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UD mens basketball falls to Rider University 2:04 p.m., Dec. 15, 2003--The University of Delaware mens basketball team fell 75-72 to Rider University on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J. With the loss, the Fightin Blue Hens fell to 5-2. UD senior guard Mike Ames scored 14 points, including the 1000th of his collegiate career and had a career-high six assists. UD played the entire second half without junior point guard Mike Slattery, who suffered a sprained ankle in the first half and did not return to the game. We were playing an experienced club. We made some mental errors which hurt us, UD Head Coach David Henderson said. UD led for most of the first 30 minutes, building a 45-39 lead with 12:30 to play. However, Rider then reeled off six straight points to tie the score. The lead went back and forth, and Rulon Washington, playing in place of the injured Slattery, gave UD a 53-52 lead on a lay-up with 7:32 to play. That, however, was UDs last lead of the afternoon. Rider (5-2) gained a 69-63 advantage when Paul Johnson capped a 7-2 spurt with a three-point shot with 1:53 to play. UD got back to within four at 70-66 when Ames connected on two free throws, the second of which made him the 22nd Blue Hen to record 1,000 career points, with 58 seconds left. But Rider went 5-of-8 from the foul line the rest of the way to hold off the Hens. Riders Steve Castleberry and Jerry Johnson had 18 points apiece. UD got 10 points from Washington and Calvin Smith. David Lunn, who scored in double-digits in each of the first six games this season, was held to four points but added six assists. UD, which tied a school-record by scoring 70 or more points for the seventh straight game to open the season, will host Siena College at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 23, at the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center. The Hens will host nationally ranked St. Josephs University at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 30. To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |