Men's College Basketball
Iona College 100, Rider University 96 (ot)
LAWRENCEVILLE- Junior forward Mike Glover compiled 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead Iona to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference overtime victory at Rider Friday night. "It was a great battle between two great teams," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "Somebody had to win and somebody had to lose."
Rashon Dwight made a lay-up with 17.5 seconds left in overtime to give Iona (11-6, 5-1 MAAC) a 98-96 lead and made two foul shots with 6.1 seconds left for the final score. Dwight finished with 16 points.
"This was a great atmosphere tonight," said first-year Iona head coach Tim Cluess. "Games like this, that is why you coach the game."
Junior guard Scott Machado compiled 18 points and nine assists for the Gaels. "Machado puts so much pressure on your defense," Dempsey said. "Great point guards find their guys, and he found his teammates tonight."
The loss snaps Rider's six-game winning streak. The Gaels have now won three in a row, four of their last five and 10 of their last 13 games. Iona came into the game with the highest scoring average in the MAAC (79.3). "It wasn't a lack of effort on defense," Dempsey said of the high-scoring game. "Both teams were in great offensive rhythm."
Junior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) led Rider (12-6, 4-2 MAAC) with 22 points and eight rebounds. Gadson made a basket and foul shot with 55 seconds left in regulation to give Rider an 86-85 lead. Gadson has compiled 110 points and 43 rebounds in his last six games
Rider senior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, but missed two foul shots with 7.8 seconds left in overtime with Rider trailing 98-96. Ringgold scored with 6.4 seconds left in the second half to tie the score at 88-88, sending the game into overtime.
Glover made a field goal and a foul shot with 14.4 seconds left to give Iona an 88-86 lead. Glover leads the MAAC in scoring (21.4) and is second in the conference in rebounding (10.1), and is second in the nation in field goal percentage. Glover was eight for 12 from the field on Friday.
"There were a lot of great players on the court tonight," Dempsey said. "This game was certainly worth the price of admission."
With Rider trailing 50-49, junior Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) hit back-to-back threes and sophomore Jonathon Thompson (Orlando, Fla./Jones) hit a three to give Rider a 58-50 lead with 13:03 left to play. Penn finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Thompson finished with nine points and six assists off the bench.
Rider out-scored Iona 9-4 to start the second half, five points by Penn, his first five points of the game, to take a 47-46 lead.
Iona junior guard Jermel Jenkins came in off the bench and scored 18 points, all in the first half, making four three-pointers. Iona freshman guard Sean Armand scored all 17 of his points in the second half.
Rider scored the final eight points of the first half, five by senior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy), to cut the Iona lead to 42-38 at intermission. Robinson finished with 14 points and eight assists.
Trailing 30-13, Rider went on a 14-2 run, five points each by Gadson and Robinson, to cut the Iona lead to 32-27 with 4:52 left in the first half. "That was a gut-check to get back into the game," Dempsey said of his team's come-back effort.
"Rider is a great team," Cluess said. "There were a lot of great plays made tonight by both teams."
Holding an 18-13 lead, Iona out-scored Rider 12-0, eight points by Jenkins, to take a 30-13 lead with 8:20 left in the first half. Iona went on a 13-3 run, nine points by Glover, to take a 15-7 lead five minutes into the game.
Rider made a season-high 13 three-pointers. Rider ranks in the top 30 in the nation in three-pointers made per game.
For Rider freshman Danny Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points before fouling out and freshman Anthony Myles (Dover, DE/Poly-Tech) added eight points.
The Broncs shot .537 percent from the field. Rider leads the MAAC in field goal percentage and is 16th in the nation (.487).
Rider made 13 of 25 three-pointers. Rider ranks sixth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage.
Ringgold is now 20th in career scoring at Rider (1,219) and 10th in career rebounds at Rider (701).
The game featured 13 lead changes and 10 ties.
Rider hosts first-place Fairfield Monday. "This was a terrific game," Dempsey said. "Hopefully we can rebound for another great game Monday."
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