The Spiders started off strong and kept the momentum going to win against the University of Massachusetts, 90-65, through a strong offensive and defensive game.
“I’m obviously really pleased with how we played tonight,” Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. “I thought our energy was really good from when we started the game, which we haven’t done a good enough job of this season.”
The Spiders started off with eight unanswered points during the first two minutes. Freshman guard Grant Golden had a strong offensive game, scoring 18 of Richmond’s 40 points in the first half and 26 of the team's 65 overall points.
UMass finally hit its first three-pointer after a timeout and a two-pointer by Golden. UMass guard C.J. Anderson went four for four on his three-pointers, trying to help the team come back from its deficit.
The first half was back and forth after the run by the Spiders at the beginning, backed with strong defense through rebounds, and offensive plays that produced points.
The team did a good job defensively with 25 points off of turnovers, Mooney said.
A layup by Golden, followed by a layup from sophomore guard De’Monte Buckingham, put Richmond up 40-32 at the half.
The Spiders carried the energy into the second half with a layup from Golden to set the pace for the rest of the game.
Richmond slowly achieved a 12-point gain before the Minutemen took their first time out just over two minutes into the second half.
Following a three-pointer, freshman guard Jacob Gilyard regained possession and passed the ball back to redshirt junior Khwan Fore for a layup, making the score 55-38.
Freshman guard Nathan Cayo had a layup to raise Richmond’s score to 58-38 with 15:51 remaining in the half.
The Minutemen tried to come back, but never quite overcame the Spiders.
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When Anderson was fouled and went one for one on free throws, sophomore guard Nick Sherod hit a three, going three for five on the night. Sherod was the second-highest scorer for the Spiders behind Golden.
With 4:52 left, Gilyard hit a three, putting the Spiders up by 29 points over the Minutemen. UMass went on to score six more points before Buckingham scored a three to put the Spiders up 87-61 with 2:23 on the clock.
Richmond took a timeout with just under two minutes left and the Spiders continued to score with Cayo going two for two on his free throws.
The Spiders will play George Mason at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia, and will play in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Washington, D.C., in early March.
Contact sports editor Lindsay Emery at lindsay.emery@richmond.edu.
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