Men's College Basketball
Rider University 88, Manhattan College 77
RIVERDALE, NY-Happy New Year. The Broncs are 1-0 in 2012. "That's all we can focus on right now," said head coach Tommy Dempsey. "We can't get 2011 back."
Making his first start in a month, senior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) compiled 21 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead Rider to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win at Manhattan Monday night.
"I'm getting back into the flow," Gadson said, "and getting my confidence back. I struggled in the non-league games."
"He did it on just nine shots," Dempsey said of Gadson's performance. Gadson made six of nine shots from the field, including both his three-pointers, and made all seven of his foul shots, as he appears finally healed from his off-season surgery.
"I give Novar credit," Dempsey said. "It was a tough stretch that we went through and he's been battling through a lot of things, with the injury and struggling mentally, but it was back to business tonight. Novar has to have a big second half of the season for us to be the kind of team we want to be."
Gadson now has 1273 career points, 21st most ever at Rider, and 662 rebounds, 12th most at Rider.
The Broncs (4-11, 1-2 MAAC) out-scored Manhattan (9-6, 2-1 MAAC) 13-6 to start the second half, four points by sophomore Daniel Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti), to take a 65-41 lead with 15:35 left in the second half. Stewart finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Rider led 34-24 before out-scoring Manhattan 16-5, five points by senior Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson), to take a 50-29 lead, and Rider led 52-35 at the half. Penn finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, his third straight 'double-double' game. "Brandon has really bought in to how he has to help us on the glass," Dempsey said.
The Broncs shot 58 percent (29-50) from the field, 54.5 percent from three-point land (12-22) and 85 percent from the foul line (18-21). "We made our foul shots tonight," Dempsey said.
The Broncs had a season-high 23 assists and out-rebounded Manhattan 37-30. "We've been looking for some offensive chemistry and I think you do that by passing the ball," Dempsey said.
Trailing 73-51, Manhattan went on a 20-7 run, nine points by Kidani Brutus, to cut the Rider led to 80-71 with 4:06 left to play. Brutus finished with 19 points off the bench, making five three-pointers.
Trailing 84-71, Manhattan made a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead to 84-77 with 1:21 remaining, but that was as close as the Jaspers could get.
Holding a 21-17 lead, Rider went on an 11-2 run, four points by Stewart, to take a 32-19 lead with 8:07 left in the first half. "It was a very focused, energetic effort," Dempsey said.
Trailing 5-2, Rider went on an 11-0 run, four points each by Gadson and Stewart, to take a 13-5 lead four minutes into the game. "I thought we took the fight to them right from the tip," Dempsey said.
Gadson started the game for the first time since December 4. Gadson underwent knee surgery at the end of last season and has been slowed for most of this season.
Rider junior Jonathon Thompson (Orlando, Fla./Jones) added six points and seven assists, while sophomore Anthony Myles (Dover, DE/Poly-Tech) added 10 points. Sophomore Tommy Pereira (Nottingham, England/Canarias Basketball Academy) made all three of his three-pointers to finish with nine points in 11 minutes off the bench.
Manhattan beat Rider 71-55 on December 2 in Lawrenceville. "Manhattan beat us this year and we don't ever want to get swept," Gadson said.
Rider and Manhattan have now met 39 times since the series began in 1929-30, with Rider holding a slight 21-18 advantage. Since joining the MAAC, Rider is 20-12 against Manhattan, including 1-1 in postseason. Rider defeated Manhattan four straight times before the Jaspers won at Rider last month.
Rider returns home to host Marist Friday. The Broncs lost at Marist last month. "We're a talented team," Gadson said, "but we've been struggling. We don't want anyone to forget about us. This was a statement game today."
Rider hopes to make a few more statements now that the new year is here.
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