The visiting Rider Broncs shot 55.9 percent from the field and scored 54 points in the paint en route to an 82-58 win over Canisius College in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Saturday in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improved Rider to 6-4 on the year and 1-1 in league play, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 0-8 overall and 0-2 in MAAC action.
Rider senior Jason Thompson posted a game-high 25 points to go with 13 rebounds as the Broncs posted their 10th consecutive win over Canisius, dating back to the 2002-03 season. Sophomore Ryan Thompson added 14 points and four assists to the winning effort, while Harris Mansell and Justin Robinson chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
For Canisius, freshman guard Julius Coles (pictured) posted a career-high 13 points, while senior guard Pawel Malesa came off the bench to record nine points after going 3-for-5 from 3-point range. As a team, Canisius shot 36 percent (18-for-50) from the floor and a season best 50 percent (10-for-20) from behind the 3-point arc.
Canisius came out and hung with Rider early on, taking a 13-9 lead six minutes into the game after sophomore Jovan Robinson drained a pair of free throws, but the Broncs fought back and took the lead for good after Ryan Thompson drained a pair of free throws at the 12:40 mark in the first half. The Griffs hung around and trailed by one at 20-19 after Coles hit a jumper in the lane with 8:55 left before the break, but the Broncs pulled away with an 11-3 run over the next 1:45, capped by a slam dunk by Mike Ringgold that gave Rider a 31-22 lead with 5:47 left before the half.
“Tonight was pretty frustrating,” Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. “I thought when Frank Turner picked up his second personal foul in the first half it changed the complexion of the game. We came out and went toe-to-toe with them, but then they turned up the pressure and went to the big fella [Jason Thompson] and he showed why he's one of the premier players in this league.”
Thompson went to work in the second half, scoring 15 of his 25 points before being taken out of the game with 3:26 left in regulation time. He also pulled down eight rebounds in the second half, and his board at the 11:23 mark of the second stanza moved him into first place all-time in career rebounds at Rider, breaking a school record that stood for 30 years. As a team, Rider hit on 57.7 percent (15-for-26) of its shots in the game's final 20 minutes and closed out the game going 33-for-59 from the field (55.9 percent) while connecting on just 19 percent (4-for-21) of its tries from behind the 3-point line.
The Griffs will return to action Saturday, Dec. 15, when the team plays host to Coastal Carolina in the Koessler Athletic Center. That game will be the second of a basketball doubleheader in the KAC with the Canisius women's team, and is set to tipoff at 4:15 p.m.
Game Notes: Rider now leads the all-time series between the two schools 21-4... Frank Turner added seven points and seven assists to the Griffs' effort, giving him 7.3 assists per game in the team's last three outings... Julius Coles played in a career-high 32 minutes... Pawel Malesa's three 3-pointers give him 72 treys in two seasons at Canisius.
