Men's College Basketball

Rider University 79, Canisius College 68

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— There are countless exercises and workouts on the market today designed to reduce the size of the gluteus maximus. On Sunday, a pair of Rider Broncs showed a different way.

“Teddy and Kahlil played their behinds off today,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.

Rider junior Kahlil Thomas (Parkway, Fla./Blanche Ely) compiled 21 points and 14 rebounds, and graduate student Teddy Okereafor (London, England/VCU) added 20 points and six assists to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Canisius Sunday afternoon.

The victory was the third in a row and fifth for Rider (9-13, 5-6 MAAC) in the last six games.  “We're making winning plays that we were not making in the beginning of the year,” Baggett said, “coming up with big stops in the final five minutes, coming up with the 50-50 balls.”

For Thomas, who made seven of eight shots from the field, it was his eighth double-double in the last 12 games. “Lilly (Thomas) was going to the glass getting rebounds, a couple put backs, made the big free throws, I'm certainly happy for him,” Baggett said.

“I'm told teams are defending me differently now but I don't really pay attention to that,” Thomas said, “I just try to put the ball in the basket.”

“Teams are collapsing their defense and doubling him,” Baggett said. “Lilly has done a good job being patient, passing when he is double teamed. It is becoming tough for teams to double him the way we are shooting.”

The Broncs shot a season-high 57 percent from the field. It marked the second game in a row the Broncs shot 50 percent or better from the field. “Kahlil attracts so much attention,” Okereafor said.  “He's scoring inside and when they double team him he kicks it out to guys for wide open shots.”

Rider is 4-1 this season when shooting 50 percent or better. Rider also shot a season-best 53 percent from three-point range (8-15).

Rider junior Xavier Lundy (Paulsboro, NJ/Paulsboro) added 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Lundy has compiled 33 points in his last 37 minutes of action.

Holding a 64-62 lead with 5:33 left to play, Rider out-scored Canisius 9-2, four points by junior Jimmie Taylor (Branford, Fla./Suwannee) and three by Thomas, to take a 73-64 lead with 2:44 remaining. Taylor finished with 13 points and six rebounds, as four Broncs scored in double figures for the third time in the last four games.

“It is more fun to play that way,” Okereafor said of the balanced scoring.  “The chemistry has been so great the last four or five games. Everybody is defending at one end and moving the ball around at the other end. Everybody wants to play hard for each other.”

“Today was a team effort, through and through,” Baggett said.

Canisius (10-12, 5-6 MAAC) out-scored Rider 10-4, five points by sophomore guard Kassius Robertson, to cut the Rider lead to 52-47 with 12 minutes remaining. Robertson finished with 24 points.

Canisius sophomore forward Jermaine Crumpton made a three-pont field goal with 5:33 remaining to cut the Rider lead to 64-62, but that was as close as the Golden Griffins could get. “We were getting hurt by Crumpton,” Baggett said. “He did a good job scoring.” Crumpton finished with 20 points.

Rider out-scored Canisius 10-3 to start the second half, four points by senior Zedric Sadler (Detroit, Mich./Cody), to take a 45-32 lead with 17:10 left in the second half.

Rider led 35-29 at half time.

Canisius used a 12-4 run to take a 26-25 lead with 4:30 left in the first half, the only lead of the game for the Griffs.

Rider jumped out to a 9-2 lead, four points off the bench from Lundy, and led 16-8 midway through the first half. “We don't want to dig ourselves a hole and play from behind,” Okereafor said.

Rider led for 36 minutes Sunday.

Rider out-rebounded Canisius 33-25. Rider is 8-3 this year when the Broncs out-rebound their opponents.

Rider won both meetings with Canisius last year. Rider lost twice to Canisius in 2013-14.  Since joining the MAAC Rider is 31-10 against Canisius, which includes 3-1 in postseason play. The overall series began in 1929-30 and Rider has won 33 of the 43 meetings.

Rider travels to Manhattan College Tuesday night for the first of three consecutive games on the road. “The next three games on the road will be a challenge but the last three or four games have given us a lot of confidence,” Thomas said.

-ru-