CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA –
Flash Burton (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) scored a team-high 17 points, but the Rider University men's basketball team fell at Virginia, 87-53, in the season opener at John Paul Jones Arena. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 0-1, while the Cavaliers are 1-0.
The Cavaliers used an early 11-2 run to take a double-digit lead, 14-4, just over six minutes into regulation and never trailed. The Broncs hung with Virginia the rest of the half, cutting the deficit to six, 20-14, on
Zion Cruz's back cut at the 10:17 mark and the Cavaliers took a 42-32 lead into the halftime break. Burton led Rider with 15 points on 5-of-9 from the floor, including 1-of-2 from long range, in the first 20 minutes. Rider outshot Virginia, 41.7 percent (10-24) to 40.0 percent (14-35), but struggled on the boards, with the Cavaliers taking a 26-14 advantage, including a 15-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Virginia opened the second half with the first 11 points and effectively put the game out of reach. The Cavaliers' lead swelled to as many as 39 late in the period.
Quotes & Notes
"I thought our guys competed well in the first half. We came out, we had some guys in foul trouble leading into the second half and then got further into foul trouble right away. Give those guys credit. I think they just whooped us on the glass. 22 offensive rebounds is not going to be in many games if you give up that many offensive rebounds. On the free-throw line and just offensively."
"Being the first game, we were able to show them film on guys individually, what they were trying to get done. I think sometimes, guys don't really understand what you're saying until you have an opportunity to play in this game. You've just got to be more patient. You've got to set better screens. You've got to use the screens the right way. So, we'll learn from this." –
Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett
- The Broncs and Cavaliers were meeting for just the second time, with Virginia earning an early-round campus-site victory in the 2009 Cancun Challenge.
- 12 different Broncs saw action in the first half and all 14 Broncs on the roster entered the game.
- 10 Broncs made their Rider debuts.
Mohamad Diallo (Decatur, GA/Southwest Dekalb [Fla. Memorial]) and
Davis Bynum (O'Fallon, IL/East St. Louis [Cal St. Fullerton]) started in their Rider debuts, while
Shemani Fuller (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes [Clark Atlanta]),
Antwan Wilson (Salisbury, MD/Wicomico [UMES/Weatherford]), Kristupas Kepezinskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/Ugnes Karvelis), Smith (Atlanta, GA/Fredrick Douglass [Garden City CC]),
Jamir McNeil (Cape May Courthouse, NJ/Middle Township),
Devean Williams (Los Angeles, CA/Narbonne [Bryant/Canisius]),
Daniel Helterhoff (Cologne, Germany/Urspringschule [USC Upstate]) and
AB Coulibaly (Philadelphia, PA/W.Philadelphia/Avon Old Farms) also debuted for the Broncs.
- Playing in his hometown of Charlottesville,
Maurizio D'Alessandro (Charlottesville, VA/New Hampton Prep/Fork Union Military Academy) knocked down a deep three at the buzzer.
Broncs by the Numbers
- Burton scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-4 from long range, to go along with 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds.
- Cruz and McNeil added seven points apiece. McNeil also made a pair of steals.
- Smith contributed six points and a team-high eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
- Wilson chipped in with five points.
- Helterhoff contributed four points and four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
- For the game, the Cavaliers outshot the Broncs, 46.9 percent (30-64) to 32.7 percent (16-49) from the floor, including a 26.7 percent (8-30) to 25.0 percent (3-12) edge from beyond the three-point arc.
- The Broncs took a 62.1 percent (18-29) to 55.9 percent (19-34) advantage from the free-throw line.
- The Cavaliers outrebounded the Broncs, 49-32, including a 22-13 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Virginia never trailed and led for 38:07 of game time.
Up Next
The Broncs return to action Wednesday evening, when they travel to intrastate foe Rutgers. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway. The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
