Rider looks to future after falling in NIT to red-hot Oregon
Rider spent the first three quarters of its NIT first-round game playing the role of frontrunner against heavily-favored Oregon.
But the host Ducks were simply scorching hot in the fourth and final frame.
Victor Bailey Jr. came off the bench and made seven 3-pointers, Oregon connected on 14 all together and pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a 99-86 victory at Matthew Knight Arena on Tuesday night.
The Ducks finished 14-for-26 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc one game after they tossed up an 8-for-30 clunker in a Pac12 semifinal loss.
“They made some shots and got us on our heels,” Rider coach Kevin Baggett said in his postgame radio interview on 107.7 The Bronc. “We didn’t stay as aggressive offensively and it wasn’t as much what they did as what we didn’t do. We got to be able to keep the ball in front without fouling.”
Despite a 3,000-mile trip west on short notice, Rider showed no signs of jet lag by jumping out to an early advantage. The Broncs led by eight at halftime and pushed it to 12 early in the third quarter before Oregon began heating up.
The Ducks out-scored Rider, 38-21, in the fourth quarter. They hit 11 of 12 shots, including five 3s, and 11 of 14 3-pointers in the last 10 minutes.
Oregon shot 77 percent in the second half and 59 percent for the game
Dimencio Vaughn scored a game-high 25 points to lead five Rider players in double figures. Tyere Marshall finished with 18, Jordan Allen netted 17, Frederick Scott had 16 and Stevie Jordan 10.
Bailey, who finished with half of Oregon’s 3-pointers, ended up with a career-high 23, while Payton Pritchard also had 23.
The Ducks (23-12) face the winner of Wednesday’s game between Marquette and Harvard.
Rider, playing in the NIT for the second time in program history, finishes its season with a 22-10 mark and MAAC regular-season championship.
The Broncs can return all of their key contributors.
“I challenged each and every one of them to get better,” Baggett said. “Get better in the offseason, get stronger in the offseason, come back even better. (The Oregon) coaches said, ‘hey, you’re going to win a lot of games.’ I don’t want to win a lot of games, I want to win championships, and that’s what I told these guys in the locker room. We’re going to do that.
“For all you guys out there who are listening, we’re going to do that. For all Rider fans, this group is going to get it done for you. I promise you that.”