The University of Richmond men’s basketball team defeated East Carolina University 87-72 at home on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Even though UR and ECU meet as non-conference opponents, they share quite a bit of history. This was the 84th all-time matchup between the two teams, as they used to face off regularly as members of the Coastal Athletic Association and Southern Conference. This was the first time the two teams had played each other since 2007.
This isn’t the only special connection between UR and ECU. ECU’s assistant coach is none other than UR third all-time leading scorer and member of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame, Michael Perry.
UR came into the night off of a dominant performance earlier in the week against Southern Virginia University, but had their first true test of the season against a high-powered Pirates offense, which scored 92 points in their season opening win and notched 19 wins in the 2024-2025 season.
While both teams had high scoring performances in their first games, the game got off to a slow start offensively; the Spiders only managed eight points in the first eight minutes and found themselves trailing the Pirates by as much as five points in the opening minutes.
However, this quickly changed; UR tied the game at 11 and never looked back. The Spiders ran off a 15-2 run in just over five minutes. This was led by first-year guard Aiden Argabright and senior forward Jonathan Beagle, who pitched in five and seven points respectively.
The Spiders were able to push the pace and get out in transition, which was one of their goals coming into the game, “Coach Mooney, he likes us to push the ball…It’s kind of the game plan and me naturally, I’ve always been a type of player to grab a rebound or start an outlet pass or try to start a fast break,” junior forward and Richmond native Jaden Daughtry said postgame. “We’re definitely trying to play a lot more faster this year, we’re definitely emphasizing on that.”
UR continued its run into the end of the first half, leading by as much as 12 points and going into the half up 42-30, while only shooting 3/11 from behind the arc.
One of the recurring problems throughout the first two games of the season for the Spiders has been fouling. UR picked up a total of 24 fouls against ECU to go along with 21 fouls committed in its first game.
The team’s aggressive and gritty style on defense can often go hand-in-hand with picking up fouls, but as UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said, the team still has some adjustments to make in an in-game scenario.
“There’s just a different element in the game and you’re trying to do everything right, you’re trying to play so hard, and it’s just natural to use your hands a little bit more than the rules suggest…Hopefully we’ll get better at that and [it’s] something we’re talking about and hoping to improve.”
Even with foul issues, UR was able to extend its lead to 15 early in the second half, as graduate guard Will Johnston connected with a three, but the Pirates did not go away and ramped up the pressure against the Spiders. ECU was able to cut the lead back to single digits with 17:08 to go.
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The depth of the Spiders proved too much though as the team rotated through an 11-man rotation. Junior guard Mikkel Tyne led the team in minutes with just over 26. This balanced attack is something that Mooney has used before, “I feel like it just makes you want to go even harder when you’re in [the game], knowing that you’re going in, probably going to be taken out in the next 5-6 minutes,” says Daughtry. “When we do get in the game, just go all out, do what you can do while you are in, because you know you got a sub coming soon.”
Daughtry and the Spiders bench made good use of their minutes; they outscored the Pirates bench 57-16, with Daughtry leading the bench with 13 points and 7 rebounds in only his second game as a Spider.
After withstanding the Pirate’s run, UR took control and didn’t look back. Daughtry connected on a pair of free-throws to give the Spiders a 21 point lead with 5:29 to go.
The Spiders as a team had great success getting to the free throw line throughout the game, shooting 29-36 from the free throw line. Seven of Argabright’s 14 points came from the free throw line, while Beagle converted on nine of 11 free throws and finished his game with a team-leading 15 points.
Despite a pair of turnovers and baskets from ECU, a 3-pointer from Tyne with 1:05 to go put the Spiders back ahead by 19 and proved to be the dagger.
With the win tonight, the Spiders advance to 2-0 on the season. They will look to continue this success in game three of their five-game homestand Tuesday, Nov. 11 with a date against rival the College of William & Mary at 7 p.m.
Contact sports writer Jeremy Young at jeremy.young@richmond.edu
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