February 8, 2006 - Marist 73 Rider 62
February 8, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men’s College Basketball
Marist College 73, Rider University 62
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-- Despite 26 points and 11 rebounds from senior Edwin Muniz (Passaic) the Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Marist Wednesday. “Edwin played great, but overall our offense failed us tonight,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. “We focused on defense and rebounding coming in, and those areas showed up tonight.”
Rider held Marist to just 41 percent shooting from the field, out-rebounded the Red Foxes 39-36 and made one more field goal, but the Broncs were just 2 of 5 from the foul line, compared to Marist’s 15 for18. “It was a pretty even game until the end,” Dempsey said. Marist made six of six foul shots in the final 47 seconds to seal the victory.
Rider (8-14, 4-10 MAAC) trailed 62-48 before going on an 11-2 run, seven points by Muniz, to cut the lead to 64-59 with 2:19 left, and that was as close as the Broncs could get.
Holding a 42-40 lead, Marist (15-7, 9-5 MAAC) went on an 11-3 run to take a 53-43 lead with 12:30 left to play.
Rider sophomore Jason Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) was held to a season-low six points, breaking a streak of 15 consecutive games scoring in double figures. “Jason played in foul trouble most of the game,” said Dempsey. “Jason has been drawing all kinds of attention, with two or three guys on him every night.”
Marist led 29-20 before Rider out-scored the host Red Foxes 9-3, seven by Muniz, to cut the lead to 32-29, and Rider trailed 36-33 at half time.
The Broncs committed 18 turnovers. “18 turnovers on the road against one of the top teams in the league does not make for a winning formula,” Dempsey said.
For Muniz, it was his third ‘double-double’ of the season and the seventh of his career. “Coach had us prepared to win this game,” said Muniz. “And we’re still a confident team. It doesn’t feel too good right now, after the loss, but we know we can turn this around. We’re going to make some noise come tournament time.”
Coach Dempsey agreed. “I don’t see a big difference in talent level between us and anyone else in the league,” Dempsey said. “I refuse to give in to the idea we’re done. We have a lot of home games left and we have time to get it rolling and head to Albany with a lot of confidence.”
For Marist, Will Whittington (16), Jared Jordan (16), James Smith (15) combined for 47 points, while Jordan added 10 assists for a ‘double-double.’
Marist has now won 10 of its last 11 games and is in third place in MAAC, while Rider had won three of its last five and four of it is last seven before losing at Marist.
Rider plays its last four MAAC games of the season at home, starting Sunday at 12 noon against Siena in a Madison Square Garden network televised game.
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