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Username Post: Game 3 Tonight - RIDER
LU65
Sophomore
Posts 133
11-20-08 11:41 AM - Post#53812    

Rider (0-1) visits Stabler tonight after dropping their season opener to St. Joe's six nights ago 67-59. Picked to finish third behind Siena and Fairfield in in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) by The Sports Network (see link to story below), the Broncs will be ready to take it out on the Mountain Hawks after their six day layoff and a lackluster .35% FG shooting performance against the Hawks of St. Joe's. The Mountain Hawks, on the other hand, are flying high, hitting over one-half their shots, and are gunning for the trifecta to start their season.

Compliments of the Sports Network, here is their preseason story line on Rider:

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=...

While the Broncs must do without the services of NBA draft lottery, Jason Thompson, his brother Ryan certainly looms big for the Rider. And, he seems to have picked up right where he left off last year, hitting 7 of 11 of his shots (one from three point land) and going 4 for 4 from the line in game one for 19 points. Oh yeah, he played 40 minutes, brought down 6 boards and was credited with 3 assists against St. Joe's. How we limit his chances (.537 FG% last year) while keeping a lid of their top three point shooters (Lamar Johnson, Patrick Mansell, and Harris Mansell) may well determine the outcome of tonight's game. The three were neatly contained by St. Joe's hitting just 3 of 9 from beyond the arc last week. Other keys to the game might well be how Lehigh is able to score down low and take advantage of what appears to be a slight LU height advantage. St. Joe's Ahmad Nivins, standing 6'9", did just that canning 25 points in 38 minutes of play - all from two point land. When it wasn't his turn to hit, St. Joe's 6'1" guard, Garrett Williamson, obliged scoring 19. Can we tear a page out of the St. Joe book and pull off the same "inside-outside / balanced scoring" attack with Carrington/Anderson down low and the combination of Hall/Buchberger/Keefer on top? I'll also interested in seeing how - if at all - we are able to wear down their starters who logged 148 minutes of playing time and scored nearly 80% of their points last week against St. Joe's. Granted, the season is young but it appears we have a deep bench with some speed and the ability to pressure the ball well.

It should be an entertaining night at Stabler. See you there!

LU65
Sophomore
Posts 133
11-21-08 10:58 PM - Post#53947    

One bad half of basketball doomed us last evening (see chart below). That, and the lights-out shooting of Rider's 6'3" sr. guard, Lamar Johnson who hit 6 of 12 three's in what seemed to be the second half alone. This, after going 0-4 from deep in Game One a week earlier against St. Joe's. No excuses, however, Rider clawed back from a 12 point halftime deficit and when they needed a big basket they got it - perhaps no bigger than the two dramatic threes to start the second half. Final Score: 69-68. Yes, Rob Keefer heave from the corner with 0:00 on the clock was a two and not a three which was needed to tie the game.

Lehigh's halftime play:

Game One (St. Peter's)
1st half: 15-28 for 53.6%
2nd half: 13-31 for 61.9%

Game Two (Del. St.)
1st half: 13-23 for 56.5%
2nd half: 16-33 for 48.5%

Game Three (Rider)
1st half: 13-26 for 50.0%
2nd half: 10-38 for 26.3%


Looking up at the scoreboard just prior to the start of the second half last night, LU's top scorers were:
Anderson 8
Keefer 7
Buchberger 7
Small 6
Carrington 5

One name was not up in lights. It was Marquis Hall. Regrettably, due to foul trouble (two personals in the first three minutes of the game) Coach Reed felt it necessary to sit him for the first half's final 17 minutes. Marquis' three minute line score read: 1 missed layup, 1 missed three pointer, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal, and 2 fouls. An hour of real time (7:10pm - 8:10pm) passed before Marquis touched the ball again. Wouldn't ya know it, his first field goal attempt in the second half failed. It was clear to many, I believe, that this wasn't going to be his night - similar to a few from last year, you may recall. And, with many of the plays designed around him, the team floundered to find itself in the final 20 minutes of play. Hindsight is always 20-20, but it would have been nice to see more of the Anderson/Buchberger/Keefe r formula that worked so well in the first half rerun in the second stanza. The three combined for only 5 second half points after intermission - a far cry from their first half output of 20. Did Coach Reed sit Marquis too long? Yeah, maybe as was hinted at in his post game interview. A learning experience for sure.

Game 4, the last of a three-game home-stand is scheduled for Monday against St. Francis (PA) before the team travels to the RAC to play Rutgers on Wednesday, 9/26, Thanksgiving Eve.




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