Three weeks removed from one of the worst defeats in the history of the Capital City Classic, the message to the University of Richmond men’s basketball team was simple leading into their rematch with Virginia Commonwealth University.
“We need to regroup… not hang our heads, but get to work,” UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said after UR’s defeat at VCU.
Unfortunately for the Spiders, an improvement over an overwhelming Feb. 1 defeat still could not surmount the Rams, whose 78-60 win Feb. 25 at the Robins Center secured the season sweep over UR.
Early on, it seemed lessons had been learned for the home side as the Spiders kept the score tight; graduate guard B. Artis White knocked down a three-pointer to open scoring as both sides battled to an 8-8 stalemate.
UR stalled on offense with 15:15 left in the half as VCU began to clog the paint, keeping many of the Spiders’ shot attempts beyond the arc. In the five minutes of the Rams’ 16-2 run, the Spiders were held to 1/6 shooting from the field, including 0/4 from 3-point range.
Just as quickly as they had gone cold, the Spiders roared back to life winding into halftime, shooting 69% and paced by six points each from White and sophomore guard Mikkel Tyne. VCU matched each effort however, putting up 27 points to the Spiders’ 23 in the nine minutes before the break.
The Rams started quick into the second half, growing their lead from 18 to 22 with the Spiders once more managing just one basket in five minutes. VCU seemed poised to pull away for good, when again UR came back to life.
A swarming UR backcourt abruptly shut down the Rams’ potent offense, forcing eight turnovers as the Spiders slowly clawed their way back into the game. Graduate forward Dusan Neskovic began the charge with a pair of baskets. Moments later, the second of two three-pointers by sophomore guard Collin Tanner was met with raucous cheers as UR pulled within 14.
Three more points from Neskovic officially brought the margin to single-digits as VCU struggled for a foothold against a stifling UR defense. The 13-point comeback was underpinned by a backcourt which let up just five points from the Rams in more than twelve minutes.
VCU appeared in danger of conceding further when a critical technical foul swung momentum back to the Rams.
“I was surprised there was no call, and then I was surprised there was a technical foul call in that situation,” Mooney said. “You know, not ideal, and I apologized to the team… but there certainly seemed to be some contact on the drive.”
Sinking both free throws, VCU put the game back out of reach in short order with a pair of layups, weathering just a few more points from UR as the lead was restored to 18 in the final seconds of the match.
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“I thought we played well in the first half offensively; I thought we competed and played a very good defensive second half,” Mooney said. “We made some adjustments to try to make it a little bit harder, and then, you know, we were able to come back and make it a game… unfortunately fell just a little bit short.”
The Spiders dropped to 10-18 with the loss for an Atlantic 10 conference mark of 5-11. VCU moved to 13-2 and top of the A-10 with the victory, for an overall record of 23-5.
UR will continue its A-10 campaign at the University of Dayton March 3 at 2 p.m. in what is the penultimate game of the Spiders’ season.
Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu
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