Spiders squash VMI, continue undefeated start to season

The University of Richmond men’s basketball team defeated the Virginia Military Institute Keydets, 87-54 in a high scoring matchup at home on Nov. 19.  

The red-hot Spiders came into the game with a 3-0 record, while the Keydets travelled to Robins Arena 3-2 with losses in two of their last three games. 

The teams have had a longstanding rivalry; this was the 133rd all-time meeting between UR and VMI. UR has won the last 5 matchups dating back to 2009, including a win against the Keydets last year, 78-71. 

Junior guard Mikkel Tyne and senior forward Mike Walz got the scoring started as they both connected from 3 in the opening minutes. UR quickly pulled in front with an 8-0 lead in the first minute and a half of play and never looked back. 

Even though UR hadn’t played since its win against the College of William and Mary over a week ago, the Spiders showed no signs of readjustment. 

“We really reset our minds and kind of refocused ourselves on what we need to focus, specifically on defense,” Walz said in a postgame press conference. “I think it was a great performance tonight by the guys.” 

The Keydets are known for their unorthodox offense, as the team attempts on average 37 3-pointers per game, making 38% of these shots. Notably, VMI forward TJ Johnson came into the night averaging 25 points-per-game, fifth highest in all of Division 1 basketball, but was limited to just 4 on the night. As Walz said, locking down Johnson was key to the team’s defensive success.

 “It was certainly a point of emphasis in practice the last couple of days and we just switched hard, we were in gaps, made it tough for him (Johnson),” said Walz postgame. “He wasn’t knocking them (shots) down tonight and we were able to fly the ball in transition and score a lot.”

“Score a lot” the Spiders did, as they poured on a whopping 49 points in the first half and held a firm 23 point lead at the break. The balanced UR offense was on full display as 11 Spiders scored in the first half, graduate guard AJ Lopez led the team with 7 points. 

  3-point shooting had not been a strong point of the UR offense early on in the season, but the Spiders changed that against the Keydets as they connected on 12 of 24 3-pointers. 

UR didn’t take its foot off the gas in the second half, extending its lead to 38, the largest of the night. The Spiders dominated the paint as they have all year, scoring 34 points to the Keydets 20 and grabbing 9 offensive rebounds. 

The bench has been a signature weapon of the Spider’s offense this season, as the UR bench averaged 45 points-per-game going into the night, the seventh highest in all of Division 1. Tonight, the bench pitched in an astounding 50 points. 

“I felt like in the second half our being fresh and energized really showed up and we were really good in transition all the way through the end of the game,” UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said about the impact of the bench postgame. “So it's something valuable and certainly is fun and hopefully will continue to show itself in a positive way.”  

Lopez would go on to finish the game with a team high 12 points, shortly followed by first-year guard Aiden Argabright with 11, UR was able to display the true depth of their bench as 14 Spiders entered the game. 

First-year guard Will Harper III scored his first college basket and finished the game with 6 points, along with first-year Kirby Mooney who also scored his first collegiate basket in the final minutes. 

“The bench has been great,” says Coach Mooney, who says that the bench and starting lineup have been very evenly balanced. “We don’t feel like there’s too much of a difference.”

With the 33-point win tonight, the Spiders improve to 4-0 on the season for the first time since the 2020 season. The Spiders hope to continue their success Saturday at 7 p.m. as they play host to Gardner-Webb University in the last of their five game opening stand, before travelling to Florida for the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational. 

Contact sports writer Jeremy Young at jeremy.young@richmond.edu