2011 Richmond Spiders Basketball: Richmond @ Charlotte

Senior Day is always a special occasion as it provides the opportunity for fans and teammates/coaches alike to honor the sacrifices made by the senior class. But the day also provides the opposition with an opportunity to spoil the fun, which is exactly what Richmond did on Saturday night in addition to one of their seniors reaching a personal milestone of his own. Point guard Kevin Anderson surpassed the 2,000-point mark, scoring 20 points to supplement Justin Harper's 22 as the Spiders (22-7, 11-3) completed their season sweep of Charlotte by the final score of 72-59 at Halton Arena. The victory also keeps Richmond in third place, moving them one step closer to sewing up a first round bye in the conference tournament.

An'Juan Wilderness scored 16 points to lead three Charlotte (10-18, 2-12) in double figures but it wasn't enough to keep the 49ers from slipping behind Saint Joseph's in the all-important race for that final conference tournament berth. Despite the fact that the Spiders didn't achieve their largest lead until 27 seconds remaining in the game they were able to control much of the contest by outscoring the 49ers 30-18 in the paint in addition to scoring 12 points off of 14 Charlotte turnovers. Chris Braswell began the scoring with a layup 47 seconds into the game but Richmond would score nine of the next eleven points to take a 9-4 lead with 14:34 left in the half.

Five straight points from Harper following a KJ Sherrill jumper pushed the Spiders' lead out to eight points before a basket from Braswell pulled Charlotte back to within six. But Richmond would push their lead out to as many as 12 in the first half, going into the locker room up 34-24 at the break. Richmond outscored Charlotte 18-6 in the paint, also posting nine second-chance points to none for the 49ers. Charlotte would play much closer in both categories in the second half but they needed a lot more in order to come back against a team the caliber of Richmond. Charlotte scored eight of the first ten points of the second half, pulling to within four on a Jamar Briscoe three with 17:46 left in the game but three points would be as close as they'd get.

A pair of Sherrill free throws following the under-4 media timeout pulled Charlotte to within six at 60-54, but the Spiders would outscore them 12-5 the rest of the way. Anderson scored eight of the 12 points for Richmond as he went 8-8 from the charity stripe over the final 3:20. Now Charlotte becomes Richmond's biggest fan with the Spiders visiting Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night, and the 49ers will have their work cut out for them with a trip to Xavier the same night.

Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Fans

Spiders Beat Charlotte to Remain Alone in 3rd