Men's basketball team falls at home to UMass, 79-68

University of Richmond faced an uphill battle for most its game against the University of Massachusetts Saturday evening; every time it seemed the Spiders were making a run, the Minutemen answered.

Richmond held two short one-point leads early in the game, but was forced to fight from behind for the rest of the game. The best the Spiders could do was tie the game at 23 with just under six minutes to play in the first half, but that lasted less than a second.

Spiders center Darrius Garrett took a pass from guard Kendall Anthony and rose up for an emphatic dunk, but one of the referees charged Garrett with a technical foul for hanging on the rim too long. The call was met unfavorably by the Robins Center crowd, a theme for the refereeing all game.

"We got off to a slow start in the beginning, and we just didn't regain our confidence after that," Richmond forward Derrick Williams said. "Momentum just shifted."

UMass guard Chaz Williams, the team's leading scorer heading into the game, made both free throws, another theme for the game. He finished with 17 points for the Minutemen, including 10 of 10 from the free throw line.

Normally a scorer, Williams made more of an impact getting his teammates involved against the Spiders, dishing out seven assists and consistently breaking down the Spiders' defense by driving into the lane.

"He's very, very fast obviously," Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. "He can penetrate, he's a great passer and he causes defenses problems all the time. They're such a remarkably better team when he's on the floor."

Leading 35-31 at the half, UMass began the second half on a quick 7-0 run to widen the gap to double digits. The Spiders fought back to get within two points, 47-49, but the Minutemen were able to keep Richmond from getting any closer, scoring easy buckets near the hoop on consecutive possessions. UMass looked to be the more physical team for much of the game.

"We let them sort of punk us, and we shouldn't let teams do that," Richmond guard Cedrick Lindsay said. "When they're physical, we should just be physical back."

Lindsay finished with 11 points in his return from a knee injury that kept him from playing in the Spiders' loss to George Washington University on Wednesday.

The Spiders made a few other runs to get within striking distance, including pulling to within four with under seven minutes to play on a three-pointer by forward Francis-Cedric Martel. The three-pointer was one of just four made for the Spiders on 24 attempts for the game.

UMass guard Jesse Morgan answered Martel's shot with a three-pointer of his own to stretch the lead to seven, and Richmond was unable to get any closer the rest of the way. Morgan finished with a game-high 20 points.

The Spiders (11-9) will look to snap their current two-game slide on Wednesday when they will face Fordham University at home.

Game Notes: Mooney was charged with a technical foul with under four minutes remaining for arguing that a foul should have been called... Richmond was out-rebounded, 43-33, overall despite having two more offensive rebounds than UMass... The loss snaps a three-game win streak for Richmond against UMass.

Contact staff writer David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu