Men's College Basketball
Rider University 83, Loyola University (Md.) 79
LAWRENCEVILLE- Rider's victory over Loyola Friday night was not so much about what Rider did but more so about what the Broncs now do not have to do.
With the win, Rider has clinched a top-six spot in the standings and has avoided the first round of the MAAC Playoffs. "There were lots of heroes tonight," said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey, after his squad placed five players in double figure scoring. "Just a total team effort."
Senior Novar Gadson (Philadelphia, Pa./John Bartram) scored 23 points to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over second place Loyola in front of a national ESPN2 television audience.
"You have to fight for 40 minutes to beat Loyola," Dempsey said. "They are a very good, competitive team. This win helps us to believe we can play with the best teams in the league."
With the win, Rider (12-18, 9-8 MAAC) has clinched the fifth seed and will play in the MAAC quarterfinals Saturday, March 3 at 2:30 against the yet to be determined fourth seed. "It's nice that we are not playing on Friday (in the first round of the tournament)," Dempsey said.
Gadson made a three-point play (lay-up and foul shot) with 33 seconds left to give Rider an 81-79 lead, the 17th and final lead change of the game. "Coach called my number and I just wanted to deliver," said Gadson, who has just one home game left in a career that has him 12th on the Rider all-time scoring list (1,451) and 10th in career rebounds (716). "We really wanted to beat a good team before going to the MAAC tournament. We needed to play well and go into the tournament with some momentum."
"Our seniors have hung in during a year that had a lot of struggles and I really wanted to give Novar an opportunity there, and it was great to see him deliver in a money spot," Dempsey said. "It was great to see him step up."
Trailing 72-67, Rider went on an 11-3 run, five points by senior Jeff Jones (Chester, PA/Monsignor Bonner) and four points by senior Brandon Penn (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson), to take a 78-75 lead with 1:36 left to play.
Jones finished with 16 points.
Penn made two foul shots with 8.3 seconds left to seal the victory. Penn finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. "Brandon was huge, especially on the glass," Dempsey said, "and making the big free throws."
The 'double-double' was the eighth of the season for Penn, who missed the last game with a knee injury. "This was a big confidence builder," said Penn, who is averaging over 16 points and eight rebounds over the last 17 games. "That's what we need going into the tournament next week."
Loyola (20-8, 12-5 MAAC) took a 79-78 lead with 52 seconds remaining on lay-up by Dylon Cormier, who finished with 12 points.
Trailing 63-53, Loyola went on a 13-2 run, five points by Erik Etherly, to take a 66-65 lead with 7:39 left to play. Etherly finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Holding a 53-51 lead, Rider out-scored Loyola 10-2, eight points by Jones, to take a 63-53 lead with 12:12 remaining.
Rider out-scored Loyola 9-3 over the final 2:49 of the first half, five points by junior Jonathon Thompson (Orlando, Fla./Jones), to take a 46-42 lead at intermission. "That run gave us some confidence going into the locker room," Thompson said, "but Coach told us that Loyola was going to play hard for 40 minutes and we had to as well. That was the key, to match their energy for 40 minutes."
Thompson finished with 15 points.
Gadson had 20 of Rider's 46 first-half points. "Novar carried us in the first half," Dempsey said.
Rider out-rebounded Loyola 35-26. "To be plus nine on the glass shows how hard we fought," Dempsey said.
Shane Walker added 14 points for Loyola.
Sophomore Daniel Stewart (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench for Rider.
Loyola led 24-20 before Rider went on a 10-5 run, eight points by Gadson, to take a 30-29 lead with 5:05 left in the first half.
Trailing 11-8, Loyola out-scored Rider 10-4, four points by Justin Drummond, to take an 18-15 lead mid-way through the first half. Drummond finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Rider got out to a 9-6 lead, seven points by Gadson. Gadson has compiled 79 points in his last four games.
In the last meeting between these two teams Loyola won 63-46 on February 3 in Baltimore. The last time Loyola visited the Broncs' Zoo Rider won 61-60 on February 4, 2011.
Rider has won four of the last seven meetings, including both last year. Rider and Loyola have now met 39 times since the series began in 1931-32, with Rider winning 23. Since Rider joined the MAAC the Broncs are 18-13 against the Greyhounds, including 1-0 in postseason.
Rider will host second place Fairfield Sunday afternoon on ESPN3 in the regular season finale. "We have another really good team coming in on Senior Day," Dempsey said. "If we play good, team basketball like we did tonight we can compete with the best in the league, and we get another opportunity to prove that on Sunday."
Rider and Fairfield will play a women's-men's Senior Day doubleheader, with the women's game beginning at 1pm.
The men's Senior Day ceremony will begin IMMEDIATELY following the women's game, at 3pm. The men's game is scheduled for a 3:30 tip.
The MAAC Championship Tournament, held for the first time in Springfield, Mass. at the MassMutual Center, begins March 2 with the bottom four teams playing in the first round. The final seedings and pairings will be announced by the MAAC office Sunday evening.
-ru-
