A big halftime deficit proved too much for the University of Richmond men’s basketball team to come back from in a 78-62 loss to Saint Joseph’s University Feb. 22.
The game kicked off a brutal four-game stretch for the Spiders, with the Hawks among four of the top five teams in the Atlantic 10 that UR will play to close its regular season.
Despite playing SJU close out of the gate, the match quickly slipped away from the Spiders, as the Hawks grew a 7-6 lead to a 26-12 margin midway through the first half. Graduate forward Dusan Neskovic pulled UR closer with a pair of free throws en route to a team-high 14 points, but the 10-point deficit would come down no further the rest of the night.
Cold shooting held the Spiders scoreless on seven shots spanning nearly six minutes, as SJU built out an 18 point cushion winding into halftime. Down the stretch, junior center Mike Walz supplied five points to help break the Spiders’ scoring drought, but shot-for-shot efforts ensured that the Hawks would take a 17-point advantage into the break.
“What I don’t like is… we had very few turnovers in the game, but in the first half we had live-ball turnovers in transition… nobody can guard in transition against a team like this that’s explosive” UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said in a postgame press conference. “We gave [Saint Joseph’s] those baskets… and then we really shot poorly, at the beginning of the game.”
Neskovic opened the second half with UR’s first eight points as the Spiders worked fervently to close in on SJU’s lead. Shooting 43% from the field over the first fifteen minutes, UR whittled their deficit down to just 11 points with contributions from five scorers, including junior forward Jonathan Beagle, whose eight points all came in the second half.
The Spiders’ comeback bid began to stymie the Hawks’ offense as SJU was held to just three points in a seven-minute span. Even despite the push however, UR could not come within single-digits of the Hawks before SJU once more began to find answers for each Spider basket.
SJU continued to hit shots down the stretch to match the Spiders’ output, staving off any chance for a comeback as time ran out on UR’s 78-62 loss.
“The guys competed… I thought there were a lot of positives, I thought we’d call that another step forward.” Mooney said. “I told the guys… ‘winning on the road is tough, winning against a really, really talented team is tough’… but we were able to come in and compete.”
Neskovic led the Spiders in the loss with 14 points, while Walz and sophomore guard Mikkel Tyne each pitched in 13. Tyne’s fifth consecutive game scoring in double-figures is the longest active streak for UR.
The Spiders will continue to round out their 2024 season against Virginia Commonwealth University, currently ranked second in the Atlantic 10. UR will look to avenge an earlier 90-49 road loss against the Rams in the rematch, which is slated for Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Robins Center.
Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Support independent student media
You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below, which takes you to our secure PayPal account. The page is set up to receive contributions in whatever amount you designate. We look forward to using the money we raise to further our mission of providing honest and accurate information to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others in the general public.
Donate Now
