January 27, 2006 - Rider 81 Canisius 62
January 27, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men’s College Basketball
Rider University 81, Canisius College 62
BUFFALO, N.Y.--The Broncs trailed by 10 points two minutes into the second half, and had Canisius right where they wanted them. “With all of these comebacks we’ve had, we are at a point where the team is unfazed when we are behind,” said Rider coach Tommy Dempsey, who guided Rider to its second consecutive victory, third in the last four games. "There are a lot of peaks and valleys in a basketball season, and we’re starting to peak at the right time.”
Sophomore Jason Thompson (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) scored 26 points, 15 in the first half, and grabbed seven rebounds, to lead Rider (7-11, 3-7 MAAC) to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win at Canisius Friday.
Holding a 54-52 lead, Rider went on a 12-2 run, five points by senior Edwin Muniz (Passaic), to take a 66-54 lead with 4:02 left to play. Muniz finished with 18 points, all in the second half. “That was probably as good of a second half, at both ends of the court, as we’ve played all year,” said Dempsey. “Our attack in the second half was terrific. I don’t think we took any bad shots in the second half.”
Trailing 38-28, Rider went on a 13-2 run, five points by Thompson, to take a 41-40 lead with 13:50 left to play. That was the third and final lead change of the game.
Rider out-scored Canisius 9-2 over the final four minutes of the first half, five points by junior Terrance Mouton (Lafayette, LA/Acadiana), to cut the lead to seven, 33-26, at the half. Mouton finished with 14 points. “Terrance is running the show and has been our catalyst lately,” said Dempsey, “and because of that we’re starting to look like a good basketball team.”
Rider committed 10 turnovers in the first half and Canisius (4-14, 3-7 MAAC) scored 13 points off of those turnovers. “There was a dead environment to start the game, and we played down to that,” said Dempsey. “We kind of limped into halftime.”
The Broncs made 18 of 22 foul shots for the game, out-rebounded Canisius 33-26, and shot a season-best 56 percent from the field. “We played good basketball, inside and out, we shared the ball, and did a good job of passing in the second half,” said Dempsey.
Canisius went on a 12-1 run, seven points by Corey Herring, to take a 31-17 lead. Herring finished with 23 points, including 13 in the first half.
Rider led 7-4 before Canisius went on a 12-2 run, six points by Darnell Wilson, to take a 16-9 lead. Wilson finished with 16 points.
The Rider victory extended Canisius’ losing streak to six games.
Rider stays in Western New York to take on Niagara Sunday afternoon. Rider recently defeated Niagara 78-70 at Rider on January 20. “A lot of coaches talk about playing one game at a time, but we came up here with the intent to win two, to show people we can win on the road,” Dempsey said. “I see a quiet confidence building.”
-RU-
