Rapid Recap: Richmond 62 - La Salle 49

Final Score: Richmond 62 - La Salle 49

What Happened: Terry Allen had a career game, scoring 23 points on 9-16 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds, as he carried Richmond's offense in the second half and helped the Spiders earn a much-needed 62-49 win over La Salle. Kendall Anthony finished with 14 points but shot poorly, going 4-15 from the field. La Salle's Tyreek Duren and Tyrone Garland, two of its starting guards, combined to score 35 points but shot poorly as well, combining to go 11-35. Tonight's game was a tale of two halves for the Spiders. La Salle held a 24-23 halftime lead, following a half where neither team made a third of its field goals. Richmond shot 25 percent from the field in the first half, and Anthony and ShawnDre' Jones combined to shoot 3-15. Duren led all scorers at the break with 10 points, but shot 3-12 from the field. The second half for Richmond, however, was a different story. Richmond made 11 of its first 15 shots, including its first four three-point attempts, and jumped out to a 46-39 lead. Terry Allen seemed to spark Richmond's offense, and his eight consecutive points allowed Richmond to jump out to its seven-point lead. La Salle continued to shot poorly, but hit timely 3-pointers to keep with the Spiders. Deion Taylor hit a three-pointer it's fifth of the half, to open up an 11-point Richmond lead with four minutes remaining. He proceeded to hit another jumper, which appeared to be the dagger. La Salle did its best to extend the game, but the Spiders held on for the victory.

Spider Positives: Following the George Washington loss, in which Allen scored 17 and grabbed nine rebounds, Coach Mooney called on the sophomore more to be more aggressive. I guess Allen listened. Allen looked as confident as I have seen as he led Richmond to this much-needed win. Allen has shown signs of being a great player all year, and today was his most complete performance. The Spiders need one of their players to elevate his game for them to make the tournament. This is a great sign for the Spiders, as they head into their last four regular season games.

Spider Negatives: Kendall Anthony has not shot well in his last two games. This is particularly concerning considering Richmond is heading into the final stretch of the regular season and has little room for error if it hopes to earn an at-large bid. In the last two games, ShawnDre' Jones and Allen gave Richmond two unexpectedly great scoring nights, which has somewhat masked Anthony's struggles. Richmond needs its best offensive player to find his groove in its coming games.

Up Next: Up next, Richmond will take on George Mason in the two team's first meeting in the Atlantic 10. The game is at George Mason on Wednesday.

Contact staff writer Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu

Follow him on twitter at @Jack_Nicholson