Men's College Basketball

Rider University 59, Marist College 49

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— Parting is such sweet sorrow.

The Rider basketball fans said goodbye to four Broncs on Sunday after Rider played its final home game of the 2014-15 season.

There is always sorrow in saying goodbye.

The game was sweet, however, as graduate student Emerson Bursis (Scotrun, PA/Pocono Mountain East) collected a rebound and drew an offensive charge in the first four minutes of the game, and scored the final basket of the season in Rider's Alumni Gymnasium.

“Did you hear the crowd erupt when Emerson made that layup?” asked Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.  “That was as exciting as it can get. I'm happy for Emerson and all of our seniors. I always go on record to tell people how proud I am of Emerson.  Everything that he does for us. He doesn't score a lot of baskets for us (the layup for the final score was his first of the season) but he does everything we ask of him. He does things the right way, he works hard and he's a leader on and off the court.”

Bursis made the team as a walk-on and has served as team captain the last two years. He graduated with degrees in both Economics and Finance and will be entering Law School next year. “My teammates really support me when I come in and they want me to score,” Bursis said. “I'd much rather play a normal style, within the rhythm of the offense.”

As far as the rhythm of the offense goes, sophomore Jimmie Taylor (Branford, Fla./Suwannee) scored 20 points, 19 in the second half, and added five rebounds to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Marist in the regular season finale Sunday afternoon.

“Jimmie really played well in the second half,” Baggett said.  “Once he got it going he again showed how he can score in bunches.”

“We did it for the seniors today,” said Taylor.  “That was amazing at the end when the crowd was going nuts for Emerson when he scored.”

“I was thinking don't miss it,” Bursis joked after the game. “Really, I wasn't really thinking of anything, just concentrating on making it,” Bursis said of his fifth career basket. “I was just grateful to be open like that.”

Trailing 28-24, Rider (21-10, 15-5 MAAC) out-scored Marist 19-4, six points be Taylor, to take a 43-32 lead with 10:15 left to play.

Taylor scored 14 points in a four minute span as Rider took a 50-37 lead. “It was just a matter of staying aggressive,” said Taylor, who was seven for 10 from the field Sunday, including four for five from three-point range after making just one of seven shots in his last game.  “My teammates were telling me to stay confident. They rallied behind me.”

Rider out-scored Marist 12-5 over the final six minutes of the first half, four points each by junior Khalil Alford (Raleigh, NC/Fishburne Military) and graduate student Anthony D'Orazio (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic), to cut the Marist lead to 23-21 at halftime.

Alford finished with eight points in 12 minutes off the bench while D'Orazio compiled seven points and eight rebounds in his final game in Alumni Gymnasium.

Marist (6-24, 5-15 MAAC) jumped out to an 8-1 lead as Rider missed its first nine shots from the field, and the Red Foxes led 18-9 after 13 minutes of play. “We came out flat,” Taylor said.

For Marist, Chavaughn Lewis compiled a 'double-double' with 17 points and 14 rebounds. He needs just seven more points to become Marist's all-time career scoring leader.

Also for Rider, sophomore Xavier Lundy (Paulsboro, NJ/Paulsboro) added 12 points and nine rebounds. “X again played well for us,” Baggett said.  “This was the second game he stepped up big for us.” Lundy had a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds in his last game, a 63-60 win at Monmouth.

The 21 wins for Rider ties the program record for regular season victories set in 2008. The 15 conference wins is the most in Rider's 18 years in the MAAC.

Marist is Rider's oldest conference rival.  Rider and Marist were Northeast Conference rivals for five years and both teams joined the MAAC for the 1997-98 season.

Rider has won 14 of the last 16 meetings with Marist. The two teams have now met 52 times since the series began in 1980-81, with Rider winning 29, including 20 of the last 28.

Rider is the second seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship Tournament and will play Saturday, March 7, at 5:30pm in the quarterfinals (ESPN3). Rider will play the winner of the first round game between the #7 and #10 seeds.

Rider enters the MAAC tournament having won seven of its last eight games and 17 of the last 21. “We need to be a little more fluid offensively,” Baggett said.

A Rider victory Saturday and the Broncs play Sunday at 7pm in the semifinals (ESPN3). The MAAC Title Game is Monday at 9pm (ESPN2).

If Rider can return to the MAAC Title Game, now that would be sweet.

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