Blogs > The Full-Court Press

News, notes and analysis from around the MAAC and the rest of the college basketball world



Saturday, January 2, 2010

Loyola 68, Rider 66

BALTIMORE – Ryan Thompson hesitated, then drove to his left, darting toward the hoop as the final seconds ticked down.

Rider, on the verge of being run off the floor in the first half, now had a chance to force overtime, trailing by two in a game it badly needed to win.

Yet Thompson’s off-balanced runner didn’t fall, the Broncs were unable to come up with the rebound, and the ball bounced into the hands of Loyola’s Anthony Winbush, sealing a 68-66 Greyhounds win that was thrilling for the hosts and utterly dejecting for Rider.

Asked if he felt OK about his team heading into tomorrow’s game at Manhattan, Broncs coach Tommy Dempsey was blunt.

“No,” he said. “You’re judged by wins and losses at this level, and we lost. We’re 1-2 in the (MAAC). That’s reality, and we have to get ready to fight on Monday night.”

Rider (8-7 overall) trailed by as many as 20 and didn’t obtain its first lead until the seven-minute mark, when Mike Ringgold’s layup capped a 20-5 run and put the Broncs up 56-55.

The Broncs trailed 46-29 at the half and looked overmatched for long stretches. But they had a chance late largely because of Ringgold, who played with a fire his teammates lacked and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

“He’s a very very good player right now in this league,” Dempsey said. “He’s one of those guys who doesn’t quit on you. He’s competitive. He has all the right intangibles, and that’s why he’s having a great year. But you have to rely on him so much to be the emotion of your team. I’m just lucky that I have him, because without him, there’d be some long nights.”

4 Comments:

Anonymous tmd39 said...

Tommy Boy better figure this out quickly, or Donnie should be looking for a new coach.

January 3, 2010 8:57 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

RT should stop worrying about impressing the scouts. If he can't dominate the MAAC he does not have a NBA future. If they vote now for all league teams - he wouldn't even make 3rd team.

As of now, Demsey has lost this team, and has done a terrible job developing his talent.

January 3, 2010 12:40 PM 
Anonymous tmd39 said...

Hey anonymous, grow a pair and give us a name. Tommy Boy is a great recruiter (and will probably be a great Big East 1st assistant/recruiter), but he is a terrible head coach. This team is too talented to be 1-2 in conference and his inability to develop a true low post offense is putting too much pressure on RT. Plus, his game day coaching is laughable at best. He couldn't carry KB or Donnie's jockstraps.

January 3, 2010 7:31 PM 
Anonymous tmd39 said...

I didn't even mention the soft defense or the 30 or so 3's taken each game. Or the fact that the only 5 on his whole roster is a complete project.

January 3, 2010 7:32 PM 

Post a Comment

<< Home