Men's College Basketball
Rider University 73, Loyola Marymount University 63
SPRINGFIELD, MASS- It is not how you start, it is how you finish. Following that same logic, it doesn't matter who starts the game, it matters who finishes it.
The Broncs overcame a sluggish first half to finish strong Sunday afternoon in a come-from-behind victory over Loyola Marymount in the Hall of Fame Tip Off Tournament
"We weren't real good today," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey, "but we did enough to win the game. We dug down and found a way to win."
Junior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) came in off the bench and scored 18 points to lead Rider to its fourth straight win. "My teammates found me and I had open shots and made them," Gadson said.
Trailing 38-37 at the half, Rider (4-1) out-scored LMU (2-3) 11-4 to start the second half, six points by senior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), to take a 48-42 lead with 15:18 left to play. Ringgold's lay up in the opening seconds of the second half gave Rider its first lead of the game, 39-38. Ringgold finished with 16 points.
"We got off to a slow start in the first half," Ringgold said, "but we regrouped and focused on defense in the second half. We got more stops in the second half."
Holding a 48-44 lead, Rider went on an 8-0 run, five points by senior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy), to take a 56-44 lead with 11:50 left. Robinson, Rider's leading scorer, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with nine points.
"When your leading scorer doesn't score a point and you are only trailing by one at the half I knew we would have a chance to win the game," Dempsey said. "We were a little flat in the first half but we had more energy on defense in the second half."
Freshman Anthony Myles (Dover, DE/Poly-Tech) added 10 points off the bench.
The Broncs made seven of 10 three-point field goals in the first half, four by Gadson. A three-pointer by senior Jhamar Youngblood (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick's) with 10 seconds left in the first half cut the LMU lead to 38-37. Youngblood finished with six assists and five rebounds.
"Novar was huge off the bench," Dempsey said. "His offense kept us in the game in the first half. He carried us in the first half, then Mike (Ringgold) hammered them inside in the second half. Ringgold scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half.
Trailing 63-49, LMU went on a 10-0 run as the Broncs went scoreless for almost seven minutes, allowing the Lions to cut the lead to 63-59. "Loyola is a good team," Dempsey said. "Our defense was able to hold them to 25 points in the second half and that was the difference in the game."
The Broncs made four foul shots in the final 1:31 to preserve the victory, Rider's fourth in a row. Rider has not been 4-1 since the 2006-07 season.
Rider shot 51 percent from the field (26-51), including 11 of 19 three-point field goals, while Loyola Marymount shot just 38 percent (24-62) from the field. "When you shoot over 50 percent and your opponent shoots in the 30s, you are going to win a lot of games," Dempsey said.
Rider returns to Alumni Gym to host Siena in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Friday. "We played well in this tournament," Dempsey said, "but Friday night the intensity moves up a notch or two."
"We gained some confidence in this tournament," Ringgold said, "but MAAC games are a whole different thing. We need to be ready for Siena."
"Going 4-1 to start will help us against Siena," Gadson said.
"Wins like the one at USC early in the season can help build your confidence," Dempsey said. "It gives you energy. We came up here and played with confidence. Siena is a great team and it will be a big test for us."
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