SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – If Rider’s season could be rolled up and packed neatly into one 40-minute ball then Saturday’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinal was it.

The Broncs scuffled, got hit in the face, bounced back, got hit again, came back one more time, but ultimately, never got over the hump, falling, 65-63 to Fairfield here at MassMutual Center.

“We fought right until the end,” said Rider coach Tommy Dempsey, whose team failed to reach the semifinal for the first time in four years. “They probably thought they had us buried three different times, but we were resilient and gave ourselves a chance right to the buzzer. I was proud of our effort.”

When the Broncs were buried, it was only after a frantic finish.

Up by three, Fairfield fouled Jon Thompson with 0.4 seconds left. Thompson hit the first before missing the second intentionally and Junior Fortunat’s tip came up short.
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Iona (24-6, 15-3): Loaded with high-major talent the Gaels are the favorite to take home the tournament title to go with their regular-season championship. They still have a chance to reach the NCAA tournament should they falter this weekend, but their best bet is sill to claim the auto bid. Scott Machado, arguably the best point guard in the nation, is the engine that makes this offensive juggernaut (83.4 ppg leads the country) run. Mike Glover (18.1 ppg) and Lamont Jones (16.2 ppg) are also top tier talents.

Loyola (21-8, 13-5): The Greyhounds have their first 20-win season as a Division I program and with First Team All-League selection Erik Etherly (13.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) leading the way are a dangerous team. Jimmy Patsos does a great job of getting his team to play hard for 40 minutes but the coach is also no stranger to the ill-advised technical foul.
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LAWRENCEVILLE – As far as Tommy Dempsey is concerned, Rider is playing with house money this weekend at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

There isn’t much pressure on his fifth-seeded Broncs to challenge for the title and the league’s automatic NCAA bid.

“The last several years we’ve gone (to the conference tourney) and there has been pressure because we really went up there with the expectation that we were going to win,” Dempsey said. “It’s not that we don’t expect to win, it’s more that nobody else expects us to win.”

That might just suit this team best.

Despite a 13-18 overall record, Rider has won two straight — one coming against Saturday’s quarterfinal opponent Fairfield — and is playing its best basketball of the season.

“We’re probably a little bit better right now that we’ve been most of the year,” Dempsey said. “I think it’s a good position for us to be in.”
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LAWRENCEVILLE — The first thing Jon Thompson had to do, before he put up one jump-shot this season, was clean things up off the court.

An off-court violation he committed at the end of last season cost him the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament and the first two games this year.

“It was hard,” Thompson said in regards to watching last year’s tournament from the bench. “The (team) spirit wasn’t there and for me to be responsible for most of that was really the most hurtful thing.”

Priority number-one was to fix that.
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When Rider beat Fairfield Sunday, there was a glaring omission to the Stags’ roster.

Fairfield played without starting point guard Derek Needham, who injured his foot in its loss to Iona. Turns out, Needham broke a bone in his left foot and will miss the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

“We’re going to miss Derek because he’s a guy that helps us do what we want to do in terms of our gameplan,” said Stags coach Sydney Johnson. “Obviously, the timing isn’t what he would like. But he’s trying to stay positive and he will. He’s trying to be there for his teammates.
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LAWRENCEVILLE — At times this season, Tommy Dempsey and Novar Gadson have found themselves at odds.

But if Sunday afternoon was any indication, they might be finding harmony at just the right time.

Gadson finished with 19 points, including Rider’s final eight, complete with a spinning layup with 28.2 seconds remaining to help his team secure a 65-62 victory over Fairfield at Alumni Gymnasium on Senior Day.

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” said Gadson, who has struggled at times to regain the form that saw him grab second- team All-League honors after having microfracture surgery on his left knee in the offseason.

“I’ve overcome adversity in my life before,” Gadson said, “and I feel like I can do it again.”
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Who: Fairfield (17-12, 12-5) at Rider (12-18, 9-8)

When: Sunday, Alumni Gymnasium, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3.com, 107.7 FM The Bronc.

Last time out: Rider def., Loyola, 83-79; Fairfield lost to Iona, 77-72.

Background: Rider won’t have to sweat anything out Sunday afternoon.
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LAWRENCEVILLE — Novar Gadson couldn’t have picked a better time to score his only basket of the second half.

The senior’s layup and free throw with 33 seconds remaining was the game-winning play in the Rider men’s basketball team’s 83-79 victory over Loyola Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

“Coach called my number and I just wanted to deliver,” said Gadson, who finished with a game-high 23 points. “We needed to beat a good team and go into the MAAC tournament with a little bit of momentum.”



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LAWRENCEVILLE — In the midst of arguably his toughest year as a head coach, Tommy Dempsey is trying to rally the Rider men’s basketball team for one final push.

The Broncs, who have lost four straight, face a crucial Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Friday night against Loyola (7 p.m., ESPN2).

With a win, they can finish no worse than sixth.

Rider is in fifth place with two regular-season games remaining but face the two teams tied for second in those contests. Both Siena and Niagara are one game behind the Broncs. The Saints played Thursday night.

The goal is avoiding next Friday’s play-in game at the conference tournament.
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LAWRENCEVILLE — The Rider men’s basketball team suffered a blow this week when sophomore guard Anthony Myles was ruled out for the rest of the season with a broken left wrist.

Myles sustained the injury Saturday in the BracketBusters loss to Albany.

The injury comes at a bad time for the Dover, Del., native, who was playing his best basketball of the season. He scored a career-high 21 points in the loss to Iona and had eight in 10 minutes against Albany before the injury.
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LAWRENCEVILLE — Jeff Jones couldn’t believe his eyes. The Rider men’s basketball team had just beaten Canisius by 24 points and his roommate, a walk-on who spent his first three years as a team manager, was watching game film.

That’s Kevin Noon in a nutshell.

Noon got in the game that afternoon and had two open 3-point tries but missed both.

“He was up to one in the morning watching that tape,” Jones said.

Jones told his roommate to relax and play.

Noon agreed then told Jones he needed to get him in another game.
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-- Welcome to the final regular-season edition of MAAC Monday. One weekend left and the standings couldn't be tighter. Four teams are separated by two games and positions 5-7 have just one game between them. Tiebreaker scenarios can get completed and we'll run through them after the jump. One game tonight as Fairfield visits Marist in the contest that was postponed after the off-campus fire that killed Marist students last month. The Stags can pull within one game of first-place Iona with a victory. Those two still face each other Friday. Now, let us get on with it:
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Who: Rider (11-17, 8-8 MAAC) at Albany (16-13, 8-7 America East)

When: Saturday, SEFCU Arena, 7 p.m., 107.7 FM The Bronc.

Last time out: Rider lost to Iona, 75-62; Albany lost to Vermont, 50-47.

Background: Rider has won three of its last four BracketBuster games and is 3-3 overall in the annual mid-major showcase.

The Broncs travel to New York's capital city Saturday to face Albany, who is 9-3 at home despite losing three straight at SEFCU Arena.

Junior guard Gerardo Suero, who's 22 points per game rank fifth in the nation, missed the Great Danes' loss to Vermont with shingles. Albany's second leading scorer, junior guard Logan Aronhalt, played through a knee injury against the Catamounts but was ineffective in nine minutes.

The Danes have lost four of their last five.

Albany does not have a senior on its roster.

Rider is coming off a 13-point loss to Iona. The Broncs, who have dropped two straight, led by five at halftime but went 9 minutes, 53 seconds between field goals at the start of the second half.

Seniors Novar Gadson (violation of team rules) and Jeff Jones (norovirus) both missed the game. Gadson should feature Saturday while Jones is questionable.

Sophomore guard Anthony Myles scored a career-high 21 points in the loss to Iona.

Rider's 17 losses are the most under Dempsey since the team lost 20 in 2005-06, the year he was interim coach.

This is the first meeting between the schools, although, the Broncs are familiar with the area since Albany's city-rival, Siena, plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

The MAAC went 9-1 in BracketBuster games last season.

Projected starting lineups: Rider: G-Jon Thompson (Jr., 7.1 ppg), G-Anthony Myles (So., 10.2 ppg), F-Novar Gadson (Sr., 10.2 ppg), F-Brandon Penn (Sr., 12.5 ppg), F-Danny Stewart (So., 11.7 ppg).  Albany: G-Mike Black (Jr., 13 ppg), G-Gerardo Suero (Jr., 22 ppg), G-Logan Aronhalt (Jr., 14.6 ppg), F-Luke Devlin (So., 6 ppg), C-Blake Mercalf (Jr., 4.8 ppg).

LAWRENCEVILLE — Down a pair of starters, there wouldn’t be many expecting the Rider men’s basketball team to compete with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leaders Iona.

Yet even after a 75-62 loss Wednesday night at Alumni Gymnasium, the Broncs couldn’t help but feel like they missed an opportunity to beat one of the league’s heavyweights with the conference tournament looming the first weekend in March.

For one half, the shorthanded Broncs, who played without Novar Gadson (violation of team rules) and Jeff Jones (norovirus), battled with grit and guts. Even leading by five at halftime.

But there are teams you can go almost 10 minutes without a field goal against and get away with it. And then there are those you can’t.

Iona is not one of those teams you can have a drought against.

The Gales outscored the Broncs, 26-6, to start the final 20 minutes to open up a 15-point lead and never looked back. Rider didn’t help its cause by shooting 1 of 13 to open the half and going 9 minutes, 53 seconds between field goals.

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LAWRENCEVILLE — All things considered — long bus ride, early morning arrivals, shorthanded team — a split from the Western New York trip would have been nice for the Rider men’s basketball team.

But a controversial defeat Saturday against Niagara leaves the Broncs with a bad taste in their mouth.

Rider should have been awarded a victory when Jon Thompson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the officials, who ruled the shot good on the floor, overturned that decision upon video review when they failed to recognize the clock started prematurely on the final play.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference acknowledged officiating and timing mistakes at the end of the game in a statement Monday, suspending the three game officials from their next MAAC assignment and publicly reprimanding the game clock and video replay operators at Niagara.
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The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference released a statement Monday acknowledging officiating and timing mistakes at the end of the Rider men’s basketball team’s 84-82 loss to Niagara Saturday afternoon.

Replays clearly showed that Jon Thompson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer should have counted because the clock started prematurely. The officials, who originally called the shot good, overturned the decision following a video review.

All three officials —Rusty Cooper, Tony Crisp and Kenneth Clark — have been suspended from their next MAAC officiating assignment for failing to realize the clock started early on the final inbound pass, the league announced. There was also a public reprimand issued to the Game Clock Operator and Replay System Operator at Niagara University.
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-- Three league games to go -- four if you're Fairfield or Marist, who have a makeup game next Monday -- and the MAAC is in the balance. Four teams have a shot at the regular-season championship and the top seed in next month's league tournament in Springfield, Mass. Now that Fairfield has finally found its stride (two important wins over Manhattan and Loyola this week) the final two weeks of the regular season are nicely poised. Time to break it all down:
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Who: Rider (11-15, 8-6) at Niagara (10-16, 5-9)
 
When: Saturday, 2 p.m., ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center, 107.7 FM TheBronc.
 
Last time out: Rider def. Canisius, 71-66; Niagara def. Siena, 58-54.

Background: With a victory, Rider can secure at least a .500 record in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

The Broncs have five games remaining — four within the conference — before heading north to Springfield, Mass., for the league tournament.

Rider sits fifth in the standings, three games ahead of Niagara and Siena, who are tied for sixth. The Broncs are 1 1/2 games behind fourth-place Fairfield and two back of third-place Manhattan.

When Rider and Niagara met a week ago, the Broncs erased a 17-point second half deficit, winning on Brandon Penn’s 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds to go.

The Purple Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak with their win over Siena Thursday. Ameen Tanksley led the way with a career-high 24 points.

Niagara has a talented backcourt led by freshman Juan’ya Green (16.7 ppg) – held to six points in the first matchup — redshirt freshman Antoine Mason (14.8 ppg) and sophomore Marvin Jordan.

Jordan came off the bench to score 24 points on an Alumni Gymnasium-record eight 3-pointers a week ago.

Rider played Thursday without freshman forward Junior Fortunat and freshman guard Eddie Mitchell. According to a team spokesman, both contracted the norovirus that has spread throughout the school’s campus this past week.

Both remained in the team hotel Thursday night and did not attend the game. Both are listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game.
 
Projected starting lineups: Rider: G-Jon Thompson (Jr., 7.2 ppg), G-Jeff Jones (Sr., 13.1 ppg), F-Novar Gadson (Sr., 9.5 ppg), F-Brandon Penn (Sr., 12.3 ppg), F-Danny Stewart (So., 11.7 ppg).
Niagara: G-Juan’ya Green (Fr., 16.7 ppg), G-Antoine Mason (Fr., 14.8 ppg), G-Ameen Tanksley (Fr., 8.8 ppg), G-Malcolm Lemmons (So., 8.3 ppg), F-Scooter Gillette (Jr., 4.7 ppg).

Novar Gadson scored 19 points and the Rider men’s basketball team rallied in the second half to steal a victory from last-place Canisius, 71-66, Thursday night at the Koessler Center.

The Broncs (11-15, 8-6) trailed by 10 with 7:19 to go but came roaring back behind Gadson, who scored seven of his 19 points in the time remaining. His layup with 1:35 to go gave Rider a 64-63 lead -- its first of the game.

Canisius (4-20, 1-13) led 63-56 with just under five minutes remaining until Rider ripped off 13 unanswered points. The Griffs were their worst enemy during the run that turned the game, committing turnovers on five consecutive possessions, and receiving a technical foul for trying to call a timeout when they didn’t have any left.

Franklin Milian hit a 3-pointer to snap Rider’s run with 11 seconds to go, cutting the Griffs’ deficit to three. Jon Thompson calmly knocked down two free throws to secure the Broncs, who remained in fifth place, the victory.

Brandon Penn and Anthony Myles both finished with 12 points and Jeff Jones added 10 for the Broncs.

Harold Washington and Chris Manhertz each had 15 to pace Canisius.

Rider played without freshman forward Junior Fortunat (foot/illness) and freshman guard Eddie Mitchell (illness). Both were suffering from the norovirus outbreak that hit the school’s campus this week.

Despite hitting five first-half 3-pointers, the Broncs shot 30 percent and trailed, 34-39 at halftime. Canisius committed a season-low two turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and also outrebounded Rider, 24-23.

The Broncs return to action Saturday when they try to sweep the Western New York trip against Niagara. The Purple Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak Thursday night with a 58-54 victory over Siena.

Who: Rider (10-15, 7-6) at Canisius (4-19, 1-12)

When: Thursday, Koessler Athletic Center, 7 p.m., 107.7 FM The Bronc.

Last time out: Rider def. Niagara, 74-73; Canisius lost to Marist, 80-69.

Background: Tommy Dempsey doesn’t make a habit of looking at who is chasing his team in the standings.

Instead, he prefers to look up and see who his Broncs might catch.

“I know everyone wants to talk about the play-in game, but I don’t give it any thought,” the Rider coach said. “We’re thinking about climbing the standings. We’re not looking at what the people behind us are doing. I still look at what the people in front of us are doing. Those are the people we’re trying to catch.”
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