Last game of the season leaves a bitter taste

By Paul Mullin

What began as a memorable occasion quickly turned into a game that the men’s basketball team will not hesitate to forget before the MAAC Championships.

On a day when the graduating seniors were honored for their efforts both on and off the court, the Broncs lost in the closing minutes to the Saint Peter’s College Peacocks, 77-64.

“I’m disappointed because the last four minutes really took the sting out of what was a pretty good performance,” said Head Coach Tommy Dempsey. “It was a good 35 minutes wasted. I have a bad taste in my mouth because of how the game ended.”

Graduating seniors Edwin Muniz, Paul Johnson, Willie Dingle, and Aaron White were all honored prior to the game for their outstanding academic and athletic careers at Rider. These four, along with freshman guard Rodney Pierce, started the game for the Broncs.

“I thought I was going to get a little emotional, but I didn’t,” Johnson said. “I’ve got nothing but good feelings about the Bronc Zoo. It was a great experience for four years.”
Once the game finally started, it was clear that it would be a fight to the finish. The contest opened evenly, but Saint Peter’s pulled ahead 27-19 with 4:35 left in the first half to command the game.

Pierce helped the Broncs come back, however, as he made a three-pointer and then a layup in traffic to kick start a 9-0 Rider run to tie the game with 1:43 left in the half.

After a foul shot by Johnson, the score stood 35-33 with Saint Peter’s in the lead at halftime.

Saint Peter’s guard Kevin Spann opened the second half with a three, and the fifth leading scorer in the nation, Saint Peter’s guard Keydren Clark, followed suit with two consecutive
treys to start off the half and pull away from Rider 44-38.

After the Broncs came back to pull as close at 53-50, the Peacocks went on a 6-0 run. Pierce broke the drought with a three and the Broncs roared back with a 7-0 of their own to cut the lead to a fieldgoal.

With the score at 59-57 and less than seven minutes on the clock, the game turned into a defensive struggle with the Alumni Gym even reverberating with the cheers of the crowd at times. A dunk by Johnson drew the loudest cheers of the night, but unfortunately the lead stayed firmly in the hands of the Peacocks.

A three-point shot by Harris Mansell would cut the lead to 67-61 with less than three minutes to play, but that would be as close as the Broncs would get.

The Broncs head into the MAAC Championships this weekend with their star player, sophomore Jason Thompson, on the injured list. But players like Terrance Mouton, who led the team in scoring with 16 points on Sunday, have stepped up in his place.

“I’ve been preaching to the guys that once the tournament starts, everyone is 0-0,” said Dempsey. “We can win four games in four days. It can be done.”

Coincidentally, the Broncs’ first opponent will be the same team they faced on Sunday, and will also play today at 4:30 p.m.

“Whether we get Jason back or not, I think we’re going to have a good chance to beat them,” Dempsey said. “It’s pretty obvious that we are playing better basketball as of late. I’m very confident in the way we are playing.”

“I know how things can be much different once the tournament starts,” Muniz said. “Everyone has a chance to win the [tournament], so everyone comes out with their best foot forward.”