Tommy Dempsey on Rider's 62-61 win over Niagara:

It was a real gutsy win for us. We're not in a good offensive rhythm as a team. Guys are struggling with their confidence, so we're stuggling to play good offense, and it would have been really easy for a team that's playing like we're playing to give in and lose another one. It almost took every ounce of courage and character to get out of here with a win. ... Hopefully this is a springboard for success later in the year. It would have been very difficult coming out of here at 3-7.

On overcoming an 11-point deficit:

I think it would have been easy to fold up and go away. The one thing I've preached and that the kids have been great with is, we really have not stopped being together. I haven't done a great job of coaching, we haven't done a great job of playing. I haven't been able to push the right buttons, and some of our better players are struggling. I think if we weren't together, once we faced adversity again, after having been down double digits so many games, if we had less character we would have been beaten by 15.

On the play that resulted in Novar Gadson's game-winning tip-in:

We set it with Pat (Mansell) because we tried to set it with a guy who can shoot. It makes a little harder to shoot. We set it with Pat, and I knew they wouldn't want to leave Pat, so you try to put your best rebounder on the opposite block. The play was for Ryan to score. As he went up, you circle in the rebounder behind him. It gives you two chances to win the games. ... Novar just made an instinctive play, a big-time play for the complexion of our reason.