Men's College Basketball
Fairfield University 79, Rider University 75 OT
LAWRENCEVILLE-- Abraham Lincoln, who was born 201 years ago today, once said "I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."
The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game in overtime to Fairfield Friday night. "That was a tough loss," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "The game was hard-fought and fairly well played by both teams."
Fairfield (17-8, 10-5 MAAC) made five of eight foul shots in overtime, two by 5'11" guard Derek Needham, the top rookie in the MAAC, who finished with 20 points in 45 minutes of action. "Derek controls the game night in and night out," said Fairfield head coach Ed Cooley. "There are not many freshmen in the country who do that."
"We just didn't make enough plays in overtime to get the victory," Dempsey said, "but I'm proud of the way the kids played, especially to get it into overtime."
Rider (14-13, 7-8 MAAC) junior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) scored on a driving layup with 4.8 seconds left in the second half to tie the score at 71-71, sending the game into overtime. Robinson finished with 15 points. "It was a good fight to get it to overtime," Dempsey said.
Rider junior Jhamar Youngblood (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick's) dunked with 11.7 seconds left in regulation to cut the lead to 70-69. Youngblood finished with 11 points.
Fairfield senior forward Anthony Johnson compiled 27 points and 14 rebounds. Johnson was 13 of 15 from the foul line, including one of two with 10.5 left in regulation to give the Stags a 71-69 lead. "Give Fairfield credit, they played well," Dempsey said. "Johnson played great. Making 13 of 15 from the line by a guy who is a 56 percent free throw shooter. That was one of the big keys of the game."
Others may think there was another key to the game.
Rider senior Ryan Thompson (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) was called for a flagrant foul with 2:33 left in the second half and was ejected from the game after scoring 18 points in 36 minutes of action. The MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, Thompson was called for throwing an elbow while Fairfield was pressing.
"I was told after they checked the monitors that it was a flagrant foul, excessive contact, and that is an automatic ejection," Dempsey said. "It was an emotional play when we were already trailing (68-65) and there was a level of shock. The ejection took it to another level, but we re-grouped and rallied. I told the guys to stay together, to stay calm, that we still had a chance to win the game."
Thompson has scored 119 points in his last five games. Thompson was seven of eight from the line and has now made 41 of his last 46 foul shots.
The Broncs had won five of the last six meetings with Fairfield. "This was our first win in this building since I've been here," said Cooley, now in his fourth year at Fairfield. "This was a tough game. We beat a team that has been playing well."
Rider had won four of its last five games before Friday.
Rider sophomore Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) added 10 points and eight rebounds, including four points in overtime and a three-pointer with 3:45 left in regulation to cut the lead to 66-65. "When Ryan left it gave us motivation," Gadson said. "We never give up, we rallied together, stayed together, what we've been doing all year, and forced it to overtime."
Rider led 58-56 before Fairfield out-scored the Broncs 10-2, four points by Johnson, to take a 66-60 lead with 5:10 remaining. That was the eighth and final lead change of the game.
Trailing 52-47, Rider out-scored Fairfield 8-2, six points by Thompson, to take a 55-54 lead with 12:25 left to play.
Rider junior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) compiled 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Fairfield led 39-36 at half time. Needham and Ringgold each had 12 first-half points.
Trailing 21-14, Rider went on an 11-3 run, five points by sophomore Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson), to take a 25-24 lead with 8:03 left in the first half. Penn finished with eight points.
Fairfield jumped out to a 13-7 lead, nine points by Needham.
The Stags, who lost by just two points to first place (14-0) Siena on Monday, remain in third place in the MAAC and Rider remains in fifth place, tied with Canisius.
"This is a setback," Dempsey said. "We had a setback last Friday against Loyola, were feeling pretty lousy, but bounced back to win on Monday. Now we're feeling lousy but all we can do is try to find a way to feel better on Monday night."
Rider travels to Saint Peter's for a MAAC TV game Monday night. "This is going to be a game that will be hard to win," Dempsey said. "It is a tough place to play and they are playing well right now. We're going to go up there and try to bounce back. It has been a season of trying to bounce back. These guys keep showing up every day. When our backs have been up against the wall we've been finding ways to continue to fight our way out of it."
Our 16th president, Lincoln also said "The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me."
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