Box Score Men's College Basketball
Rider University 56, Quinnipiac University 53
HAMDEN, CT—It is not how you start, but how you finish.
Rider senior Matt Lopez (Erial, NJ/Washington Twp.) made just one of his first nine shots, but made four of his last four, to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory at Quinnipiac Thursday night on ESPN3.
“We talked to Matt and told him to trust in his abilities and to slow down a little,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett. “He started to compose himself and finished strong.”
“Sometimes when you miss some shots like I missed tonight it is hard to have the confidence to keep shooting,” admitted Lopez, who leads the MAAC in field goal percentage (.645), “but my coaches and teammates gave me that confidence, telling me to keep at it. I give them the credit tonight.”
Rider (11-7, 5-2 MAAC) trailed 51-49 before junior Teddy Okereafor (London, England/VCU) made just his second basket of the game, tying the score for the lucky 13th time, with 2:00 remaining. Lopez followed with a lay-up, his fifth basket of the game, to give Rider the lead for good, 53-51 with 1:00 left to play.
“We persevered,” Baggett said. “We struggled for the most part to score but when we defend, even when we struggle offensively, we still give ourselves a chance. Tonight was a prime example of that.”
Lopez finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Okereafor finished with seven points, four rebounds and three assists.
Quinnipiac (8-8, 2-5 MAAC) used a 7-0 run, five points by Zaid Hearst, to take a 38-33 lead with 12:29 left in the second half. Hearst finished with a game-high 17 points.
Rider answered back with a 9-2 run, four points by junior Khalil Alford (Raleigh, NC/Fishburne Military), to take a 42-40 lead, and the score stayed within two points either way until Okereafor made two foul shots with 31 seconds left for a 55-51 lead.
Alford finished with six points in 14 minutes off the bench. “Khalil is a bit of a veteran and he was able to do some good things out there,” Baggett said.
With the win, Rider has now won nine of its last 11 games.
The Broncs are now 6-3 in away games.
Rider used a 9-2 run early in the second half, four points by junior Shawn Valentine (Sicklerville, NJ/Phelps), to take a 33-31 lead.
Rider led 24-22 at the half after both teams had a tough time shooting. The first 20 minutes saw 46 points and 46 rebounds.
Junior Zedric Sadler (Detroit, Mich./Cody) had 10 points off the bench in the first half and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
Rider used a 10-2 run, six points by Sadler, to take a 13-9 lead with 7:57 left in the first half.
Rider travels to Riverdale, NY to take on the Manhattan Jaspers Sunday afternoon.
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