The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Spiders sink Flyers, 82-71, on Senior Night

On Senior Night for University of Richmond's men basketball team, the six seniors on the team scored a combined two points, but they were the loudest.

With 1:32 left to play in the game and the Spiders leading, 71-60, senior guard Francis-Cedric Martel took the ball, drove into the lane and jumped high into the air over University of Dayton center Matt Kavanaugh for a dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. Martel's subsequent celebration drew a technical foul which was his fifth foul of the game, sending him to the bench for the remaining 92 seconds.

This 82-71 win over the Flyers will serve as Richmond's final home game of the season, meaning the dunk was Martel's final play in the Robins Center.

"That's the way you go out," Richmond forward Derrick Williams said of the play. "[Francis] has put in so much time on the court with us. He's often quiet, but his defensive presence on the court speaks loud enough for all of us."

The dunk gave Richmond a 13-point lead at the time, the largest of the game for the Spiders, who led the entire game. However, that lead was quickly cut to nine after the technical free throws and a short jumper.

"The technical was uncalled for, and I think [Francis] knows that," Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. "He knew that that was a final important play and maybe let his emotions get the best of him [which] is a little out of character.

"He competes hard. He never makes a sound, so I'm happy for him. I wish we hadn't gotten a technical foul, but it was a really, really great play."

With the seniors lacking in the scoring department, junior Darien Brothers and freshman Kendall Anthony led the offensive effort with 30 and 20 points, respectively. Williams pitched in 13 points and eight rebounds to round out the Spiders who scored in double figures.

"When we're playing hard and having a good offensive day, that's probably a regular day for us," Anthony said. "When we're flowing and getting open looks, that's how we play."

Besides Martel, five other seniors played their final game on Richmond's home court: Darrius Garrett, Josh Duinker, Conor Smith, Zak Estes and Liam Billings. Garrett, Richmond's starting center, is known more for his defense and finished with three blocks.

"Their contributions have been so steady throughout their careers," Mooney said of Martel and Garrett. "They've been very good defenders. They've been great teammates. They've been the kind of guys who do a lot of little things."

The win ties the senior class with last year's for most wins in Richmond history with 91. Mooney said he thought the class's willingness to do the little things had been a big reason for that record.

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With the win, Richmond finishes off its regular season at 16-15 with a 7-9 Atlantic 10 Conference record, currently good for ninth best in the conference. The Spiders will next travel to play either Dayton or La Salle next Tuesday for the first round of the A-10 tournament.

Game Notes: After taking over eight minutes to score its first points in its loss to Xavier University on Saturday, Brothers scored on a layup 23 seconds into the game... Forward Chris Johnson paced the Flyers offense with 22 points and seven rebounds... Mooney called a timeout with 27 seconds remaining to put Duinker, Smith, Estes and Billings into the game.

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

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