BALTIMORE – Ryan Thompson hesitated, then drove to his left, darting toward the hoop as the final seconds ticked down.

Rider, on the verge of being run off the floor in the first half, now had a chance to force overtime, trailing by two in a game it badly needed to win.

Yet Thompson’s off-balanced runner didn’t fall, the Broncs were unable to come up with the rebound, and the ball bounced into the hands of Loyola’s Anthony Winbush, sealing a 68-66 Greyhounds win that was thrilling for the hosts and utterly dejecting for Rider.

Asked if he felt OK about his team heading into tomorrow’s game at Manhattan, Broncs coach Tommy Dempsey was blunt.

“No,” he said. “You’re judged by wins and losses at this level, and we lost. We’re 1-2 in the (MAAC). That’s reality, and we have to get ready to fight on Monday night.”

Rider (8-7 overall) trailed by as many as 20 and didn’t obtain its first lead until the seven-minute mark, when Mike Ringgold’s layup capped a 20-5 run and put the Broncs up 56-55.

The Broncs trailed 46-29 at the half and looked overmatched for long stretches. But they had a chance late largely because of Ringgold, who played with a fire his teammates lacked and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

“He’s a very very good player right now in this league,” Dempsey said. “He’s one of those guys who doesn’t quit on you. He’s competitive. He has all the right intangibles, and that’s why he’s having a great year. But you have to rely on him so much to be the emotion of your team. I’m just lucky that I have him, because without him, there’d be some long nights.”