Spiders Move on to the A-10 Quarterfinals with Strong Second Half – Photos and Game Summary

Official UofR Game Summary

The sixth-seeded University of Richmond men’s basketball team used a pivotal 13-0 run late in the second half en route to a 64-59 victory over 11^th-seeded Rhode Island in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Thursday night at the Capital One Arena. The Spiders held Rhode Island without a field goal over the final 6:04 of the game, closing the game on a 17-4 run.

With the victory, the Spiders advance to the quarterfinals Friday night and will meet third-seeded VCU. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the USA Network. The victory Thursday improves the Spiders to 20-12 on the year, marking the 22^nd time in program history with 20-wins in a year and the seventh time under head coach Chris Mooney.

“It was a carbon copy of the game at Rhode Island in the regular season,” Mooney said. “In the second half, we wanted to press and force them into turnovers, while attacking on offense. It was a great win and a high-character win. To feel as down as we did at halftime and come back and win the game against a really good team says something about our guys.”

Gradate forward Grant Golden (Winchester, Va.) led three Spiders in double figures with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Junior forward Tyler Burton (Uxbridge, Mass.) added a double-double with 12 points and a team-high 11 points.

The Spiders found themselves trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half at 41-26 before starting to chip away at the deficit. Richmond started to get the momentum off the defensive end, ignited by a Matt Grace (Hamilton, Ontario) block that started an 8-0 run that saw the Spiders trim the gap to 43-37.

Rhode Island extended the lead to 55-47 with 6:04 remaining before Richmond slammed the door shut. The Spiders scored the game’s next 13 points, turning the eight-point deficit into a 60-55 lead in the final minute. Guard Andre Gustavson (Helsinki, Finland) got it going with a 3-pointer before Burton added two free throws to make it a on possession game.

Graduate guard Jacob Gilyard (Kansas City, Mo.) tied the game for the first time since tip-off with a 3-pointer in the corner at the 4:10 mark after he recorded a patented steal on the defensive end. Golden put the Spiders ahead for good, connecting on four-straight free throws. The Spider defense did it job down the stretch not allowing a field goal  over the final six minutes and limiting the Rams to only three free throws.

Gilyard finished the night with a quintessential stat line for the All-Conference performer. He finished with 10 points, eight in the second half, while recording six steals and dishing out four assists. Forward Nathan Cayo (Montreal, Quebec) added nine points and six rebounds while Gustavson finished with eight points.