Hokies bring Spiders’ season to an end in first round of NIT

With just over a minute to play in the second half, University of Richmond men’s basketball Head Coach Chris Mooney took his three super seniors out of the game.

For graduate guard Jordan King, graduate center Neal Quinn and graduate forward Zae Bigelow, it was their last time walking to the bench as a Spider.

These three transfers — Quinn and Bigelow joining the program last year through the transfer portal and King doing so this year — along with senior guards Dji Bailey and DeLonnie Hunt, who round out the Spiders’ starting lineup, not only propelled this program to a 23-10 finish and a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season championship, but exceeded all expectations. 

In a field of 15 teams, the Spiders were picked to finish 11th in the A-10 conference preseason polls. They ultimately finished tied for first with Loyola University Chicago.

And while things may have fizzled out a little sooner than expected when the team lost to Virginia Tech 74-58 in the first round of the NIT on March 19, it was a record season for the Spiders and a notable turnaround from last season’s 15-18 finish. 

“Records were broken, nets were cut, banners will be hung,” UR Assistant Head Coach Will Gipe posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Most important, this group came to work every day with an incredible mindset. Never got too high, never too low. Forever grateful for this group.”

King won co-Player of the Year in the A-10, Bailey won Most Improved Player of the Year and UR Head Coach Chris Mooney, who at this time last year was recovering from heart surgery after having to step away from the team with a couple weeks to go in the regular season, won A-10 Coach of the Year.

The Spiders may not have gotten their March Madness moment this go-around, and for a time, with the No. 1 seed in the A-10 Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, it looked as if that was within the Spiders’ reach. But, an NIT bid was cut short by the Atlantic Coast Conference Hokies in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

In the early parts of the first half, the Spiders held the control offensively. With 7:09 to go in half one, they had jumped out to a 22-13 lead against a power-5 conference program in the Hokies. But any hopes of a runaway first half would be squandered by Virginia Tech, as the Hokies fought back to end the first 20 minutes of gameplay ahead 33-28. 

At halftime, it was Bigelow who led the Spiders in the scoring column, finishing the first half with nine points. King was held scoreless in the first half, so it was up to UR to lean on its other starters to produce offensively. 

“It’s always a pride thing when you go up against a bigger school like [Virginia Tech],” Quinn said in a press conference on March 18. “You wanna put on a good performance for Richmond and for yourselves to prove that you could play at that level.”

In the second half, King eventually hit a 3-pointer for his first field goal of the game. But, he would only finish with six, contributing to the Spiders’ difficulty on the offensive end down the stretch.

With 14:23 to play, a made free throw from King gave the Spiders a three-point nod on the scoreboard, 39-36, but that would be UR’s final time ahead on the scoreboard. Over the final 14 minutes of the game, the Hokies outscored the Spiders 38-19, which ended any hopes of a second-round NIT appearance for UR. 

Bigelow and Bailey finished with 15 points apiece to lead the Spiders in the scoring column. The Spiders shot 37.7% from the field and just 27.3% from 3-point range. 

Heading into the offseason, the Spiders will look to repeat this year’s regular season success. UR will also do its best to fill the gap King, Quinn, Bailey and graduate forward Tyler Harris will leave, in addition to any other roster departures the program might endure. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.