Men's College Basketball
Iona College 72, Rider University 59
NEW ROCHELLE, NY--On the day we celebrated the birth of the man with A Dream, Rider's nightmare continued as the Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Iona on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
"It was a more competitive game than the score might indicate," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "We competed extremely hard in the game."
Rider (10-10, 3-5 MAAC) made one of 15 three-point field goal attempts. "Iona is a good defensive team," Dempsey said. "Once they get their half court defense set up they are very hard to score on. However, I did think we got a lot of good shots, but right now they are not going in."
Senior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) led the Broncs with 17 points. "We all know we are down right now but we are trying to pick each other up," Thompson said. "We know if we stay together it is going to eventually turn around."
"There were some good signs tonight," Dempsey said. "Believe it or not I think the losing has actually brought us closer together, and hopefully that is going to pay dividends in the next stretch."
Holding a 51-45 lead, Iona (13-6, 5-3 MAAC) went on an 8-0 run to take a 59-45 lead with 10:20 left to play.
Trailing 41-29, Rider out-scored Iona 12-4, six points by junior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), to cut the lead to 45-41 with 14:56 remaining. That was as close as the Broncs could get. "We just couldn't get over the hump," Dempsey said.
Ringgold finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. Ringgold has more offensive rebounds (82) than anyone in the MAAC.
Holding a 9-8 lead, Iona out-scored Rider 11-2, six points by senior guard Milan Prodanovic, to take a 20-10 lead mid-way through the first half, and Iona led 35-29 at the half.
"You are going to fall behind early if you don't score," Dempsey said.
Prodanovic finished with nine points.
Sophomore guard Scott Machado, the MAAC Rookie of the Year last season, led the Gaels with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Rider sophomore Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) added eight points and six rebounds, including four defensive rebounds. Gadson has more defensive rebounds (113) than anyone in the MAAC.
With the loss, Rider has now lost five of its last seven games. With the win, Iona has now won nine of its last 11. "We played a team that is playing extremely well right now," Dempsey said. Rider lost by 20 points to Iona on January 9. "Sometimes it is when you play a team. Iona is better than us right now. They are hot and we are struggling, and the hot team came out on top."
Rider defeated Iona six out of the previous seven games before this year.
Rider makes its annual trip to Western New York this weekend, taking on Canisius Friday night and Niagara Sunday afternoon on MAAC TV.
"I still think we are more together now than we were a month ago," Dempsey said. "My focus right now is that we stay together in this struggle. It is a true test of our character right now and we'll see what we are made of. We still have a lot of talent in this locker room. I don't think we are going to go away."
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