Men's College Basketball
Canisius College 67, Rider University 65
LAWRENCEVILLE- Never say never.
Canisius had never won in Alumni Gym (0-13) and had never won at Rider (0-14) until Friday night. "We just got beat tonight," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. "I felt we were in control but the scoreboard didn't say so."
Gaby Belardo made a fade-away jumper with 8.7 seconds left as the shot clock ran out to give Canisius a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win at Rider Friday. Belardo finished with nine points.
Senior guard Julius Coles scored 18 points to lead the Golden Griffins (13-11, 7-7 MAAC) to their first win ever at Rider. Coles averages 16.0 points per game against Rider for his career.
Trailing 59-52, Canisius out-scored Rider 10-2, five points by Coles, to take its first lead of the game, 62-61 with 4:08 left to play. "They made a couple of big shots down the end," Dempsey said.
The game featured eight ties and three lead changes. Rider's largest lead was just eight points and the Griff's largest lead was the final score. "Two teams played a very even game," Dempsey said. "I felt both teams played very well. Give them credit. At no point did I feel we were playing poorly. We just couldn't shake them."
Rider freshman Danny Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) made a basket and free throw with 3:04 left to give Rider (17-9, 9-5 MAAC) a 64-62 lead. Stewart finished with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. "I was just going hard to the offensive glass," said Stewart, who has compiled 65 points (13.0) and 43 rebounds (8.6) in his last five games.
"Danny has been playing great," Dempsey said. "He knows his role, he's competitive and he plays defense. He and Mike (Ringgold) did a terrific job playing off of each other."
Canisius senior forward Greg Logins hit a three-point field goal to tie the score at 65-65 with 1:01 remaining. Logins finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Rider and Canisius have now met 33 times since the series began in 1929-30, with Rider winning 26. Since joining the MAAC Rider is 24-7 against Canisius.
The win for Canisius avenged a one-point loss to Rider in Buffalo five weeks ago. "It wasn't much different from the first time," Dempsey said. "We won at the buzzer there and tonight we lose at the buzzer. It is a very fine line in this league."
Canisius has now won five of its last six games. "We played a hot team with veterans who are playing well," Dempsey said.
Senior Mike Ringgold (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) added 16 points for Rider, while junior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) added 12 points and seven rebounds. "Every loss is frustrating," Ringgold said, "but you have to take it as a learning experience. We'll get back to work tomorrow in practice. We have a lot of basketball left to play before the tournament."
Canisius out-scored Rider 9-2 over the final 2:38 of the first half to tie the score at 32-32 at intermission.
Rider made eight of its first nine shots, jumping out to a 16-8 lead, six points by Ringgold. Rider led 20-12 mid-way through the first half, eight points by Gadson.
As a team Rider ranks 11th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.405) and Rider ranked 48th in the nation in three-pointers made per game (7.7), but was just two of 14 Friday, matching a season-low. "We don't rely on the three as much as everybody thinks we do," Dempsey said. "We can go inside."
Rider out-scored Canisius 44-22 in the paint, but the Griffins made nine three-point field goals.
Senior Justin Robinson (London, England/Blair Academy) was held to a season-low seven points, making one of six three-pointers. Robinson leads the MAAC and ranks ninth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage. Robinson made both of his foul shots and has now made 44 of his last 46 foul shots. Robinson leads the MAAC and ranks 20th in the nation in free throw percentage (.895).
"What are you going to do, blame a guy like Justin who has been great all year," Dempsey asked. "He didn't have a great game but no one is going to play great every night."
Elton Frazier added 10 points for Canisius. Sophomore Jonathon Thompson (Orlando, Fla./Jones) added six points, five rebounds and four assists for Rider.
Rider hosts Niagara Sunday afternoon.
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