Rutgers University
Rider
Rutgers Falls to Rider, 61-57
Dec 21 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -Junior guard Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) netted a career-high 18 points and three Rutgers players reached double-digits, but the Scarlet Knights dropped a close contest to in-state foe Rider, 61-57, Friday evening at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The loss dropped the RU's record to 7-5, while the Broncs improved to 8-4.
|
Hamady Ndiaye had eight rebounds and six blocked shots. (Photo by Jim O'Connor/NJ Sport Pics) |
Rider was paced by the 19-point effort of sophomore guard Ryan Thompson, who also contributed nine rebounds for the Broncs. Harris Mansell notched 15 points and seven rebounds, while Jason Thompson, the older brother of Ryan, finished with 12.
Playing without second leading scorer Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.), Rutgers started the game with the lead, but it quickly became a back-and-forth affair. The lead changed hands nine times in the game and was knotted on four occasions. After the score was tied at 10 with 10:42 to go in the first, Jason Thompson recorded a bucket to give Rider its second lead of the game.
The Scarlet Knights came right back on a jumper by Inman to tie it at 12, before embarking on a 10-0 run to establish the eight-point edge, 20-12, with 7:07 left before the midpoint. It marked RU's largest advantage of the game, which it established on three occasions in the first half.
The Broncs stayed in it, closing out the first half on a 7-0 run of their own to pull to within one, 27-26, at the break. Mansell netted five points in under a minute during that stretch to fuel the Rider comeback.
Rutgers scored the first five points of the second half - a three-point play by sophomore center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) and a pull-up jumper by Griffin - to stretch it out to a six-point advantage. The Broncs took back the lead at the 16:25 mark on a reverse lay-up from forward Mike Ringgold, Rider's first advantage since halfway through the first.
The visitors kept the pressure on and built the lead from that point, holding the Scarlet Knights scoreless between the 7:58 and 4:24 marks in the second to go up by as many as 10. After Rider missed the front end of a one-and-one with just 2:53 left, Farmer was fouled at Rutgers' end and drilled both free-throws to bring RU back to within two. Ndiaye then grabbed a defensive board and Farmer converted a second-effort shot in the lane at the other end to tie the score with two minutes left. The Broncs, however, posted the final four points of the game, with the help of two trips to the line, to seal the road win.
Mansell contributed 10 of his points in the second half, while Ryan Thompson scored nine in the second. The Scarlet Knights shot just 5-for-21 from long range and 35 percent overall in the contest. The Broncs took care of the ball late, committing just four turnovers in the second half.
Rutgers will enjoy more than a week-long break, next taking the floor Saturday, Dec. 29, against Manhattan at 2:00 p.m. at the RAC. The match-up with the Jaspers will mark RU's second-straight contest with an opponent from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and will be televised live on SNY and on the web via ESPN 360.
POSTGAME NOTES
Junior guard Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) scored career-high 18 points. His previous career-high was 17, set four times, most recently against No. 1 North Carolina on Dec. 16.
Farmer finished with three assists to move into 22nd place on the Rutgers all-time assist list with 236. Next up in 21st place is Mike Jones with 238.
Farmer played a season-high 39 minutes. His previous high was 34 against No.1 North Carolina on Dec. 16.
In his second start of the season, freshman Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, passing his previous high of five, set on Dec. 13, at NJIT.
Sophomore center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) tied his season-high with six blocked shots, a feat he had achieved twice, most recently on Dec. 5 against Lafayette. The six blocked shots for Ndiaye marked the ninth time this season he has blocked four or more shots, and the fifth consecutive game he has achieved the feat.
Ndiaye is now tied with Eugene Dabney for ninth place on the Rutgers all-time blocked shot list with 97 career blocks. Next up in eighth place is Gene Armstead with 100 career blocks.
Junior JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) blocked one shot, giving him 77 for his career. He is now tied with Mike Jones for 14th place on the Rutgers all-time blocked shots list.
As a team Rutgers, drew five charges. Senior Byron Joynes (Baltimore, Md.) and Farmer each drew two, while freshman Justin Sofman (West Milford, N.J.) drew one.
Joynes finished with six points, a season-high. His previous high was five, set three times, most recently on Nov. 20 against Dartmouth.
Junior Jaron Griffin (Manchester, N.J.) had two steals, tying his career-high. He had accomplished the feat 10 times, most recently against North Carolina Central on Nov. 12.
The Broncs' Jason Thompson was held to a season-low 12 points. His previous low was 13 set on Nov. 10 against Murray State.
FRED HILL POSTGAME QUOTES
Opening Comments:
"We shot 36 percent. It's something that hurt us all last year. We're not a very good shooting ball club and we have to make shots. You can't take 21 three pointers and make five. Our game plan wasn't to take 21 three pointers, so we have to correct that."
"We made our run when we drove the ball. At the end of the game, we were suppose to drive the ball and we settled for a three. They come down and miss a shot, we don't block out and they get a second shot opportunity and they score. We can't shoot 36 percent and beat a lot of people."
On The Team's Defensive Performance:
"Our defense isn't the issue. When you hold a team to 61 points and 39 percent at home, you should win the game. Give them credit though, they did a great job. They were able to stretch the lead to 10 and we came back and tied it and had the ball in a tie game. We just didn't have someone to step up and make a play."
On Defending Rider's Jason Thompson:
"I thought our big guys did a great job on Jason Thompson. I don't think people are going to get an appreciation of how good that kid really is because of what our guys did. Hamady Ndiaye is developing into one heck of a defensive player. Take a look at what he was able to do defensively to Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), who might be the best post player in the country, and now to a kid that I legitimately think is a first round draft pick. Hamady has done a heck of a job and he's growing day by day. He's only a sophomore and he's getting minutes now and learning. Someday I think he'll develop into one heck of a player. He's just not there yet, but he's young."
"We did a phenomenal job in terms of the game plan and getting Thompson into foul trouble. That was our intent. He's a great player and the best way to beat a great player is to try to put him on the bench and limit his minutes and we did a phenomenal job with that."
On Shooting 21 Three Pointers:
"Tonight I think we fell in love with the three-pointer a little too much. They rolled the dice a little bit and gave us great looks and we didn't make them. If we drill three or four of those three pointers then it's a different ball game. They played it right and we have to give them credit."
