Men's College Basketball|
Rider University 80, Marist College 66
LAWRENCEVILLE- The Broncs went (red) fox hunting Thursday night and came away with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Marist.
Junior Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) scored 20 points to lead Rider. "We knew we had to play well tonight," said Penn. "This was a must win for us."
The victory ended a two-game home losing streak. "It was nice to get a win at home," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey.
The win was Rider's ninth in the last 13 games. The loss was the third in a row for Marist and the 10th in the last 12 games.
Rider (13-7, 5-3 MAAC) began the second half by out-scoring Marist 13-1, seven points by freshman Danny Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti), taking a 48-33 lead with 15:02 left to play. Stewart finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots on his 19th birthday.
"We are better this year because Danny is here," Dempsey said of his rookie post player. "He's given us a presence inside."
Stewart has 33 rebounds in his last three games. "I just try to hustle, find my man, box him out and go for the ball," Stewart said.
Trailing 55-37, Marist (4-16, 3-5 MAAC) went on a 9-2 run, six points by sophomore guard Candon Rusin, to cut the Rider lead to 57-46 with 8:00 left to play. Rusin finished with 18 points.
Trailing 64-49, Marist out-scored Rider 7-0 to cut the lead to 64-56 with 3:20 left. Trailing 67-56, Marist out-scored Rider 5-0, three by Devin Price, to cut the lead to 67-61 with 2:10 left, but that was as close as the Red Foxes could get. Price finished with 15 points.
"Give Marist credit, they played well," Dempsey said. "They played with confidence."
The Rider defense caused 19 Marist turnovers. "I think our pressure defense was the difference in the game," Dempsey said. "It led to a lot of open looks for us. Their turnovers opened up the game."
Rider leads the MAAC in shooting percentage, both overall and from three-point range, but Rider shot just .261 from beyond the arc on Thursday (6-23). "We didn't shoot the ball well tonight," Dempsey said. "The ball just didn't go in. We worked it more inside in the second half."
The Broncs led 35-32 at the half on 13 points by Penn. "Against a zone, I tried to work the middle," Penn said. "I made a couple of easy ones and that got me going. I started feeling it. Every time I hit my first shot or two I gain the confidence I need."
"When Brandon gets off to a good start it stretches the defense," Dempsey said. Penn made four of eight three-pointers.
Rider senior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) added 15 points and junior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) added 10 points. Senior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) added 11 points, seven rebounds and tied a career high with seven assists.
Sophomore guard Sam Prescott led the Red Foxes with 18 points.
The victory was the seventh straight for Rider over Marist. Since Marist and Rider joined the MAAC in 1997-98 Rider is 17-12 against the Red Foxes.
Rider travels to Siena Monday night for a game televised on the Madison Square Garden Network, the first of three straight road games. Rider is 8-3 away from Alumni Gym. "Next week will determine if we are contenders for the regular season title or not," Dempsey said. "If we're able to win a couple of them it keeps us in the race."
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