The University of Richmond men’s basketball team continued their hot start with a win over the Old Dominion University Monarchs 86-77 at home on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The 7-1 Spiders returned to Robins Arena after going 1-1 over Thanksgiving break in Florida and knocking off undefeated Belmont University on Wednesday.
Old Dominion University came in riding a three-game losing streak, which brought the Monarchs to 3-6 on the season. This was the first matchup between the two teams since the Spiders knocked off ODU 67-61 in 2021.
The Spiders quickly took the lead, attacking the paint for 10 of their first 11 points. Junior forward Jaden Daughtry led the early attack as he capitalized on a pair of layups inside. As was the case for the rest of the game, the Monarchs quickly closed the lead and remained within striking distance.
After strong first-half offensive performances throughout much of the season, UR struggled to find a rhythm early on. The Spiders struggled to make free-throws, shooting just 40% and converting on just one 3-pointer in the first half, which came from graduate guard Will Johnston, who came into the night shooting 41.7% from 3-point range.
“We came out with no energy honestly,” first-year guard Aiden Argabright said postgame. “So we knew we had to pick it up at halftime, [Head Coach Chris Mooney] got on us at halftime, so we knew we had to change the momentum and pick things up.”
The Spiders went into halftime trailing 36-35, marking the first time all season they have trailed at the half while playing at home.
Despite struggles in the first half, UR was able to quickly pull back ahead in the second half, starting on a 12-3 scoring run. Senior center Mike Walz provided the offensive spark, as he converted on a pair of layups rolling to the basket, assisted by Johnston. Walz finished the night with 16 points, his high for the season.
Despite struggles to connect on 3-pointers, the Spiders were able to get the offense going by punishing ODU in the paint. UR finished the night with 50 of their 86 total points coming from inside the paint, a clear departure from its win Dec. 3, in which the Spiders made 14 threes.
As Mooney said postgame, ODU’s tough defense on the perimeter forced the Spiders to take a different offensive approach.
“I think tonight they (ODU) really hedge hard and make it difficult for you to get those threes,” Mooney said postgame. “I think we hit the roller going to the basket, Mike (Walz) and John(athan) Beagle, maybe four, five, six times. Those are really good plays.”
A 3-pointer from Daughtry put UR ahead by 8 with 16 minutes to play, but again the Spiders were unable to pull away. ODU countered with an 11-3 run of their own to tie the game up with around nine minutes to play.
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Just as it seemed like the game would go down to the wire, UR’s depth was able to propel the Spiders back in front. The Spider’s bench has been a strength of the team all season; the bench came into the night averaging 41.8 points-per-game, the seventh-highest in Division 1, and contributed a massive 51 points in the win. Daughtry led the bench and the team with 17 points and Argabright pitched in 15 points of his own from off the bench.
“It’s definitely hard trying to come off the bench and bring some energy,” Argabright said postgame. “I be cold coming off the bench, I’m not gonna lie, so it's really hard for me to get my shot going, get the flow going, so I just try to get easy baskets, get to the free throw line to get me started.”
The Spiders held their largest lead of the night at 10 points with a little over 6 minutes to play, but the Monarchs did not go down without a fight; a pair of fast-break layups made it a one possession game with 2 minutes and 17 seconds to go.
With the game on the line, Argabright became the Spiders number one option, converting on a layup in transition and knocking down some clutch free throws to put the game away. Argabright has been one of the top first-year players in the Atlantic 10 Conference this year and was named to the A-10 Weekly Honor Role in November.
The Spiders held on to clinch a 86-77 win and improve to 8-1 on the season, their best start to a season since 2019. UR has been dominant at Robins Arena and is 6-0 at home this season.
The most notable difference between last season has been the Spiders offensive production. Last season, UR averaged 66.8 points per game. In the nine games the Spiders have played this season, they are averaging 84.8 points per game and have surpassed the 80 point mark in 7 of their 9 games.
“I think we have a chance to be a good team. I think we have the chance to be a great offensive team, I don’t think that showed itself tonight as much, but I think we have the chance to be a great offensive team,” Mooney said. “I don’t know if we could be an elite defensive team, because we don’t have as much shot blocking…I do think that we could be a great offensive team, with the way the ball moves and the pressure we can put on the paint and the rim with different guys being able to do that.”
UR has a week off for finals before returning to action Dec. 13, for a matchup at home with Southern Illinois University at 6 p.m.
Contact sports writer Jeremy Young at jeremy.young@richmond.edu
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