The University of Richmond men’s basketball team won a competitive game against St. Bonaventure University with a final score of 71-61 at the Robins Center on Feb. 4.
The victory came in large part from the career-high 36-point performance by junior forward Tyler Burton, the most points by a Spider since T.J. Cline in 2016. The Spiders’ record has improved to 15-8 for the season.
Burton got the crowd on their feet early in the game with a huge and-one dunk, a steal and a difficult layup on the offensive end. As a collective, the Spiders did not get off to a good start offensively — scoring only 1-6 from the three-point arc.
Halfway through the first period, UR trailed by 16-19. This is when the offense began to heat up. Burton scored a deep three with a defender in his face and displayed his physicality by driving a defender to the ground and nailing a step-back shot on the next possession. With just over three minutes left in the first half, the score was tied 29-29. The Spiders dominated these final minutes with a pair of steals from graduate guard Jacob Gilyard and scoring contributions from graduate forward Nathan Cayo and Burton. The Spiders gained a 38-31 lead over the Bonnies, going into the half. Burton finished with an astounding 21 first-half points.
"There's not enough words to describe [Burton's performance],” Head Coach Chris Mooney said in the post-game press conference. “He was tremendous. It's amazing that his ceiling is that high.”
Despite this momentum and an exuberant home crowd, UR struggled early in the second half. Shooting troubles continued for the Spiders as their three-point field goals amounted to 3-17, and St. Bonaventure captured the lead at 44-42 with 11:51 left in the game. Solid defensive play and a three-pointer from senior guard Andre Gustavson helped the Spiders tie things back up at 49.
A spectacular in-bound alley-oop and Gilyard’s only — albeit timely — three-pointer of the night raised the energy in the Robins Center. St. Bonaventure was persistent, however, staying within one point with seven minutes left in the game.
Burton, the leading scorer for the Spiders, took over in clutch time as he dropped a huge three and a put-back dunk to extend the Spiders' lead to 59-53. Graduate forward Grant Golden and Cayo helped UR keep their lead down the stretch. Golden had 10 rebounds on the night as UR outboarded the Bonnies by a margin of 35-23, which was a certain factor in the team's success. Finally, the Spiders displayed poise by shooting a perfect 8-8 from the foul line in the final two minutes of the game as they pulled away to seal the victory.
Burton dropped 36 points on 13-20 field goal attempts with multiple three-pointers, seven rebounds and two steals in a stellar performance. Golden contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, Gustavson with nine points, Cayo with six points and Gilyard with a team-high of eight assists.
The Spiders look to continue their success this season at 7 p.m. tomorrow against George Mason University at the Robins Center.
Contact sports writer Stuart Schaenen at stuart.schaenen@richmond.edu.
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