The tough thing about conference tournaments is that on one hand, they can produce some of the most thrilling moments for a program and its fanbase, but on the other, they can also produce some of the most heartbreaking moments for a program and its fanbase.
In the case of the former, just take the University of Richmond men’s basketball team in 2022. The sixth-seeded Spiders won four games in four days, knocked off Davidson College to win the Atlantic 10 Championship and secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament where they went on to upset the University of Iowa in the Round of 64.
In the case of the latter, however, take the A-10 quarterfinals game against Saint Joseph’s University on March 14. After defeating the Hawks just over a week ago at the Robins Center on March 6 to clinch a piece of the regular season conference championship, the No. 1 seed Spiders were knocked off 65-61 after a late surge by No. 9 seed SJU.
Unfortunately, such is the dichotomy of college basketball.
And the Spiders sure felt that heartbreak when after just one game, they found themselves eliminated from the A-10 Tournament.
Early in the game, after starting 0-for-3 from the field, the Spiders had the momentum offensively. 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions from graduate guard Jordan King gave UR a 10-0 lead almost five minutes into play. SJU, on the other hand, started just 1-for-10 from the field.
And for most of the half, it remained that way, though the Spiders’ shooting percentage eventually cooled off, putting them more at par with the Hawks. During the first half, UR shot 33.33% from the field while SJU shot 23.33% from the field.
At halftime, the Spiders held a 24-22 lead in what was a low-scoring, tightly contested first 20 minutes of gameplay. UR was able to keep the slight edge on the scoreboard mostly due to graduate center Neal Quinn’s solid floater game and graduate forward Zae Bigelow’s grittiness on the defensive boards. Bigelow had 8 rebounds at the half.
The Hawks came out of the break ready to go, as they put the Spiders on their heels to start the second half. No longer was the game defined by UR getting closer to widening the gap on the scoreboard and pulling away, it was defined by SJU shooting a better percentage from the floor and going back and forth with the Spiders to stay in the game.
The Spiders did go on a 12-2 run to put UR up 40-30 with 13:39 to play, and just over two minutes later, they were up by double-digits again, 45-35, but the Hawks did not falter for too long.
Quinn’s strong shooting performance was key for the Spiders down the stretch, but a 3-pointer from the Hawks with 2:38 left to play saw SJU take the lead and never give it back to UR.
A timely turnover committed by King on an inbounds play following that SJU 3-pointer led to the Hawks scoring again and making it a four-point game.
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King drew a foul on a 3-pointer and got the Spiders within two after making 2-of-3 from the line, but SJU’s control over the scoreboard, unfortunately for UR, did not waver on the final possessions of the game, ultimately leading to their 65-61 victory.
“We fought hard to get the win, but it just wasn’t enough I guess today,” King said in a postgame press conference. “But like Coach [Mooney] said, I mean, we still a family, still one team, love these guys forever.”
Quinn was UR’s top scorer, finishing with 21 points – an outing that UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said was perhaps Quinn’s best of the season. King had 17 points and was the Spiders’ only other player in double-figures.
It is still uncertain whether or not the Spiders will have any more games left in their schedule this season, as an NCAA or NIT berth are both in question until conference tournaments finish up.
SJU Head Coach Billy Lange referred to the Spiders as an NCAA Tournament team, something he said in the postgame press conference was a “testament” to how strong the A-10 conference is.
“I’ve been in that position before, where you have an amazing season and then you got one game to try to prove your worth and value,” Lange said, referring to the Spiders. “And it’s not right. And [UR’s] whole season shouldn’t be judged by that.
Mooney, on the other hand, said he thinks the Spiders have more basketball left to be played.
“I don’t know what our NET is right now,” Mooney said. “I know there are different rules with the NIT. But I would think that we’re a postseason team, yes.”
Only time will tell whether or not the postseason is in reach for the Spiders, but regardless, they end the season with a 23-9 record – 15-3 in conference play – and as co-champions of the league, something the A-10 preseason poll did not predict would be the case.
“We made history,” King said. “First time ever regular season champs. Coach Mooney, I gotta thank him for everything.”
Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.
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