Men's College Basketball
Rider University 80, Lafayette College 73
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ- Senior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) scored 18 points and added five assists to lead Rider to victory over Lafayette in the home opener Sunday afternoon, less than 48 hours after losing by 10 points at UMass.
"This was an important game for our program," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "Any time you get knocked down like we did on Friday you have to have a competitive response. It shows a lot about your team if you show up just two days later and you compete hard and beat a good team."
"It was great to get back out on the court so quickly after the loss," Robinson said.
With the scored tied at 63, Rider (1-1, 0-0 MAAC) went on a 10-0 run, four points by senior Jhamar Youngblood (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick's), to take a 73-63 lead with 2:00 left to play.
"I thought we beat a quality team in Lafayette," Dempsey said. "It looked like two pretty good teams battling it out today. It was a great game."
Trailing 56-47, Lafayette (0-2, 0-0 Patriot) out-scored Rider 14-2, nine points by Jim Mower, to take a 61-58 lead, Lafayette's first and only lead of the game. Mower finished with a game-high 31 points, making eight of 11 three-pointers. "What a terrific guard Mower is," Dempsey said. "I've always had a lot of respect for him. He made difficult shots today."
Rider led 43-42 early in the second half before going on a 10-2 run, four points by Robinson, to take a 53-44 lead with 14:40 left to play.
For Rider, junior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) compiled 12 points off the bench. Freshman Danny Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) added nine points and a game-high eight rebounds. "We need Danny to help us to be a good basketball team," Dempsey said of his rookie.
Senior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) added six points and six rebounds, including his 1,000th career point. Ringgold scored his fourth point of the game and his 1,000th career point just four minutes into the game, giving Rider a 9-6 lead. "I wanted it over (1,000th point) by Friday," said Ringgold, who scored 21 points Friday, "but I came home to get it. I knew about it but once the game started I forgot. I didn't know I got it until they announced it. I didn't get 1,000 in high school so this was big, but it was even bigger that we won the game."
10 of the 11 Broncs who played scored. "We have a lot of guys that can play," Dempsey said. Rider's bench out-scored Lafayette's bench 37-7. "I like to use the bench. Trying to find the right mix is hard. We did a better job today keeping guys fresh and getting everybody minutes. We're certainly a work in progress."
Rider junior Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) added 10 points. Freshman Tommy Pereira (Nottingham, England/Canarias Basketball Academy) made all three of his three-point shots for nine points.
Rider out-rebounded Lafayette 32-23.
Holding a 36-33 lead, Rider out-scored Lafayette 7-3 over the final 1:48 to take a 43-36 lead at the half. Rider jumped out to a 19-8 lead in the first 6:30, five points by Robinson. "I don't think I was ready to be the focal point of the team in the first game," Robinson said. "I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. Today I tried to make plays and my teammates made shots."
Rider shot 55.6 percent from the field.
Trailing 22-13, Lafayette went on a 13-4 run, five points by Mower, to tie the score at 26-26 with 5:20 left in the first half.
Rider and Lafayette are former Middle Atlantic Conference (early 1970s) and East Coast Conference (1974-90) rivals and have played each other 76 times, with the Leopards holding a 39-37 advantage in the series that began in 1943-44. The last time these two teams met was November 23, 2008, an 84-77 Rider win in Easton, PA. Rider has won the last seven meetings and nine of the last 10 with Lafayette. The last time Lafayette defeated Rider was during the 1989-90 season.
The Broncs travel to Southern California to take on the Trojans Wednesday, November 17, as part of the Hall of Fame Tip Off Tournament. "It will be a great challenge," Robinson said, "and hopefully we'll get an upset. We've done it before."
From USC Rider goes to Springfield, Mass to play TCU Saturday afternoon and Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon.
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