Spiders drop road game at Musketeers, 65-57

The University of Richmond men's basketball team opened its game Saturday night at Xavier University giving up 16 straight points to the Musketeers. The Spiders would pull within three points at halftime, but ultimately fell, 65-57.

Xavier held Richmond scoreless for the first eight minutes until sophomore Derrick Williams sank a three-pointer. After Xavier converted a layup on the other end, Richmond used four free throws and a layup by freshman Kendall Anthony to run off six straight points and make it a game. The Spiders worked their way back, trailing, 25-22, at halftime.

Richmond coach Chris Mooney called a pair of early timeouts and said he had challenged the players in the huddle to step up and show that they could handle the hostile environment created by the large crowd, announced to be 10,250 fans.

"I'm proud of how we battled back," Mooney said. He said he thought that the team had relaxed after the first made basket by Williams. "It lets you know you won't get shut out."

Richmond took its first lead of the game with 12:55 remaining in the second half. The key sequence was started with a three-pointer by junior Greg Robbins that tied the game at 35. Senior Francis-Cedric Martel then drew a charge, and Anthony hit a jumper that gave the Spiders a 37-35 lead.

After Xavier tied the game on a layup by senior Kenny Frease, Richmond junior Darien Brothers hit a three-pointer that gave the Spiders what would prove to be their biggest and final lead of the game, 40-37. Brothers led the Spiders with 15 points.

Xavier went inside throughout the game, most of the time to Frease, who led the way for Xavier with 19 points and 14 rebounds. He also drew two early fouls on Richmond senior Darrius Garrett, who played only four minutes in the first half.

"Kenny played the best game of his senior season tonight," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "Arguably, one of the best games of his college career."

The Musketeers dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the Spiders, 41-22, including a 20-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. Eight of Frease's 14 rebounds were on the offensive end.

Brothers said that, despite the rebounding advantage for Xavier, the Richmond defense had been able to keep the team in the game while the offense was struggling. The Spiders forced Xavier into seven first-half turnovers. Brothers and Robbins led the team with two steals each.

Richmond's bench play was a bright spot in the loss, outscoring the Xavier bench, 23-9. Anthony led all bench players with 10 points.

Brothers said that the team had played in front of bigger crowds before and had not been affected by the atmosphere, despite their relative youth.

"We showed we can play with any team," Brothers said. "Hopefully, we can take away what we learned tonight and come away with [an Atlantic 10] tournament title."

Contact reporter Casey Glick at casey.glick@richmond.edu