Murray’s effort not enough to save Rider from sweep
LAWRENCEVILLE » Dwight Murray Jr. wanted nothing more than to have the ball in his hands and take the shot that would either win the game or send the Rider men’s basketball team back to overtime against Monmouth.
The 6-foot guard so expertly navigated around foul trouble after he re-entered the game at the 13:22 mark with four fouls.
He scored 14 of his game-high 23 points with four fouls.
He handled the visitors’ trapping pressure.
But he couldn’t avoid the fifth foul in the final minute.
All Murray could do was watch from the bench for the last 36 seconds as the Broncs were swept by the Hawks following a 65-62 setback on Friday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
Murray, who should land on an all-league team, has been the bright spot in an otherwise frustrating year for coach Kevin Baggett’s club. The Broncs (5-16, 5-13) finished last in the MAAC for the second time in program history and under .500 for just the third time in his nine seasons in charge.
They averaged 18.3 victories over the past three seasons, but the roster was turned over by graduation and transfers. That left a squad with 11 new players and no preseason or much of a non-conference schedule due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I believe whoever we play, we can win,” Murray said. “We just got to play together, that’s the main goal. We got to play together and play hard like we did today. If we limit turnovers and just some small tings, then we can win the whole thing.”
The more experienced visitors from the shore made enough plays at the right moments in both games to walk out with a sweep and head to Atlantic City as the No. 2 seed.
Deion Hammond (17 points) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:37 remaining and then knocked in two clutch free throws after Murray committed his fifth foul with 36 seconds remaining to put the Hawks (12-7, 12-6) up by three.
Allen Powell converted a tough reverse with 18.6 left on the other end, but Monmouth moved the ball away from a trap and ran the clock down to 5.6 seconds before the Broncs fouled Myles Ruth. The freshman, who was the player Rider wanted to foul and had gone 1-for-2 moments earlier, made both this time.
Rodney Henderson Jr. appeared to get a clear look at a 3, but the referee whistled Monmouth’s George Papas for a foul on the floor even though he didn’t seem to make any contact with Henderson.
“It should have never been called,” Baggett said. “He overran Rodney . ... They probably wanted to curl. But they must foul. The ref anticipated it and (Papas) overran it. He needs to take a look at it.”
Monmouth won the game at the free throw line where it connected on 19-of-21, while Rider players not named Murray were 3-for-13 (the team finished 8-for-18).
“As guards, instead of rushing, we should calm down, see the floor well, have no turnovers and execute the plays right,” Murray said. “The bigs got to box out, score the layups and we got to make free throws.”
Murray was the only Bronc to score in double figures and carried them after returning with
four fouls. When Murray went out at the 15:50 mark, the game was tied at 32-all. By the time Baggett had to go back to him with 13:22 left, Rider was down six.
“I knew they were taking charges,” said Murray, who immediately converted a three-point play to cut the deficit in half. “I knew they were watching me the whole game, so when I drove I looked for other people or I just took my jump shot.”
Henderson’s 3-pointer with 4:44 remaining gave Rider a 55-54 lead, but Melik Martin answered with a triple on the other end and after another Murray bucket, Hammond broke a 57-all tie with a 3-pointer at the 2:37 mark.
“We just got to clean up some
turnovers and breakdowns defensively,” Baggett said. “But we can compete with anybody in this league.”
While Rider was swept this weekend, it was by a combined six points by the second best team in the league. The energy and effort is still there, and that, at least, is a positive from an otherwise disappointing season.
“I thought we should have won (on Thursday). We gave that game away,” Baggett said. “We missed some free throws today and they made them. Today Hammond hurt us, (on Thursday) Papas hurt us. That’s the difference of a seniorladen team and a team still trying to figure it out and understand how to win.”