February 12, 2006 - Siena 92 Rider 73
February 12, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men’s College Basketball
Siena College 92, Rider University 73
LAWRENCEVILLE—Despite 17 points each from junior Terrance Mouton (Lafayette, LA/Acadiana) and sophomore Jason Thompson (Mt. Laurel/Lenape), the Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game to Siena Sunday afternoon in a game televised on the Madison Square Garden Network. “Siena was just too quick for us today,” said Rider coach Tommy Dempsey.
Rider out-scored Siena from the field (60-59), but Siena made 33 of 39 foul shots, compared to 13 of 23 for Rider. “We didn’t make our foul shots today, and that hurt us,” Dempsey said.
Freshman Kenny Hasbrouck scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Saints. “Hasbrouck was terrific,” said Dempsey. “We had no answers for him. He’s the MAAC Rookie of the Year as far as I’ve seen.”
“I’ve seen very few freshman play with the composure Hasbrouck has,” said Siena head coach Fran McCaffery. “He has been very consistent all year, which is rare for a freshman.”
Trailing 53-38, Rider went on a 12-4 run, six points by freshman Lamar Johnson (Scranton, PA/Scranton), to cut the lead to seven, 57-50, but that was as close as Rider could get. Johnson finished with six points and four assists. “We had it to seven, but making a run like that takes its toll,” said Dempsey. “We’ve been able to come back all year, our guys never quit, but eventually you run out of gas, and that is what happened today.”
Holding a 63-56 lead with 9:00 left in the second half, Siena (12-11, 7-8 MAAC) went on an 18-2 run, six points by Kojo Mensah, to take an 81-58 lead with 5:00 left to play. Mensah finished with 17 points.
Siena jumped out to a 22-5 lead, 12 points by Tay Fischer, and led 42-18 with 3:20 remaining in the first half. Fischer finished with 17 points. “The last 30 minutes we played hard, but 30 minutes is not enough at this level,” said Dempsey.
Rider (8-15, 4-11 MAAC) went on a 12-2 run, six points by junior Terrance Mouton (Lafayette, LA/Acadiana), to cut the lead to 44-30, and Siena led 46-30 at half time. Mouton finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. “Terrance came in and gave us a huge spark in the first half,” said Dempsey. “If it wasn’t for him it would not have been as close as it was. He came in and played great.”
Mouton scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half. “When I was on the bench I saw that our offensive was struggling, so I came in with the idea of helping the offense with my shooting,” said Mouton. “In the second half the guys were beginning to get into the offense more, so I looked more to distribute the ball.”
Thompson scored 13 of his 17 in the second half. “Siena did a nice job on Jason in the first half,” said Dempsey. Thompson grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
The Broncs host Iona Wednesday.
-RU-
