AMHERST, Mass. -- The first half of Friday's Rider-UMass game was so lopsided in Rider's favor that the UMass student section nearly emptied at halftime.

Too bad they didn't stick around.

What looked like an emphatic statement for Rider turned into a stunning collapse, one full of defensive breakdowns, sloppy possessions and untimely turnovers in a 77-67 loss.

I think the worst thing that could have happened to us was halftime," coach Tommy Dempsey said. "We were in such a good rhythm in the first half and what got us ahead, what gets you ahead is that aggressiveness, but now you're up 20 points and you're trying to play smart while still being aggressive, and we didn't have a good mix of that."

With a barrage of early offense led by lights-out 3-point shooting, the Broncs threatened to turn this into an all-out thrashing. Rider finished the first half on an 11-3 run and led 45-24 at the break -- a score that stood out among the number of eye-openers from throughout the country.

But the second half ended up being even more lopsided than the first, the Minutemen all but running the Broncs off the floor. Those of the 3,784 who actually stuck around made it a hostile environment for the Brocns, who couldn't halt UMass' momentum as a 15-3 run became a 40-9 run.

"We were trying to chip away, but chipping away became a couple of 3s," said UMass coach Derek Kellogg. "... I thought early in the game, we had an unbelievable crowd. The students were here in droves. To have them there and kind of lay an egg, we have to make sure they write some good stuff and the students realize we had a good game so they come back."

Read the full game story here.