Men's College Basketball

Rider University 78, Lehigh University 74

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— Things to do before taking a long trip: pack enough clothes, lock the doors, make your foul shots, and oh yea, win the home opener.

Before heading out on a nine-day, four game road trip, the Rider University men's basketball team took care of business at home, and at the foul line, defeating Lehigh Friday night in the 2014-15 home opener.

“It was a hard-fought game but we managed to pull it together at the end,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.

Junior Teddy Okereafor (London, England/VCU) scored a career-high 29 points and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead Rider to victory.

“Teddy had a great game for us,” Baggett said.  “He had an awesome night.”

Okereafor scored a team-high 16 points in the loss at Princeton but just two points in the win at Penn.  “I was trying to stay aggressive and do what the team needs me to do, what the defense allows,” Okereafor said.

“We knew Teddy was an excellent player,” said Lehigh head coach Dr. Brett Reed.  “He was a really tough match-up for us and he iced the game at the foul line.”

Rider (2-1) made 13 of 15 foul shots in the final 6:47, eight by Okereafor, to preserve the victory. “We made our foul shots, that was the difference,” Baggett said.

Rider was 18 of 25 from the line for the game. Okereafor was eight of 10.

The Broncs have now won 15 of the last 19 home openers, including seven of the last nine.

Lehigh (0-3) out-scored Rider 9-0 to tie the score at 55-55 with 8:00 left to play, but could not take the lead. “We closed the game but we couldn't get over the hump,” Reed said.

The last lead Lehigh had was 22-21.

Rider went on 16-2 run, five points each by sophomore Jimmie Taylor (Branford, Fla./Suwannee) and sophomore Kahlil Thomas (Parkway, Fla./Blanche Ely), to take a 27-22 with 4:30 left in the first half, and Rider led 38-32 at intermission.

Taylor and Thomas each finished with 11 points.  “Teddy brings great leadership to this team,” Taylor said.

Lehigh used a 16-2 run, nine points by Austin Price, to take an 18-9 lead after eight minutes of play. Price finished with 19 points. 

Lehigh's 6'10” sophomore center Tim Kempton, who is averaging 17.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, also finished with 19 points, along with 13 rebounds.

Lehigh defeated Rider 92-78 in the 2013-14 season opener in Bethlehem, PA, when Lehigh shot 59 percent from the field, including 61 percent from three-point range.  Friday night the Mountain Hawks shot 59 percent in the first half but 41 percent in the second half.

Rider and Lehigh were Middle Atlantic Conference (early 1970s) and East Coast Conference (1974 to 1990) rivals. The series history began in 1965-66 and Rider holds a 32-21 advantage. 

Rider now begins a four-game road trip. Rider travels from Lawrence Township to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the fifth ranked Jayhawks Monday (ESPN3) in the first round of the Orlando Classic, held at the historic Phog Allen Field House.

From Kansas Rider travels to Orlando to take on #19 Michigan State on Thanksgiving night (ESPN2), the second of four games in the tournament formerly known as the Old Spice Classic.  “I grew up watching Kansas and Michigan State on TV,” Okereafor said, “so this is a dream come true playing them. It is a great challenge and we have nothing to lose since we are the underdog.”

“It is true that we have nothing to lose but we're going out there to win,” Baggett said. “That's our mindset. That is why we scheduled these teams. This team is good enough to compete with them. I'm excited just like the players are.”

The Broncs are excited about the upcoming trip. It will be a successful one, if they pack enough clothes and make their foul shots.

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