went on to defeat Vanderbilt by 21 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

The winner of the MAAC Tournament will be one of 65 teams in the NCAA Championship Tournament.

 

-ru-