It was a different story in the University of Richmond men’s basketball team’s second game of the season than it was in its first.
In game one, the Spiders took care of business to open up the 2024-25 campaign with a 33-point victory over the University of Mount Olive. Game two, however, did not come as easy to the Spiders.
After a late-game battle with the Red Foxes, UR dropped its first game of the young season against Marist College 79-72 on Nov. 9 — a loss that will surely carry with it some weight come late in the season when the Spiders’ resume is considered for any potential playoff bids.
“[Marist] played very well, shot the ball well, played very sound defensively and beat us in the parts of the game that were so critical,” UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said in the postgame press conference. “I think that, obviously so early in the season. We need to get better at a few things and hopefully this will be something that jumpstarts us to doing so.”
The Spiders started slowly out of the gates and struggled to get their offense going while the Red Foxes took to the 3-pointer early. UR’s first 11 points came from the free throw line, as there were many fouls to begin the first half.
Eventually, after starting down 10-2, the Spiders took their first lead of the game following a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Mikkel Tyne. That set in motion UR’s strong start from distance as well, which led to much of the contests’ early minutes being dominated by foul shots and 3-pointers.
The rest of the first half was back-and-forth, with Marist either taking the lead or hanging around the Spiders close enough where separation on the scoreboard was not in the cards. With just over six minutes to play before halftime, UR led by nine points, but the Red Foxes’ 3-pointers helped them claw back within striking distance before the break.
Senior guard DeLonnie Hunt seemed to be the only thing working for UR through the first 20 minutes other than the 3-pointers and drawing fouls. In the first half, the Spiders shot 6-for-11 from the arc and shot 24 free throws, going 18-for-24 from the charity stripe.
The second half was a different story.
Even though the Spiders carried a 44-41 lead with them into halftime, Marist continued to put its stamp on the game, eventually pulling ahead of UR down the stretch.
The Spiders’ 54.5% shooting clip from range in the first half dissipated in the second half, as the team went just 2-for-11 with an 18.2% mark in the final 20 minutes of play. It didn’t help the UR’s efforts that Marist shot better percentages from the field and the arc in the second half either.
As time started to trickle from the game clock, the Spiders were able to bring the score to a manageable deficit on several occasions, but could never pull ahead late. With 33 seconds to play, a turnover from the Red Foxes led to Tyne getting fouled in transition, which brought the score to 73-70.
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With 16 seconds to go, the Spiders pulled within three points again, 75-72, but Marist won the free throw battle the rest of the way, however, leading to a difficult loss in a game that, on paper, looked as if it were winnable given the nature of the Red Foxes’ conference.
For reference, last season, the Spiders defeated fellow Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program Siena College in dominant fashion, winning 90-48.
“Stove is hot,” Hunt said. “New guys, young guys may not understand how you may look at the name and the conference and you think ‘okay, it’s just a easy night,’ but it’s not that case. Even with Mount Olive, you gotta respect the game of basketball and that starts with respecting your opponent.”
Hunt finished with 27 points and five rebounds on the night. The only other Spider to reach double figures was Tyne, who tallied 10 points on the night – a switch up from UR’s season opener when five players reached double-figures.
“We didn’t give [Hunt] enough support,” Mooney said. “And what’s hard about that is we need to give him more and more support because he has so many things to worry about. He’s a leader, he’s one of our best defensive players, he’s organizing our team, and so when he’s also asked to be so aggressive, that’s a little bit too much.”
The Spiders’ next game is against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13, a team UR defeated 64-56 at home last year.
“It’s a long season,” Hunt said. “Of course disappointed. You don’t want to lose, especially at home. Especially on a night like a banner reveal, you don’t want to lose, especially in that manner. But it’s not time to drop our heads and start sulking. We’re two games in. We got at least 30 left. So it’s about staying on the same page, staying together and responding to this.”
Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.
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