The University of Richmond men’s basketball team used a strong second-half showing to dispatch the La Salle University Explorers 74-53 on Jan. 14 at the Robins Center.
The Spiders sought to kick back into gear after a 4-3 record through the month of December cooled what had been a striking 10-1 start to the season. Now having picked up a third win in their last four outings, it seems that the Spiders returned to form just in time for the bulk of conference play, despite nursing only a slim lead for much of the first half.
Senior center Mike Walz and first-year guard Aiden Argabright led the way for UR’s early offense, supplying nine of the first 14 points for the Spiders, who led by as much as three possessions in the early going, not quite able to pull away.
Down the stretch, the Spiders began to separate from La Salle, holding the Explorers to their worst field goal percentage of the season, at just a 33.9% clip. On the other end of the court, graduate guard AJ Lopez notched nine points for the Spiders en route to a team-leading 18-point night. Senior forward Jonathan Beagle’s six-point contribution further ballooned the Spiders’ lead to 13, though a 12-3 run for La Salle entering halftime kept the contest close.
“Overall, I thought we played… maybe our best defensive game,” UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said in a postgame press conference. “[La Salle] can really hurt you with their one-on-one play, sometimes you get lulled into not playing team defense… I thought we maintained our team's defensive principles and defended very well.”
Out of the break, La Salle continued to match the Spiders’ pace as each side tallied ten points apiece to open a tight second half. The Explorers trailed by as much as ten points down the stretch before cutting the deficit back down to four, but could do no further damage as UR began to pull away.
Guiding UR’s second-half offense was junior forward Jaden Daughtry, who added nine points in the second half to join Walz, Lopez and Beagle in double-figure scoring for the night, finishing with 11.
As the Spider offense continued to roll, the Explorers were stymied by heavy defensive pressure, being held to just two points from the field in the final seven minutes of action. Despite outshooting the Spiders through the second half, La Salle’s low-percentage shots were no answer to UR, as the Explorers went 10 for 29 from the field at a dismal 8.3% clip beyond the arc.
“I thought it was good team defense,” Mooney said of La Salle’s second-half collapse. “Most of them were contested closer toward the end of the shot clock, which kind of demonstrated we played a good half court defense.”
The Explorers continued their conference freefall with the loss, dropping to 1-4 in the Atlantic 10 and 5-13 overall. UR meanwhile improved to 13-5, with their 3-2 A10 mark good enough to join a tie for second place.
UR’s next opportunity to claim outright conference second place will be a tough road test at Saint Louis University. The clash with the 4-0 Billikens is slated for Jan. 17 at 4 p.m.
Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu
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