Rider, Broncs' Zoo featured in story about NU's Mihalich

In a story about Niagara University head coach Joe Mihalich in the March 1 issue of USA Today, there is a mention of Rider sharing the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title. In addition, there is a photo of Mihalich and his mother that was taken at Rider's Alumni Gym.

USA Today: Shaping a coach's philosophy

Johnson, Harnum earn CollegeInsider.com honors

Rider senior guard Jerry Johnson and head coach Don Harnum each earned spots on CollegeInsider.com's 2005 Honor Roll.

Johnson, a 6-foot, 175-pound guard from Lancaster, PA, was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's Most Valuable Player for the 2004-05 season. Johnson averaged 18.8 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per contest. Additionally, Johnson finished third in the MAAC in made three-point field goals with 93. He ranks fourth in the MAAC in both scoring and assists. Johnson netted double-digit points in 24 of 27 contests this season.

In addition, Johnson scored 28 points in the Broncs' 113-106 overtime win over Niagara in both teams' season finale. In doing so, Johnson now has 2,002 career points to become only the second 2,000-point scorer (Darrick Suber, 2,219) in Rider history and only the 10th player in New Jersey Division I basketball to reach that milestone.

Harnum, in his eighth season as Rider's head coach, took a team that was predicted to finish fifth in the conference and guided it to a 17-10 mark and 13-5 record in MAAC play, which resulted in a share of the league's regular-season championship. He is 108-93 as a head coach at Rider, including 81-63 against MAAC rivals.

Rider enters the 2005 MAAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed (Niagara earned the top seed and the conference's double-bye into the semifinal round via tiebreaker) and will face either No. 7 seed Canisius or No. 8 seed Marist in a quarterfinal matchup March 5.

Rider's Hower, Moore named to All-MAAC team

Rider seniors Becky Hower and Leanne Moore were each named Third Team All-MAAC selections by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Feb. 28.

Hower, a 5-8 guard out of Myerstown, PA, is 14th in the MAAC in scoring and 12th in assists, sixth in free-throw percentage, sixth in three-point field goals made and seventh in three-point field goal percentage. She was a Second Team All-MAAC selection in 2003.

Moore, a six-foot forward from Norristown, PA, ranks second among shot blockers in the MAAC and is 12th in the conference in scoring and steals. She was a Third Team All-MAAC pick in 2004.

The Rider women (8-19, 6-12 MAAC) open MAAC Tournament play Thursday, March 3, at 4 p.m. against No. 6 seed Loyola. The winner of that game plays Friday against third-seeded Niagara, at 1:15 p.m. 

Johnson, Thompson honored by MAAC

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced its All-MAAC and MAAC All-Rookie teams on Monday and Rider was represented by senior guard Jerry Johnson and freshman forward Jason Thompson.

Johnson was named a First Team All-MAAC selection for a third straight season after winning MAAC Rookie of the Year and being named Third Team All-MAAC his freshman campaign.

The 6-foot, 175-pound guard from Lancaster, PA, averaged 18.8 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per contest. Additionally, Johnson finished third in the MAAC in made three-point field goals with 93. He ranks fourth in the MAAC in both scoring and assists. Johnson netted double-digit points in 24 of 27 contests this season.

Johnson was also named MAAC Co-Player of the Week for Feb. 21-27 along with Saint Peter's Keydren Clark. Johnson scored 28 points -- 20 after intermission -- to lead the Broncs to a 113-106 overtime win over Niagara on Feb. 26. The victory gave Rider a share of the MAAC regular-season title with Niagara. Meanwhile, Johnson became just the second player ever at Rider and only the 10th in New Jersey Division I history to reach 2,000 points for his career.

Thompson, a 6-foot-9 forward from Mt. Laurel, NJ, was a key component to Rider's success this season. In 27 regular season games, he averaged 9.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. In addition, Thompson registered 12 double-digit scoring efforts and five double-doubles in his rookie campaign.

J.J. is Dyn-o-mite!

With three minutes left to play and down by four to first-place Niagara in the regular-season finale at Alumni Gym, Rider was in trouble. The Broncs could earn a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season title with a victory over the Purple Eagles, but things were not looking good.

But then Rider senior guard Jerry Johnson, who had eight points at the half and at this time was still 15 points shy of 2,000 for his career, hit a jumper to make it a two-point game with 2:45 left in the second half. Then, he buried a three-pointer to give the Broncs an 89-88 lead with 2:07 left.

After Niagara's Lorenzo Miles answered with a 3 of his own, Johnson came down the floor and drilled another three-pointer from near downtown Princeton to put Rider back in front by a 92-91 margin with 1:44 remaining. When Rider fell behind by one, Johnson came to the rescue once more by draining yet another three-ball to put the hosts up 95-93.

But the Purple Eagles tied the game and sent it into overtime, where Niagara took a 97-95 advantage on David Brooks' layup 39 seconds into the extra frame.

It turned out to be the last lead for the Purple Eagles.

A basket by Edwin Muniz tied the game for Rider, while a pair of free throws by Paul Johnson put the Broncs up for good at 99-97 with 3:29 left to play.

A jumper by Jerry Johnson extended the lead to four, setting the stage for a dramatic ending to a great college basketball game -- at any level.

Needing two points for the career 2,000 mark, Johnson made one more three-pointer to give Rider a seven-point lead at 106-99 with 1:52 remaining in overtime. Although Niagara again made it a four-point game about 20 seconds later, Robert "Beattie" Taylor sank a pair of free throws to put Rider up by six and the Purple Eagles would get no closer the rest of the way.

Johnson added a free throw with 24 seconds left for his final point at The Broncs' Zoo. It gave him 2,002 points for his career, making him just the second Rider player to surpass the 2,000 mark (Darrick Suber, 2,219) and only the 10th player in New Jersey Division I basketball history to reach that milestone.

His effort not only sparked Rider to a 113-106 Senior Day victory, but it lifted the Broncs to a share of the regular season conference title with Niagara. Johnson's performance in the final 7:45 of the contest made what was already a memorable game -- the 113 points were the most ever scored by Rider in Alumni Gym history -- into an event that will be talked about by Broncs fans for years to come.

As another famous J.J. would say, "He was dyn-o-mite!"

Bloggin' away to Buffalo with the Broncs

I am starting this blog as I prepare to go up to Buffalo to cover the 2005 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championships at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY, the first weekend in March.

I will be posting various thoughts about Rider basketball and the tournament, and I will try to share a photo or two. I will also be posting audio entries via my cell phone when I am not able to get to an Internet connection right away.

So come back Friday for coverage of the MAAC Tournament.


HSBC Arena, home of the 2005 MAAC Tournament...and NOT the Buffalo Sabres (thanks to the NHL lockout!)