Box Score Men's College Basketball
Michigan State University 77, Rider University 45
ORLANDO, FLORIDA— Even though the Spartans built one of the finest militaries of the ancient world, their culture was so harsh that the word “Spartan” has become synonymous with an austere way of life.
On Thanksgiving night the Michigan State Spartans' defense was so severe, so stern, the Broncs had little to be thankful for.
In the Orlando Classic, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, the Spartan defense allowed just 45 Rider points, the lowest Bronc out-put in two seasons.
“Give Michigan State a lot of credit, I think they played a really good game,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett. “They took us out of some things we were trying to do. Credit their defense.”
Rider made just three of its first 25 shots from the field, as MSU jumped out to a 25-9 lead and never looked back, leading 32-11 at the half. “We missed a lot of lay-ups in the first half,” Baggett said. “If we made those shots we had an opportunity to be in this game.”
For Rider (2-3), senior Matt Lopez (Erial, NJ/Washington Twp.) scored a career-high 14 points, while grabbing five rebounds. “I thought Matt played well tonight,” Baggett said, “we just didn't get enough guys around him to play well. Matt scored well and he defended well.”
“As a team we are just trying to get better,” said Lopez, playing his first season at Rider. “Playing these top 20 teams gives us an opportunity to get better. We just have to take the positives from these games.”
One of the positives is that like at Kansas, the Broncs held their own on the boards, as MSU held a slight 42-38 advantage in rebounding. Rider grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. “Looking at the score and the stats it looks like we played poorly but I think we played better than we did at Kansas,” Baggett said. “We controlled the tempo for the most part, which is what we wanted to do. I didn't want to get up and down the court with them.”
Sophomore Kahlil Thomas (Parkway, Fla./Blanche Ely), playing in front of family and friends from the Sunshine State, added seven points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.
Michigan State (4-1) was led by junior guard Denzel Valentine, who made five three-pointers and finished with 19 points.
The 19th ranked Spartans shot 49 percent from the field and held Rider to 26 percent. The Broncs made just one of 13 three-point shots. The Rider starting guards, who have led the Broncs in the first four games, were a combined 4-27. “Our guards really struggled,” Baggett said, “and we rely on our guards to get good shots and they didn't get them tonight.”
Rider will now play Georgia Tech Friday at 6:30 pm. That game will be televised on ESPNU. Rider is 2-0 all-time vs. Georgia Tech, the last win coming in 1933.
“We just need to keep a positive mindset,” Baggett said. “We need to be ready to go tomorrow. We're a good team, we just have to put these last two games behind us. We just played two top-20 teams, and they are top-20 for a reason. We can certainly take some lessons from these games, but one of the problems with playing teams like this back-to-back, it can rattle your confidence. We'll get our confidence back and we'll be alright.”
Rider's two toughest opponents of the season are behind them. On Thanksgiving, that is truly something to be thankful for.
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