Rider men, women set for season tip-offs
LAWRENCEVILLE >> Tyere Marshall will face the tallest test of his basketball life when Rider opens its season on Tuesday night.
Like literally. Marshall, 6-9, 240-pound center, has to tangle with Tacko Fall, Central Florida’s massive 7-6, 310-pound senior, who is healthy after missing 16 games a season ago to repair a torn labrum.
“I’m just going to try and make all of his shots difficult,” Marshall said. “I’m going to run the floor, make him move his feet, make him defend ball screens. Just make him work.”
Fall is one of the best defensive players in the nation. He blocked a school-record 96 shots as a sophomore and had 31 in 16 games as a junior.
Marshall is no slouch on offense. He averaged 10.6 points on 51 percent shooting last season, but showed in an exhibition victory on Saturday that he’s ready to improve on that after scoring 19 on 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the line.
“He’s got to get ready for Tyere, too,” graduate guard Anthony Durham said. “Tyere can rebound and score.”
This is an opportunity for a highlight win right off the jump. The Golden Knights went 19-13 last year despite missing Fall and top scorer B.J. Taylor (15.9 points, 38.8 percent from deep) for 16 games apiece and are the favorite to win the American Athletic Conference.
Rider tuned up with an 87-81 exhibition victory over Division II West Chester, a game in which it let a 20-point lead get cut to two in the final minute. The two biggest issues were 17 turnovers and a minus-13 differential on the glass.
“We can’t make the same mistakes we made in the (exhibition),” Marshall said. “We have to take care of the ball and crash the glass all five of us.”
Coach Kevin Baggett knows the immaturity his team showed on Saturday will cost them against an opponent as good as UCF.
“We got to grow up fast,” Baggett said. “Central Florida won’t feel sorry for us. They’re going to battle us.”
Tip off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.