Published: Saturday, October 15, 2011

By KYLE FRANKO

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Every college basketball team in the country had Friday, Oct. 14 circled on its calendar. The night marked the official start of the season with most schools celebrating by holding a Midnight Madness.

At Rider, it was Midnight MAACness.

And Alumni Gymnasium was rocking early and often.

"This is great," said coach Tommy Demspey. "It's a great way to kick off the year. The place was alive, it was electric. It was a lot of fun, but tomorrow, we get to work."

The program featured a DJ, player introductions for both the men's and women's teams, a slam dunk contest and performances by the cheerleading and dance teams.

Junior guard Jon Thompson won the dunk contest with a nifty between the legs flush.

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