Men's College Basketball
University of Massachusetts 77, Rider University 67
AMHERST, MASS-A tale of two halves.
In the first half Rider could do no wrong, shooting 50 percent from three point range, 80 percent from the foul line, and out-rebounding the host team 21-13 to build a 21-point lead. "Halftime is probably the worst thing that could have happened to us," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "We were clicking on all cylinders."
In the second half, Rider could do little right, as the Minutemen came alive. "That was about as lousy as a second half as you could go through," Dempsey said.
The UMass Minutemen out-scored Rider 53-22 in the second half to defeat the Broncs by 10 in the 2010 season opener. "We just got real stale, offensively, in the second half," Dempsey said. "We stopped scoring, which really fueled their run."
Trailing 53-45, UMass (1-0) went on a 19-2 run, 10 points by Freddie Riley, to take a 64-55 lead with 4:33 left to play. 57-55 was the Minutemen's first lead of the game, with 7:06 remaining.
Riley, a sophomore guard, scored 28 points off the bench, while Anthony Gurley, a 6-3 senior guard, led all scorers with 31.
"They have two great players," Dempsey said, "and they made a great run."
Riley and Gurley had 16 of the 18 second half field goals by UMass.
Trailing 45-24 at the half, UMass out-scored Rider 21-5 over the first 9:55 of the second half, 11 points by Riley, to cut the lead to 50-45.
Holding a 20-17 lead, Rider out-scored UMass 12-0, five points by junior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) and four by senior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), to take a 32-17 lead with 6:12 left in the first half, and Rider led 45-24 at half time.
Ringgold finished with 21 points, giving him 996 for his career, along with a team-high nine rebounds and four steals. "This was our first game, so it was a learning experience," Ringgold said.
Gadson finished with 13 points off the bench, while senior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) finished with 12 points and six assists.
"They did a good job of keeping the ball out of Justin's hands in the second half," Dempsey said. "That changed the complexion of the game."
Rider made seven of 14 three-point shots in the first half and finished nine for 18 from beyond the arc.
Rider jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first eight minutes, with six different players scoring.
Rider and UMass have now played eight times, with UMass winning all eight meetings, the last coming in 2004-05, a 73-63 Minuteman win.
"It's a five-month process," Dempsey said. "This will serve as a good learning experience for us. We'll be a better team. We just need to turn the page and be ready for Sunday."
Rider plays the home opener Sunday at 4pm against Lafayette. That game will be televised on ESPN Full court, ESPN3 and RCN.
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