Men's College Basketball
Loyola University Maryland 68, Rider University 66
BALTIMORE, MD- Junior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) compiled a game-high 21 points and a game-high eight rebounds but it was not enough as the Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Loyola Saturday afternoon.
"We still need to get better," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "Mike is a very good player right now. He doesn't quit on you, he's competitive, he's got all the right intangibles and that's why he's having a great year but we're relying on him too much."
Trailing 53-40 with 12 minutes remaining, Rider (8-7, 1-2 MAAC) went on a 16-2 run, five points by Ringgold and four by freshman Jonathon Thompson (Orlando, Fla./Jones), to take its first and only lead of the game, 56-55 with 7:00 left to play. That was as close as the Broncs could get.
"We seemed to play much harder in the second half," Ringgold said. "I was really happy to see them switch from zone to man-to-man."
"We weren't too far down," Dempsey said, "but we put ourselves in a tough position. We showed heart and character in the second half. If we had come out and played the second half the way we did the first we would have gotten embarrassed."
Rider out-rebounded Loyola 33-30, including 20-13 in the second half. Rider also out-scored Loyola 37-22 in the second half. "It was a spirited effort in the second half," Dempsey said. "We committed to the defensive end in the second half."
Ringgold had a tip-in with :54 remaining to cut the lead to 68-66 and senior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) had a lay-up with six seconds left rim out. "I drove as far as I could get, tried to make a play, but the ball didn't go in," said Thompson, who was one of four Broncs scoring in double figures, finishing with 14 points, making 12 of 13 foul shots.
"Calling time out was an option (with :18 left following a missed shot by Loyola) but we already had the ball in Ryan's hands, where we wanted it to be," Dempsey said.
"We picked up our intensity in the second half," Thompson said. "Everybody was crashing the boards, especially Mike (Ringgold). Everybody was playing together. We just let it get away from us at the end. The way we played in the first half was not getting it done. The second half we played more as a team."
Trailing 56-55, Loyola (8-5, 1-2 MAAC) scored eight straight points, four each by Brett Harvey and Jamal Barney, to take a 63-56 lead. Harvey finished with 21 points, making three three-pointers and all six of his foul shots. Barney scored 11 points off the Loyola bench.
Holding an 18-13 lead mid-way through the first half, Loyola went on an 18-4 run, nine points by Harvey, to take a 37-17 lead and the Greyhounds led 46-29 at the half.
Loyola jumped out to a 13-4 lead, six points by Shane Walker, in the first six minutes of the game. Walker finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Jonathon Thompson added seven points in 18 minutes off the bench. "He's chomping at the bit to get an opportunity for more playing time," Dempsey said of his other Thompson. "I'm trying to work him in slowly as a freshman but he's demanding more minutes right now because he's adding to our energy level, he's adding to our defense."
Also for Rider, junior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) compiled 12 points and three assists and sophomore Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) added 10 points and eight rebounds.
The contest was Rider's first since December 23 and the fifth game in a stretch of six consecutive road games.
Rider won the last time the Broncs visited Loyola, 77-75 on February 26, 2009.
Loyola has won its last four games, including a victory at Indiana.
Loyola is now 4-0 at home this year. Rider is now 3-5 on the road this year.
Rider travels to Manhattan Monday night. "We need to be ready to fight Monday night," Dempsey said. "We have to grow. We are a bit choppy offensively. If we are not going to be a great offensive team, like we were the past few years, than we better be a great defensive team that rebounds, and in the second half tonight that is what we did. We usually score enough points to win if we get stops. If we give up 46 points in a half (first half) we might not score enough points to win, but if we give up 22 (second half) in a half we certainly will score enough points to win on those nights."
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