Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Fans |
|
A10 Fans Home |
Spiders Hang On to Beat ColonialsRichmond moves to 8-2 in league play
After being outscored by nearly 20 points in the second half of the first meeting the feeling among the George Washington Colonials may have been that they owed Richmond one in the rematch. And while Karl Hobbs' team played more like the group that led the meeting in Richmond at the half for much of the game, it wasn't enough to deliver the victory. Justin Harper's layup with 43 seconds remaining gave the Spiders the lead for good, ultimately winning 69-65. Tony Taylor had a chance to tie things up at 67 but lost the ball driving to the basket, and a pair of Kevin Smith free throws provided the final margin. Taylor led four Colonials (12-12, 5-5) in double figures with 15 points while Harper led all scorers with 20. The win keeps Richmond (19-6, 8-2) within a game (in the loss column) of both Duquesne and Xavier, who meet in Pittsburgh on Sunday. "Aside from the Duquesne game and St. Bonaventure game, we've been playing pretty well," remarked Coach Hobbs. "But we still have some growing to do, we still have to finish some plays down the stretch, we have to make some defensive stops."
With just seven combined fast break points in the game and neither team leading by more than six, execution in the half-court was of the utmost importance. George Washington got out to a 14-8 lead less than five minutes into the contest, with a Taylor three-pointer making the score 14-8. Richmond would score the next five points to cut their deficit to one, and a Kevin Anderson three following a Jabari Edwards tip-in tied the score at 16 with 9:36 remaining in the half. Dan Geriot would then knock one down on the Spiders' next possession to make the score 19-16, and the visitors would lead until a Nemanja MIkic three put the Colonials up by two (26-24). Mikic would make five three pointers on nine attempts for the game, finishing with 15. Despite the lack of running opportunities the first half would account for 71 points, with a Darien Brothers three giving Richmond a 36-35 lead at the break. The first ten minutes of the second half played close as well, with neither team leading by more than two points. But an Anderson three with 9:58 remaining pushed Richmond's lead out to five at 53-48. A Kevin Smith free throw a minute later gave the Spiders their largest lead of the night, but after failing to score for nearly five minutes the Colonials scored the next six points to tie things at 54. Less than two minutes later Mikic's fifth three of the night put the home team up by four at 61-57, but Francis Martel answered with a three of his own and a Harper dunk with 2:34 remaining gave Richmond a one-point lead. The teams would then trade free throws with one from Martel tying the score with 1:02 remaining, setting the stage for Harper's drive nearly 20 seconds later. Next up for Richmond is a home game against Saint Louis on Saturday, and George Washington visits UMass on Sunday.
By:
Raphielle Johnson |