Men's College Basketball

La Salle University 73, Rider University 60

PHILADELPHIA, PA— Philadelphia is the home of many firsts in the United States; the first library, the first hospital, the first zoo. On Tuesday night, the Broncs were hoping it would also become the site of Rider's first win.

Instead, the Broncs fell to 0-2 with a loss to La Salle at the Tom Gola Arena. “We just didn't respond the way I hoped we would,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.  “We are not competing at the level we need to.”

Rider was led by junior Xavier Lundy (Paulsboro, NJ/Paulsboro), who compiled a career-high 19 points.

For La Salle (2-0), All-Atlantic 10 forward Jordan Price scored 28 points

La Salle out-scored Rider 10-2 to start the second half, four points by Price, to take a 49-29 lead with 15:40 left to play. “Coming out in the second half we just didn't play well,” Baggett said.

La Salle used a 15-2 run, seven points by Price, to take a 37-23 lead with 3:10 left in the first half and the Explorers led 39-27 at the half.

Rider made just one of 11 three-point field goals in the first half, while La Salle made six of 16 from beyond the arc. For the game the Broncs made four of 19, while La Salle finished eight for 24 from three-point range.

The game began with Rider taking a 10-9 lead after five minutes of play.  “We started out the right way but we had too many breakdowns," Baggett said. "It is going to take some time to get this team where we need them to be.”

Also for Rider, junior Jimmie Taylor (Branford, Fla./Suwannee) added 13 points.

Rider out-rebounded La Salle 30-27, with senior Zedric Sadler (Detroit, Mich./Cody) grabbing six rebounds to go along with his nine points.

Sophomore Kenny Grant (East Orange, NJ/Hyde) added six points and five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench, while freshman Kealen Ives (Providence, RI/Classical) added five points and two assists in 20 minutes off the bench. “Kealen and Kenny are coming along and starting to help us,” Baggett said. “The problem is the people who we expected to help us are not, at least not at this point.”

The last time Rider traveled to La Salle the Broncs won 77-68 during the 2010-11 season.

Rider defeated La Salle in Hayman Hall in 1983, the first time the Explorers ever lost in the old campus gym

Rider and La Salle were Middle Atlantic Conference (1967-74) and East Coast Conference (1975-1983) rivals and have now met 33 times since the series began in 1933, with Rider winning seven.

Rider travels to the third ranked University of Maryland Friday for a 7pm game. That game will be televised on the BIG 10 Network.

“We are going to have to play much better than we played tonight,” Baggett said. “We need to start competing.”

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